12-Pounder Confederate Bronze Napoleon, Model of 1864, No. 95AF - Gettysburg, PA - Static Artillery Displays on Waymarking.com

There are hundreds of cannons at Gettysburg, many of them flanking monuments and markers. Such is the case with this artillery piece with one notable twist, the tablet describing the actions of Blount's Battery was removed several year ago. The erstwhile Blount's Tablet and accompanying cannons are on the left or east side of Southeast Confederate Avenue if traveling south, across from the Longstreet equestrian monument, exactly 109 feet away. There are intermittent cutouts along the road to pull over. Avoid parking on anything green or you will be ticketed by the park police. They almost got me. There is also a sizable parking lot where the equestrian statue is located. This lot is off of Confederate Avenue and a small, one-way side road will lead you to it. I visited this monument on Saturday, March 10, 2012 at 3:09 PM, just before the clocks were set ahead for the Spring. I was at a 573 foot ASL elevation.

The gun faces due east and the monument faces the west. The firing tube is no longer shiny but green as the bronze has long since oxidized. The carriage, wheels and other tube carrying mechanisms all look well tended to and in good shape sporting what appears to be fresh paint. My usual SOURCE for cannon documentation provided me with the following line of information (the same information I sometimes have trouble reading on the outer muzzle face) about this specific cannon:
Augusta - Reg #95AF - INSP GWR - YR 64 - WT 1236 - W. Confederate Ave.

Augusta refers to the Augusta Foundry (Govt Foundry & Machine Works) in Augusta GA and the place where this gun was manufactured. Reg #95AF is simply the registration number and the foundry's way of documenting and identifying each individual gun produced by their company. The AF which accompanies the number refers to Augusta Foundry. INSP GWR refers to the military officer responsible for inspecting the final product to make sure it meets all standards. After a heck of a lot of searching about these initials I discovered the following passage: George Washington Rains: Colonel commanding Augusta Arsenal, Augusta Powder Mills, and Augusta Foundry and Machine Works (q.v.). Initials "G.W.R." are generally coupled with "A.F." (Augusta Foundry). I would surmise then George Washington Rains surveyed all the weapons produced from the foundry and was in charge of quality control. SOURCE. YR 64 is the year of manufacturing and WT 1236 refers to the weight of the cannon or bronze tube which fired projectiles. Each weight of evey firing tube was unique to the weapon, like an individual's fingerprint. More information about the specifics of this weapon can be found HERE.

What type of artillery is this?: Cannon Where is this artillery located?: Monument grounds What military of the world used this device?: United States Army Date artillery was in use: 07/01/1863 Date artillery was placed on display: 07/01/1910 Artillery is no longer operational: yes Still may work: no Are there any geocaches at this location?: There are several virtual caches are close by the cannons. Parking location to view this Waymark: Not Listed Cost?: Not Listed

Visit Instructions:
Two pictures are required for this Waymark. Please take a close up picture of the artillery. Take a second with the artillery in the distance and capture as much of the surroundings as possible. Name the Waymark with first the name of the area and second what the artillery is. An example would be if it were a cannon in front of the Montgomery Armory you would name the Waymark: Montgomery Armory Cannon.

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