I was honored to be approached by the U.S. Army Ordnance Corps and School in Fort Lee, Virginia to to have one of my photographs displayed on the walls of the school. Installation is nearing completion; accent lighting to be added soon.
Watervliet Arsenal 1898 Cannon.
Here's a little about the cannon. Please feel free to comment or email with any corrections.
This a United States 3.2 Inch Gun - Model of 1897, manufactured in 1898.
The 3.2-inch Gun, Model of 1885, and Model of 1897:
These very similar early model field guns were the first modern guns adopted by the Army. They are of American design following the best European practice of the time. The differences between these guns are all in minor details of design and construction.One hundred of the Model of 1885 were built, and 262 of the Model of 1897. This gun took separate loading ammunition, and had no recoil absorbing mechanism. It gave good service in the Spanish-American War in both Cuba, and in the Philippines, and was the gun Captain Henry J. Reilly’s battery used to effectively in the Boxer Rebellion.
Considered obsolete in 1905, these guns were still in storage in the 1920's.”Reference:
U.S. Army Field Artillery Weapons, 1866-1918
Author: Konrad F. Scherier, Jr.
Journal: Military Collector & Historian
Publisher: Company of Military Historians
1968
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The 3.2-Inch Field Gun is a breech loader, weighing approximately, 830 pounds, intended for use in the field with troops moving rapidly.
The powder charge of this gun is smokeless powder contained in a bag of raw silk.
On the bottom of the bag is sewed a small disk containing about 1/4 ounce of black rifle powder - this is the priming charge which ignites the slower burning smokeless powder.
There are three kinds of projectiles used for this gun - shell which weighs 13 pounds, shrapnel which contains 162 one-half inch lead balls, and canister which contains 226 cast iron balls .625 inch in diameter.
Reference:
Ordnance Department Document No. 1660
Revised [Version] December 2, 1914
Handbook of the 3.2-Inch Field Battery
Washington, D.C.
Government Printing Office 1917This information is presented to give a casual viewer information on this gun.
The specifications of this weapon differ between sources and often contradict each other, mainly due to information of original manufacture and from later modifications/models.Thank you to Charles Bugajsky via Flickr for the gun information.
