Old Val Verde - Mexia, TX
Posted by: WalksfarTX
N 31° 37.942 W 096° 33.618
14R E 731389 N 3502271
On display at the Old Confederate Reunion Grounds in Mexia.
Waymark Code: WM1100C
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 07/20/2019
Views: 1
Once a Texas State Park the Reunion Grounds are now operated by the Texas Historical Commission.
Plaque Text:
"This three-inch ordnance rifle, named the 'Old Val Verde' cannon by the Confederate veterans, became a symbol that connected Texas veterans to their Southern identity and the Lost Cause movement, which sought to bolster camaraderie among Southern veterans and restore the honor of the fallen Confederate soldier.
Confederate troops captured the cannon at the Battle of Mansfield, Louisiana, in April 1864. The cannon campaigned with the Val Verde Battery until 1865 when the Texas artillery unit surrendered at the end of the Civil War. But rather than surrender their cannons to the Federal troops, the Texas soldiers dismantled them and buried the metal firing tubes at Fairfield, Texas.
This artillery piece was the latest in weapons technology in 1860. It fired a shell that weighed about eight pounds. The spiral grooves in the barrel called rifling, that spun the projectile through the air for greater distance and accuracy than a cannonball.
By 1885, the 'Old Val Verde' had been recovered and placed on a carriage built by the veterans. Today, the historic firing tube has been conserved and sits on a metal reproduction carriage."