6-Pounder Field Gun, Model of 1841, No. 144 - 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. If standing in front of the marker, the cannon to the left which points due east is a 6-Pounder Field Gun, Model of 1841. The 6-pounder was the smallest caliber cannon used in the War Between the States. My usual SOURCE for cannon documentation provided me with the following line of information (the same information I had trouble reading on the outer muzzle face) about this specific cannon:

Alger - Reg #144 - INSP BH - FDY #610 - YR 55 - WT 879 - S Confed Ave., from Shiloh NMP

Alger refers to the Cyrus Alger & Company, a foundry out of Boston, Massachusetts and the place where this gun was manufactured. Reg #144 is simply the registration number and the foundry's way of documenting and identifying each individual gun produced by their company. INSP BH refers to the military officer responsible for inspecting the final product to make sure it meets all standards. (More on the inspector below). FDY #610 represents the word Foundry and refers to the foundry's own internal control number. YR 55 is the year of manufacturing and WT 879 refers to the weight of the cannon or bronze tube which fired projectiles. As also indicated, this cannon is of course on South Confederate Avenue. Finally, it is my understanding this weapon was procured from Shiloh National Military Park. Finally, if standing to the rear of the cannon, I saw an inscription on the left trunnion (cylindrical protrusion used as a mounting and/or pivoting point - secures the cannon to the carriage) which reads C.A. & Co Boston. This stands for Cyrus Alger & Company, the aforementioned foundry out of Boston, Massachusetts. More information about the specifics of this weapon can be found HERE.

The Inspectors
I did some digging to find out who these inspectors were or at least learn their name. I found a decent site HERE which lists those responsible in the 19th century for inspecting the guns and cannons at the various foundries. The left cannon was inspected by BH. I believe BH was Benjamin Huger, an Confederate inspector of ordnance from 1862-1864. Another book I found had him working out of South Carolina (The National Almanac and Annual Record For The Year 1863, page 690). It is my understanding he was the Chief of Ordnance for that state. Another source has this fellow as an ordnance inspector out of Marshall, Texas so perhaps he moved around as needed. Finally, one last source reports BH as a Major Benjamin Huger, USA 1854-1858.

What type of artillery is this?: Cannon/Field Gun 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 Cost?: 0.00 (listed in local currency) Artillery is no longer operational: yes Still may work: no Are there any geocaches at this location?: many virtual caches abound Parking location to view this Waymark: 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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