New Market Battlefield Cannon
N 38° 39.974 W 078° 39.967
17S E 703053 N 4282323
The two different types of cannon used in the Civil War, the muzzleloader and breechloader, are on display at the New Market Battlefield State Historical Park in Virginia.
Waymark Code: WMBJH1
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 05/26/2011
Views: 2
Two cannon are mounted on either side of the battlefield
marker at the
New Market Battlefield -- a breechloader and a muzzleloader.
The muzzleloader which is loaded through its muzzle or barrel, was more popular on Civil War battlefields than the breechloader which is loaded through a chamber at the back. The breechloader proved to be less reliable and awkward.¹
A plaque near the breechloader reads:
BREECHLOADER
H. F. Mann, inventor, November 1861
Cast 1862 by Singer-Minnich, Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, Iron Foundry.
A plaque near the muzzleloader reads:
MUZZLELOADER
James M. Whitmore, Government Ordnance Inspector
Gun number 190 in production line.
Phoenix Iron Company, 1862
Weight 817 lbs.
¹ Weapons of the American Civil War