Artillery Through the Ages Part 5

In 1740, Maritz of Switzerland made an outstanding contribution to the technique of ordnance manufacture. Instead of hollow casting (that is, forming the bore by casting the gun around a core), Maritz cast the gun solid, then drilled the bore, thus improving its uniformity. But although the bore might be drilled quite smooth, the outside of a cast-iron gun was always rough. Bronze cannon, however, could be put in the lathes to true up even the exterior. While after 1750 the foundries seldom turned out bronze pieces as ornate as the Renaissance culverins, a few decorations remained and many guns were still personalized with names in raised letters on the gun. Castillo de San Marcos has a 4-pounder "San Marcos," and, indeed, saints' names were not uncommon on Spanish ordnance. Other typical names were _El Espanto_ (The Terror), _El Destrozo_ (The Destroyer), _Generoso_ (Generous), _El Toro_ (The Bull), and _El Belicoso_ (The Quarrelsome One).

In some instances, decoration was useful. The French, for instance, at one time used different shapes of cascabels to denote certain calibers; and even a fancy cascabel shaped like a lion's head was always a handy place for anchoring breeching tackle or maneuvering lines. The dolphins or handles atop bronze guns were never merely ornaments. Usually they were at the balance point of the gun; tackle run through them and hooked to the big tripod or "gin" lifted the cannon from its carriage.

GARRISON AND s.h.i.+P GUNS

Cannon for permanent fortifications were of various sizes and calibers, depending upon the terrain that had to be defended. At Castillo de San Marcos, for instance, the strongest armament was on the water front; lighter guns were on the land sector, an area naturally protected by the difficult terrain existing in the colonial period.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 28--EIGHTEENTH CENTURY SPANISH GARRISON GUN.]

Before the Castillo was completed, guns were mounted only in the bastions or projecting corners of the fort. A 1683 inventory clearly shows that heaviest guns were in the San Agustin, or southeastern bastion, commanding not only the harbor and its entrance but the town of St. Augustine as well San Pablo, the northwestern bastion, overlooked the land approach to the Castillo and the town gate; and, though its armament was lighter, it was almost as numerous as that in San Agustin. Bastion San Pedro to the southwest was within the town limits, and its few light guns were a reserve for San Pablo. The watchtower bastion of San Carlos overlooked the northern marshland and the harbor; its armament was likewise small. The following list details the variety and location of the ordnance:

_Cannon mounted at Castillo de San Marcos in 1683_

Location No. Caliber Cla.s.s Metal Remarks

In the bastion of San Agustin 1 40-pounder Cannon Bronze Carriage battered.

1 18-pounder do do New carriage.

2 16-pounder do Iron Old carriages, wheels bad.

1 12-pounder do Bronze New carriage.

1 12-pounder do Iron do.

1 8-pounder do Bronze Old carriage.

1 7-pounder do Iron Carriage bad.

1 4-pounder do do New carriage.

1 3-pounder do Bronze do.

In the bastion of San Pablo 1 16-pounder Demicannon Iron Old carriage.

1 10-pounder Demiculverin Bronze do.

2 9-pounder Cannon Iron do.

1 7-pounder Demiculverin Bronze do.

1 7-pounder Cannon Iron Carriage bad.

1 5-pounder do do New carriage.

In the bastion of San Pedro 1 9-pounder Cannon Iron Old carriage.

2 7-pounder do do Carriage bad.

2 5-pounder do do do.

1 4-pounder do Bronze Old carriage.

In the bastion of San Carlos 1 10-pounder Cannon Iron Old carriage.

1 5-pounder do do New carriage.

1 5-pounder do Bronze Good carriage.

1 2-pounder do Iron New carriage.

The total number of Castillo guns in service at this date was 27, but there were close to a dozen unmounted pieces on hand, including a pair of pedreros. The armament was gradually increased to 70-odd guns as construction work on the fort made additional s.p.a.ce available, and as other factors warranted more ordnance. Below is a summary of Castillo armament through the years:

_Armament of Castillo de San Marcos, 1683-1834_

Kind 1683 1706 1740 1763 1765 1812 1834 of gun Iron Iron Iron Iron Iron Iron Iron Bronze Bronze Bronze Bronze Bronze Bronze Bronze

2-pounder 1 .. .. ** .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

3-pounder .. 1 .. ** 2 3 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

4-pounder 1 1 * ** 5 1 .. .. .. .. 1 .. .. ..

