Picture of the day - May 5, 2006

Blast From A Civil War Era Cannon

Our granddaughter Olivia invited Cheria and me to accompany her on a school field trip to witness a re-enactment of a Civil War battle, and I must say it was a lot of fun. Attending were children from several local elementary schools as well as a good number of parents and grandparents. The morning started out with each class visiting several "stations" where various aspects of the Civil War were discussed. There was also plenty of show-and-tell featuring many genuine artifacts from the war. At the third station we visited, two very knowledgeable interpreters gave us a very interesting lecture on the role of artillery batteries during the "War Between The States". As you can see in today's picture, they demonstrated all of the steps required to aim, load and fire a 12 Pound Mountain Howitzer! A typical confederate army artillery battery consisted of four large artillery guns, each manned by a crew of eight soldiers. There were quite a number of men held in reserve as well, so the total roster of each battery was often in excess of 100 men. And they desperately needed those extra men because the average lifespan of a Civil War artillery soldier was a mere three weeks! It was quite a display seeing the two gentlemen at the artillery station doing all the jobs usually done by eight. They walked us through the steps required to aim and load the weapon, then they fired a blank round from the steel barrel. The ear-shattering "boom" could be heard for miles! After a short lunch break, all of the interpreters assembled to fight a mock battle between about a dozen Union soldiers and roughly the same number of Confederates. It was quite a show! I have always been interested in American history - and the Civil War in particular, so today's field trip was just as much fun for me as it was for the kids. Perhaps Olivia will ask us to join her for another one some time! Picture Of The Day Homepage | Submit a photo More Interesting Articles