The 33rd Missouri Spikes the Guns

The 33rd Missouri Spikes the Guns. . During the Battle of Helena on July 4, 1863, less than 300 men with two cannon held this battery for several hours against 3,000 Confederates. , Infantry Mans the Guns , The 33rd Missouri Infantry (U.S.) defended Battery C. The regiment had cross-trained as gunners, an unusual practice, and manned the guns at all of Helena's defensive works. Here, two companies served as artillerists and sharpshooters. After the battle began, two companies of the 33rd Iowa Infantry arrived, completing the small command. They repelled two assaults before falling to the Confederates., Rendering the Guns Useless , Civil War cannon were simple weapons. To fire, the gunner put a friction primer into the hole on the top of the barrel, called the vent. At the signal, he pulled a rope attached to the friction primer, creating a spark. The spark ignited the powder and fired the gun. The Confederates planned to turn Battery C's guns on the Union forces, but the 33rd Missouri foiled their plans. Before retreating they spiked the guns-hammering files into the vents and breaking them off. They also took the friction primers., The 33rd Suffers Heavy Losses , After leaving Helena, the 33rd Missouri participated in the Red River Campaign, Price's Missouri campaign, and the Battle of Nashville. But nowhere were they as hotly engaged as here. During the war, the regiment lost four officers and fifty-two enlisted men killed and mortally wounded. It suffered thirty of those casualties at the Battle of Helena., [Comment inset] , The Guns at Battery C , Orderly Sergeant Henry S. Carroll, 33rd Missouri, gave us the only clue about the guns here, writing that the regiment's two companies "were protected by some earthworks in which were planted two brass field pieces." This is a reproduction non-firing six-pounder field piece., [Photo captions] , Middle: An unidentified member of the 33rd Missouri Infantry (U.S.) , Bottom right: Battery C would have looked much like the battery above, though it only had two guns.