Featured French cannons held a secret

When we cleaned the thick old paint and rust from a pair of French cannons a few days ago, we noticed on top of both the unmistakeable British "broad arrow" military property mark. Looking further, we also found British-style weight markings, and sighting marks only known to have been engraved on 18th-19th C. British cannons. We had positively ID'd the two 7-foot, 1700-lb. cannons as French Navy model 1786 "short 6-pounders" using the original French drawings copied at the US National Archives. Therefore these are actually captured and re-used weapons.

Of hundreds of cannons we've owned, these are only the 3rd and 4th pieces which have been marked to show capture or surrender. The only French markings remaining on the two pieces were sets of two initials on the ends of each trunnion, showing that one cannon was cast at Ruelle and the other at Nevers, two French foundries formerly engaged in production of iron cannons for the French Navy.

We know the British under Admiral Nelson captured no fewer than 750 cannons from the French at the Battle of The Nile in 1798, and it is possible that these came into British possession at that time. It is a bit unusual that the British took the time to re-work these two cannons for their own use. Usually captured cannons would be scrapped, or if they happened to be extaordinary specimens, put in museums or on monuments. The cannons were among excess property recently sold by Fort Ticonderoga, NY, so future research will include answering the question of how these cannons got there.












https://springfieldarsenal.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/img_1461-e1448507600474.jpg

 

What an amazing journey they've been on!

 

Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm>>>>>>>>>>>>
~
WOW!!!!

 

The British captured a number of French ships of the line in the Napoleonic Wars, and any number of smaller vessels where these light cannon were likely to be found, French privateers or small naval communications craft for example.

Very often, due to superior hull design these ships were simply transferred to continue service in the Royal Navy, usually under the same name as they had in the French service. If possible they would not be completely refitted, with new guns anyway.

If the ships were not pressed into naval service they would be sold off to anyone with the cash to buy them.

If they remained in naval service, as the marks seem to indicate, they would have been in small craft. Capture in the war of 1812 might account for their presence in NY state.

Unliike later practice where a ship would have an array of different calibre weapons from 12 inch main armament to .50 caliber machine guns, ships of the 1800 period usually had a small range of similar cannon, long guns on the lower gundecks, carronades on the weather deck, often some smaller caliber bow and stern chasers. 3 different size balls would suffice for all.

I doubt if even a frigate would have anything as small as a six-pounder, though I suppose it is possible. If you check the armament of a typical brig or even a large cutter of the period, you may find this type of cannon.

There is the possibility of military surplus sales after the conclusion of the war in 1815 where such odd and really unwanted weapons were sold off to merchantmen, ships that may have later foundered or been scrapped and sold in America.

I'd say the last possibility is the most likely, the things simply traded their way to the USA.

 

If only they could talk......they'd likely have quite the tale to tell.....
good luck on your detective work !

 

Im not a weapons or military person,but I always find your posts so interesting, Spring .

 

There used to be some guns called "hog legs", or that was a slang term...so these would be "frog legs"? (ribbit)

 

I would really like to keep up on this especially with the potential for an 1812 NY/NJ connection!

 

Oh no.....
-
Western six shooters were/referred to as hog legs. Make sense?

 

Well then maybe the imported, French-made Lefaucheux pinfire revolvers could be called frog legs.

 

I guess they're too late to be from Quebec.

Long time ago, I was asking about a print showing English ships with French in tow:
https://www.antiquers.com/threads/m...ic-wars-british-w-captured-french-ships.2823/

 

Just uploaded a video about the two cannons

 

That was great! Thank you!!!

 

Very cool!

 

A very captivating post! I've recently purchased a very similar Ruelle gun from Portsmouth, England. Could you recommend anywhere that I could source some copies of the French paperwork that you referenced?
I'd be very interested to find out a little more about the piece.
All the best, Julian.