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how do you squib a muzzle loading cannon??? Or is it a breach loader?
how do you squib a muzzle loading cannon??? Or is it a breach loader?
there are a feww interesting cannons around there with battle damage. think theres another 1-2 burst tubes in visitors center. only breech loading guns at gettysburg were on oak hill, which there are a few of there today.
thios is by far favorite gun that was at the battle of gettysburg (most guns on battlefield though original prob were not at the real battle)
is on display at RI statehouse
if in gettysburg not only visit the park, but look at the buildings in town. see alot with traces of battle still present.
Thread revival, I was just at Gettysburg on Saturday. Quite an unbelievable place, I walked the battlefield from one end to the other for 7 hours, amazing. But, I saw this fact:
After the battle 37,574 rifles laying on the battlefield were collected.
• 24,000 were still loaded
• 6,000 had one round in the barrel
• 12,000 had two rounds in the barrel
• 6,000 had three to ten rounds in the barrel
The weapons with multiple rounds had probably been loaded but not “capped,” meaning when the trigger was pulled and the hammer struck there was nothing to ignite the powder. In the noise and excitement of the battle the soldier hadn’t noticed and kept reloading his gun. Had they remembered to cap their weapon after cramming half a dozen rounds in, it would have gone off like a bomb.
Almost half the rifles found would not have fired if loaded correctly.
At the Springfield Armory Museum, the curator there told me at a while back someone donated a musket from the Civil War to the museum. It had been a battle field pick up that lived in their closet for all those years and it was time for them to move it out. So, they make the arrangements and got the rifle to the museum. The first thing they do now is x-ray the barrel to see if there are any patches loaded in there. It beats using the ramrod. Sure enough, there were five patches in that one rifle, all perfectly sealed against the weather, too. As expected, that rifle had been dropped and then picked up and loaded and dropped again and again until it was finally quiet. He also told me that there have been restorers who were injured by a blast from the past because they didn't take the proper precautions to see if it was loaded.
About 10 years ago, no kidding, I picked up a Hawkins muzzle loader at a shop here in CT. I was looking for something to use as a teaching tool. It was a nice model and I grabbed the ramrod and shoved it into the barrel and guess what? The damned think was still loaded! I really got on the owner of the shop as this could have been a bad day for someone. He got it out just fine and dandy and gave me a really good price on it. True story.
We also have visited Gettysburg. I can HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you hire one of the personal docents who are usually at the main desk looking for customers. They will drive your car with you in it to the sites and give you a first hand account of what transpired. We were in awe.....literally, at our docent's grasp of the area and the battle details. Highly Recommend it.
Rome
True. Not one who has a lot of experience with these types of rifles, I was unaware of the technical difference between being charged and being loaded. Thanks for that clarification! PS I've been meaning to tell you that that's one smart avatar you've got there.
Just a point of order here. As it pertains to legal ramifications for muzzle loaders. A muzzle loading weapon with powder and projectile only is NOT loaded. It is charged. It only becomes loaded when a primer is seated or frizzen is primed.
There is a huge difference as it is legal to transport a muzzle loader in a vehicle with powder and projo seated and primer removed
If you get the opportunity to sit at the top of little round top as the sun sets , I highly recommend it.
It's a perfect time to reflect on what men where willing to endure for a cause.
As brutal as modern warfare can be, there were a hundred things you could die from other than bullets back then.
At the Springfield Armory Museum, the curator there told me at a while back someone donated a musket from the Civil War to the museum. It had been a battle field pick up that lived in their closet for all those years and it was time for them to move it out. So, they make the arrangements and got the rifle to the museum. The first thing they do now is x-ray the barrel to see if there are any patches loaded in there. It beats using the ramrod. Sure enough, there were five patches in that one rifle, all perfectly sealed against the weather, too. As expected, that rifle had been dropped and then picked up and loaded and dropped again and again until it was finally quiet. He also told me that there have been restorers who were injured by a blast from the past because they didn't take the proper precautions to see if it was loaded.
About 10 years ago, no kidding, I picked up a Hawkins muzzle loader at a shop here in CT. I was looking for something to use as a teaching tool. It was a nice model and I grabbed the ramrod and shoved it into the barrel and guess what? The damned think was still loaded! I really got on the owner of the shop as this could have been a bad day for someone. He got it out just fine and dandy and gave me a really good price on it. True story.
We also have visited Gettysburg. I can HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you hire one of the personal docents who are usually at the main desk looking for customers. They will drive your car with you in it to the sites and give you a first hand account of what transpired. We were in awe.....literally, at our docent's grasp of the area and the battle details. Highly Recommend it.
Rome
If you get the opportunity to sit at the top of little round top as the sun sets , I highly recommend it.
It's a perfect time to reflect on what men where willing to endure for a cause.
As brutal as modern warfare can be, there were a hundred things you could die from other than bullets back then.
It was awesome we did that the guy we had was fantastic
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Still cant even imagine what was going through some guys heads when the order for Pickett's charge was given. Like I gotta walk across that mile and a half of open ground. Hard pass on that captain
And knowing what was waiting for you at the other end too.
10,000 rifles and about 120 pieces of artillery stuffed with canister.