5-pounder 4 1 * ** 15 1 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

6-pounder .. .. * ** 5 .. .. .. .. 1 .. .. 3 ..

7-pounder 4 1 * ** 5 2 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

8-pounder .. 1 * ** 11 1 5 11 .. .. 1 .. .. ..

3-1/2 in.

carronade .. .. * ** .. .. .. .. .. .. 4 .. .. ..

9-pounder 3 .. * ** .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

10-pounder 1 1 * ** .. .. 6 .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

12-pounder 1 1 * ** .. .. 13 .. 7 .. 2 .. .. ..

15-pounder .. .. .. ** 6 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

16-pounder 3 .. .. ** .. .. 2 1 .. .. 8 .. .. ..

18-pounder .. 1 .. .. 4 1 7 .. .. .. .. .. 4 ..

24-pounder .. .. .. .. 2 .. 7 .. 32 .. 10 .. 5 ..

33-pounder .. .. .. .. .. 1 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

36-pounder .. .. .. 1 .. .. .. 1 .. .. .. .. .. ..

40-pounder .. 1 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

24-pounder field howitzer .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 2 2 6-in.

howitzer .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 2 .. 2 8-in.

howitzer .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 2 .. .. .. ..

Small mortar .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 18 .. 20 .. .. .. ..

6-in.

mortar .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1 .. 1 10-in.

mortar .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1 Large mortar .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 6 .. 1 .. .. .. ..

Stone mortar 2 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 3 .. ..

Total 20 9 26 9 55 10 40 37 39 24 26 8 14 6

Grand total 29 35 65 77 63 34 20

* 26 guns from 4- to 10-pounders

** 8 guns from 2- to 16-pounders

This tabulation reflects contemporary conditions quite clearly. The most serious invasions of Spanish Florida took place during the first half of the eighteenth century, precisely the time when the Castillo armament was strongest. While most of the guns were in battery condition, the table does have some pieces rated only fair and may also include a few unserviceables. Colonial isolation meant that ordnance often served longer than the normal 1,200-round life of an iron piece. A usual failure was the development of cracks around the vent or in the bore. Sometimes a muzzle blew off. The worst casualties of the 1702 siege came from the bursting of an iron 16-pounder which killed four and seriously wounded six men. At that period, incidentally, culverins were the only guns with the range to reach the harbor bar some 3,000 yards away.

Although when the Spanish left Florida to Britain in 1763 they took serviceable cannon with them, two guns at Castillo de San Marcos National Monument today appear to be seventeenth century Spanish pieces. Most of the 24- and 32-pounder garrison cannon, however, are English-founded, after the Armstrong specifications of the 1730's, and were part of the British armament during the 1760's. Amidst the general confusion and s.h.i.+pping troubles that attended the British evacuation in 1784, some ordnance seems to have been left behind, to remain part of the defenses until the cession to the United States in 1821.

The Castillo also has some interesting United States guns, including a pair of early 24-pounder iron field howitzers (c. 1777-1812). During the 1840's the United States modernized Castillo defenses by constructing a water battery in the moat behind the sea wall. Many of the guns for that battery are extant, including 8-inch Columbiads, 32-pounder cannon, 8-inch seacoast and garrison howitzers. St.

Augustine's Plaza even boasts a converted 32-pounder rifle.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 29--VAUBAN'S MARINE CARRIAGE (c. 1700).]

Garrison and s.h.i.+p carriages were far different from field, siege, and howitzer mounts, while mortar beds were in a separate cla.s.s entirely.

Basic proportions for the carriage were obtained by measuring (1) the distance from trunnion to base ring of the gun, (2) the diameter of the base ring, and (3) the diameter of the second reinforce ring. The result was a quadrilateral figure that served as a key in laying out the carriage to fit the gun. Cheeks, or side pieces, of the carriage were a caliber in thickness, so the bigger the gun, the more ma.s.sive the mount.

A 24-pounder cheek would be made of timber about 6 inches thick. The Spaniards often used mahogany. At Jamestown, in the early 1600's, Capt. John Smith reported the mounting of seven "great pieces of ordnance upon new carriages of cedar," and the French colonials also used this material. British specifications in the mid-eighteenth century called for cheeks and transoms of dry elm, which was very pliable and not likely to split; but some carriages were made of young oak, and oak was standard for United States garrison carriages until it was replaced by wrought-iron after the Civil War.