THE CIVIL WAR
ARTILLERY PAGE

Cannon Markings

This schematic may also be useful for identifying the placement of markings described below. (From Dean S. Thomas, Cannons: An Introduction to Civil War Artillery)

Cutaway diagram of a cannon
a - knob
b - neck
c - vent
d - trunnion
e - muzzle swell
f - muzzle face		 g - muzzle
h - rimbase
i - cascable
j - breech
k - chamber
l - bore


[NOTE: The following information appears as Appendix I in the new artillery book, The Big Guns: Civil War Siege, Seacoast and Naval Cannon, by Edwin Olmstead, Wayne E. Stark and Spencer C. Tucker. It is reproduced with the express permission of the publisher and holder of the copyright, Museum Restoration Service. For information about this book and/or how to order a copy, e-mail author Wayne Stark at starkgun@usaor.net, or write him at 213 Woodcroft Road, Baden, PA, 15005.]

These guidelines will aid novice mark readers to locate the majority of legible markings on most surviving American cannon. Many exceptions to the information provided here will be encountered, especially on early cannon and those produced by other than established gun foundries, both Union and Confederate.

U.S. Army and Navy Cannon Before 1820
Markings, when present at all, are often found on the upper breech, base ring, or first reinforce. They are usually not found on muzzle or trunnion faces. Early cannon lack some of the markings later required by regulations of both services: foundry designation, Registry number, weight, year of manufacture, inspector's initials, and foundry number.

U.S. Army Cannon, 1820-1860
The Army Registry number and initials of the individual inspecting are located on the muzzle face, their positions varying by foundry and Pattern year. The year of manufacture and foundry identification appear on the left and right trunnion faces, respectively. The weight, in pounds, is marked on the breech, either above or below the knob. "U.S." usually appears on the tube top between the trunnions. Circa 1850, foundry numbers were located on the rimbase above the right trunnion.

West Point Foundry's own internal foundry numbers are depicted by roman numerals crudely cut into one side of knobs on cannon cast as early as 1826. Arabic numbers on top of the knob replaced them by 1844. During the 1850s, foundry numbers are often found on both knob and right rimbase.

Tredegar Foundry's internal foundry numbers are often found on the upper muzzle face of Army cannon produced at least through 1846. By 1858, they are usually located on the right rimbase.

On some iron fieldpieces, evidently made for state militia during the 1820s and 1830s, markings are either absent or, when present, reflect no system at all.

U.S. Army Cannon, 1861-1885
Some carryover from earlier mark locations will be found on cannon produced for Army Ordnance early in 1861. These pre-1861 mark locations were also frequently retained on cannon produced in small quantities or for various states. Most often, foundry identification, Registry number, year of manufacture, inspector's initials, and weight are on the muzzle face. The foundry number is on the right rimbase, and "U.S." is on top of the tube between the trunnions. While specific to Parrott rifles, Table 8.2 on page 116 can be used as a guide to potential mark locations on any cannon.

U.S. Navy Cannon, 1820-1871
Most U.S. Navy cannon have the founder's identity, Registry number, and weight marked on the base ring or, on those lacking one, along the base line behind the vent. The initials of the officer inspecting are found on the left trunnion, usually beneath a "P" for "Proofed." The year of manufacture is found on the right trunnion, frequently below the cannon's bore size designation. Prior to 1855, the weight is usually marked using the British hundredweight system; after 1855 it is expressed in pounds. A plain anchor is found on the tube top between or behind the trunnions of most iron Navy cannon dated after 1840. A fouled anchor and other identifying markings are found on top of the tube behind the trunnions and on the upper breech of Dahlgren boat howitzers.

Unlike U.S. Army cannon, those for the Navy normally have no markings on muzzle faces. There are three exceptions: 1. "WATER CORE" on the muzzle faces of some large Parrott rifles indicates casting by Rodman's process; 2. Tredegar usually marked its foundry number on the upper muzzle face of Navy cannon it cast prior to the Civil War; 3. Most bronze Dahlgren boat howitzers cast at USNY Washington have one or two letters on the lower muzzle face representing their internal "foundry numbers."

Confederate Cannon
No known Confederate army or navy regulation specified the marking of cannon. Therefore, Confederate foundry marking practices were inconsistent. Registry numbers were not always assigned or required. Bronze Napoleons cast by Augusta, Columbus, and Macon Arsenals have nearly all markings on muzzle faces, including Registry numbers, much like the U.S. Army during and after the Civil War. Cannon made by Leeds, Reading, Tredegar, and some others generally reflect pre-Civil War Army marking practice. Other than the three arsenals mentioned, however, none consistently assigned Registry numbers differing from its own internal foundry numbers. With the exception of some Brooke rifles bearing their own series of Registry numbers, a fourdigit foundry number on the upper muzzle face served as the identification number of cannon cast by Tredegar. Many surviving cannon tubes, considered to be authentic and of Confederate origin, bear no markings.

The Confederate navy, mostly represented by Brooke rifles and smoothbores, had no specific marking system of its own although its cannon are adequately, if inconsistently, marked.

Post-Civil War U.S. Arsenal arabic inventory numbers are frequently found on or near the breech, base ring, base line, or knob of Confederate cannon. Roman numerals usually relate to references in capture reports.

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