Arms Across the Atlantic: The Faux Blakely Rifles and their North Carolina Connection
Author(s): Lawrence Babits; Peter Norris; Gregory Stratton
Year: 2013
Summary
A cannon used by North Carolina Confederates was captured by the Union navy during the Civil War and placed as a trophy in Washington, DC. In 1973, a similar cannon was recovered from the Roanoke River below Fort Branch, a Confederate fortification blocking upstream navigation. The production identification numbers (136, 138) suggested they came from the same shipment. Their initial identification as Blakely rifled cannon is challenged here by connecting the two guns to specifications for cannon shipped by the Liverpool firm, Fawcett, Preston and Company, which manufactured their own cannon as well as those patented by Blakely. In conducting research, the issue was resolved and a probable archaeological signature for projectiles fired in cannon manufacturedby the Liverpool firm has been identified.
Cite this Record
Arms Across the Atlantic: The Faux Blakely Rifles and their North Carolina Connection. Lawrence Babits, Peter Norris, Gregory Stratton. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, Leicester, England, U.K. 2013 ( tDAR id: 428272)
This Resource is Part of the Following Collections
Keywords
General
Cannon
•
Cvil War
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Liverpool
Geographic Keywords
North America
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United States of America
Temporal Keywords
1861-1865
Spatial Coverage
min long: -129.199; min lat: 24.495 ; max long: -66.973; max lat: 49.359 ;
Individual & Institutional Roles
Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology
Record Identifiers
PaperId(s): 333