Civil War Cannon

Civil War Cannon. . , This Civil War cannon is a Confederate twelve pound Napoleon. Also known as a twelve pounder, twelve refers to the weight of the ammunition used by the cannon. Twelve pound smoothbore cannons were frequently used by Confederate and Union armies. The cannon before you was produced by the Augusta Foundry in Augusta, Georgia. Augusta Foundry cannons were primarily utilized by Confederate forces in the western theater of the Civil War., A lot can be told by the engravings on the muzzle of the barrel. The "1864" indicates the year the barrel was made and the "1230" indicates the weight of the barrel. "No 89 AF" indicates that it was the 89th cannon made at the Augusta Foundry in 1864. All barrels produced at the Augusta Foundry had "AF" after the production sequence number. On the bottom, "GWR" is the initials of George Washington Rains. Rains, a Colonel in the Confederate Army, inspected the cannons before they left the Augusta Foundry and were put into service. Every cannon Rains inspected bears his initials., The Augusta Foundry manufactured between 110 and 130 twelve pound Napoleons. The Walnut Grove Cemetery Napoleon is one of 40 still in existence. In 1986 this Napoleon was refurbished by the Ohio Valley Civil War Round Table. In 2018, the carriage was once again in need of replacement. Mason Kyer of Troop 59, St. Clairsville Ohio, raised over $20,000 to purchase the new carriage for his Eagle Scout Project. The new carriage is cast aluminum, but made to look identical to the original. It was manufactured by Steen Cannon in Ashland, Kentucky. . This historical marker was erected in 2018 by Mason Kyer, Eagle Scout project, Troop 59, St. Clairsville, Ohio. It is in Martins Ferry in Belmont County Ohio