Can anyone identify or date this cannon

[Joe hunter]

I’m not sure if anyone has kept track of my cannon search but I’m hoping i have enough pieces to Figure it out now. the length is 43in, if I laid it out correctly.
It has a 2in bore .I’m going to do my best to respond promptly to any questions.Thanks

 

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[ARC]

Alright then... I have sorta kicked back on this since the beginning... but now... to be honest since you first posted this I had reservations...
and to even be more honest... I back off from many of these and other "what is its" anymore and only pipe in when I feel it.

I have extensive knowledge in this area and a reference library at my disposal... and have been around cannon since I could walk... And I cannot "match" anything to your find.

And I have been hesitant to come right out and say it but... Your find carries with it several "red flags"... and I will now take the time to post these.


1. No markings - the lack of any "proof" marks is ALWAYS the first MAJOR red flag. (the other trunnion may have this but I doubt it... but was hopeful for I too am curious...and I think you should continue to look for it.)

2. Bore size - 2 inch is too small for both standard artillery for both Rev... Civil... Mexican and Indian and everything else carriage mounted.

3. Reinforcing rings - and lack thereof and the ONE that is apparent is inadequate and appears to be seamed from photo.

I will stop at these three but have even more but will leave it at that.


PS...

For all the naysayers thinking "this couldn't be a reproduction"... most of which made are the "lawn" cannon as I call em.

Which end up being just like this one after someone gets the bright idea to "try it". heh

Cannon repops have existed for eons.

 

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[ARC]

Oh it's not a repop. It's a most excellent find! Now my gut feeling says Rev War. The Americans had an awful problem with cannons blowing up in the field. Flawed iron. The only place in NY you MIGHT find an iron gun from the War of 1812 period would be around the Great Lakes or Plattsburg area.

Not Rev war... or any other war... This does not fit into any known artilleries.

 

[ARC]

I noticed no responses yet... SO... just to drive home what has really bothered me the most about your find Joe...

To date... IN museums... These are what FOUND failed and sabotaged cannon actually look like.

Notice anything ? ? ?

 

[ARC]

Now... there exists this one... which quite frankly is the picture that has kept me hanging on to your find in hopes.

But again... this is the designated as the most damage that has been recorded / example.

 

[Joe hunter]

I know there’s no makers marks,I also am having a hard time finding a carriage mounted gun of this size.There are many clues that say this was carriage mounted.It’s my belief that if it was intentionally destroyed it would have been taken off carriage.(if it was rushed it would have been spiked).I would also put it in a hole or something to prevent shrapnel from killing.The pieces are spread out in a way that screams that the barrel blew.
Also why would it be shabbily painted white for a decorative cannon (I think cammo)
I’ll post some more pics after a cup of joe .
I have a wagon wheel ring i feel was off the exploded carriage.

 

[Joe hunter]

I’m even more hopeful now after seeing you’re pics.The last one most of all

 

[Joe hunter]

I do and have appreciated all your responses AARC

 

[ARC]

I’m even more hopeful now after seeing you’re pics.The last one most of all

Listen man... I TOO am hopeful... I mean how cool it would be to nail this down as a real cannon... FIRST it would be rare in multiple ways... not to mention that fact it was found right around ya.

Coolness would be understatement.

 

[ARC]

Yours struck me when pieces began to "accumulate".

As you can see in the pics I posted... none of those are in "pieces"... errr or at least as many as yours is.

Yours is "obliterated". heh

I mean to the extreme... which really gave me that sense that something is amiss.

One being... IF this was real... this is not a "failure"... this is like... um... catastrophic beyond what even be remotely acceptable in the overall comp and design.

Hey... could have been a "tester"... but... to test what ? ? heh

 

[Joe hunter]

I agree it would take a pretty big failure to do such damage.The bolts are bent Or severed clean offsee how even some smaller shards have the same paint,And the smaller ones seem to be a long ways away.
The carriage wheel ring was closer to where the larger back pieces were.and I also found these other fragments that don’t seem cannon related but I still have no idea what they areThanks for looking.

 

[ARC]

Hey cool new photos... keep em coming.

Just stopped in for a minute... will actually look at pics later.

 

[GoDeep]

Are we sure it was "blown" apart? I imagine a cast cannon from that era (assuming its a couple hundred years old) filled with water and frozen could possibly fragment apart. Why it would be scattered about though, i can't say.

I see you have matching nuts. Have you measured them and do they vary in size among the "same" size nuts and side to side?

 

[unclemac]

couple of ideas, have the paint tested if possible, that could narrow down a date range, also, try to puzzle piece the odds and ends together as they may fit into something as well.

 

[unclemac]

search these....cannon repros...
https://www.google.com/search?q=Can...4Dw&bih=722&biw=1536&rlz=1C1SQJL_enUS844US844

one thing i notice is they do not seem do be "crude" looking...the hardware, the bolts and such. Your bolts seem pretty old in style and fit.

 

[Al D]

I know this may seem improbable, and I admit I know very little about cannon, but it looks to me like you may have found the site of an old blacksmith shop, because the damage to the bolts could not have happened from a cannon explosion, and as AARC has shown, such an event should have left the end of the cannon intact.
are there any indications that it was busted up by a sledge hammer? Being made into small pieces for melting?

 

[Anduril]

I'm not a cannon expert by any means.
That said, it is possible that this IS a reproduction, but one that is not intended to be fired and some know-nothing (like me?) tried to light it off anyway.
With predictable results?

AARC, nice reasoned analysis.
I hope you're wrong of course, but it's hard to disagree.

 

[Joe hunter]

Are we sure it was "blown" apart? I imagine a cast cannon from that era (assuming its a couple hundred years old) filled with water and frozen could possibly fragment apart. Why it would be scattered about though, i can't say.

I see you have matching nuts. Have you measured them and do they vary in size among the "same" size nuts and side to side?

I thought the back may have been split by freezing as they we’re only a few feet apart (the ball and two big back pieces)but there were no small fragments right there.
As for the bigger nuts one is 2in the other is about an inch and 3/4 I say about because none seem exactly the same.The small ones all vary as well.

 

[Joe hunter]

I know this may seem improbable, and I admit I know very little about cannon, but it looks to me like you may have found the site of an old blacksmith shop, because the damage to the bolts could not have happened from a cannon explosion, and as AARC has shown, such an event should have left the end of the cannon intact.
are there any indications that it was busted up by a sledge hammer? Being made into small pieces for melting?

Definitely not a black smith I know where they were around here.There’s no impact signs and these are scattered but sunk in the ground any where from 1 to 12 inches in depth.no structure has been here.Very good thought though I keep wondering why even if it did blow why wouldn’t it be recycled.(melted)

 

[Joe hunter]

couple of ideas, have the paint tested if possible, that could narrow down a date range, also, try to puzzle piece the odds and ends together as they may fit into something as well.

I’ve been puzzling like crazy and some of the pieces are heavy and love crushing and pinching fingers.

 

[Joe hunter]

I'm not a cannon expert by any means.
That said, it is possible that this IS a reproduction, but one that is not intended to be fired and some know-nothing (like me?) tried to light it off anyway.
With predictable results?

AARC, nice reasoned analysis.
I hope you're wrong of course, but it's hard to disagree.

I can’t say for sure that didn’t happen as we have lots of rowdy people around here.That being said I think( judging by what I have)this will weigh 250-300lbs and it’s up hill.Just a highly unlikely place to do it if you know the area.