A 2018 post on another forum--one dedicated to the 1836 Alamo and so on--has this addition from "Jim J" as in Jim Jobling from Texas A&M:
http://www.johnwayne-thealamo.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=845&start=440
From the post:
"
4 PDR (pounder), an
Armstrong pattern from the
mid- 18th Century, a light-weight commercial cannon with no markings visible, made for the merchant shipping market as an insurance gun. Missing the trunnions and cascabel, with the muzzle blocked with oversize stones wedged-in. On cleaning the barrel, we discovered the bore filled with dirt, and a 3 lb. cannon ball at the breech end – Mmm, wonder who handled that one last! This cannon was part of the Maverick 1852 Cache, and rediscovered on 1908 at the location of the Gibbs building (cnr. Alamo & E. Houston St.)
6 PDR, this cannon was
not at the Battle of the Alamo, and was a later donation from the Spohn family. Commonly called the 1842 Rio Grande cannon, the name is an enigma to me as the date is not significant in any way! The cannon was brought to Texas in the mid 1830’s, by Henry Redmond from England, and was located at
a stockade near Carizo / Zapata in 1839, now under the Falcon Reservoir. The gun is in good condition, with all trunnions and cascabel being present, with a maker’s mark. The cannon is a short Armstrong pattern 6 pdr, made for the commercial market, before 1790. The “B” on the trunnion indicates that it was made at the
Bersham Foundry, near Wrexham in North Wales, UK. The gun-founder was John Wilkinson, who ceased production in 1790. The cannon was cast solid, and then bored out - therefore made after 1773.
¾ pdr swivel gun, this gun is in very poor condition, missing the trunnions and cascabel. There are no markings. She is
most likely English made, from the
2nd half of 18th Century. Swivel guns were very common in the Navy and Merchant Service, and were used as an anti-personnel weapon until the advent of the carronade. They fired solid shot and / or small grape. It was found buried in Elizabeth Fry’s yard, circa 1890, about 500’ east from the 1852 Maverick cache and just north of the Alamo. There was
a second one found at the same time, but that one was unfortunately
blown up during a July 4th firing celebration years ago! The Spanish refer to them as
Esmerils.
3 PDR, this cannon is in very poor condition, missing the trunnions and cascabel. There are no markings. Stylistically, this gun is
Swedish and made in the 2nd quarter of the 18th Century. She is a light-weight commercial cannon made for the export market and generally used on small merchant sailing vessels. A number of cannon from the French Fort in Natchitoches (LA), were brought to San Antonio in 1793. This is one of the cannon from the 1852 Maverick cache.
3 PDR, another cannon in very poor condition, missing the trunnions and cascabel - no markings. The keyhole vent and muzzle swell is
a French design, from the mid 18th Century. These design elements were also used by the Swedish Foundries, in the 3rd quarter 18th Century. This could be another one of the French cannon from Natchitoches (1763), and brought to the Alamo in 1793. This cannon was also from the 1852 Maverick cache.
12 PDR, the
gunnade is missing one trunnion and the cascabel, and has no markings. She was
brought to Texas in October 1835, by the New Orleans Grays. The gun was at Bexar, and arrived at the Alamo in November 1835. This cannon is one of the guns found at the Gibbs building in 1908, and donated to the Alamo by the Maverick family.
4 PDR, this gun was
not at the Battle in 1836. She is m
ost likely a Confederate cannon, made at a foundry unfamiliar with making large castings, and poorly finished. She was found to the south of the Alamo, buried 7’ underground, where there had been a Confederate fortification / encampment.
16 PDR, another cannon in poor condition, with the trunnions and cascabel broken off, the vent spiked with a nail, and no visible markings. There are a few distinctive features, the wide breech band and a bell curve going down to the missing cascabel, and the muzzle with a prominent square / straight projection. These two features are a
French design from the Saint Gervais Foundry, from the early 1700’s. The cannon is relatively short and very light for a 16 pdr (94” & 2,240 lbs.), the size actually reflects that of a 9 or a small 12 pdr cannon. It was most likely re-bored (to a larger diameter), and was originally a lightweight commercial cannon. This is what gunners referred to as a “lively” cannon, in that it was lightweight and recoiled violently from the firing – less iron to absorb the recoil shock. This cannon was one of five guns recovered from a wreck in Matagorda Bay (Ellen Tooker ?), in 1817, that originally came from (“merchants in” ?) New York. The cannon is one of the guns found by Sam Maverick in 1852, and was later recovered from the Gibbs building in 1908.
A few facts here – an 18 pdr cannon has a bore diameter of about 5.29 – 5.3”. American and British 18 pdr’s are generally the same size, the Americans carried on the known establishment – in regards to the bore. The cannon currently at the Alamo is actually 5.19”, which would be an undersize 18 pdr or an over size 16pdr in respect to bore diameters. On the other hand, it could be a worn out 16 pdr cannon. Now, when one looks at the actual size of a regular 18 pdr cannon, you are talking about 10’ in length and potentially 3,600 lbs. The 16 pdr at the Alamo is ~ 94” long, and weighs 2,240 lbs, which would be very small for an 18 pdr. Now, it is feasible that a smaller cannon (9 or 12 pdr) was bored out to a larger diameter, so that it could fire shells with a smaller propellant charge – but cause more damage. I know that the Mexicans were firing explosive shells, but did the Texans have any at the Alamo . . .
There is also
a small bronze 4 pdr cannon, which I will write about at a later date. I will use the excuse, that I do not have my notes with me . . .
And now for the rest of the story. The
two cannon at La Villita, in San Antonio, used to belong to the City. They
were at the Battle in 1836, and ended up being owned by the City – I do not know the details but do know that the provenience is good. When asked about the cannon recently, the City generously agreed to donate them to the Alamo Museum for display. They are now at the Lab being cleaned, and will shortly be returned to the Alamo.
Another cannon is privately owned, and is on display at the Briscoe Western Art Museum, in San Antonio. The owner has recently also agreed to have the cannon cleaned and conserved at the Lab, and sent to the Alamo for display. All three of these cannon are 9 PDR’s, about 91” long and weighing over a ton. They are all in poor condition, missing the trunnions and the cascabel. These three cannon are
also from the wreck in Matagorda Bay. These guns are only ~3” shorter than the 16 pdr at the Alamo, but with a bore of 4.2”.
The cannon are currently displayed vertically (muzzle down), so as to not collect water / debris in the bore.
The plan is that the cannon will be eventually displayed on replica (authentic!) carriages, the details of which are currently being worked out. We have cannon that were originally at the French forts in Louisiana – French field carriages (?), we have British cannon that could be on British / American field carriages, we have cannon that were used by the Mexicans with potentially Spanish influenced field carriages . . . and then we have an Alamo defender / carpenter who gets told to remount the extra artillery – and makes do with what he has on hand! All the same, we would like to have a replica carriage that looks good, and is definitely not out of place.
We are also actively researching what happened to the other cannon. We know that one / two bronze gun(s) was / were melted down, and made into a church bell and some smaller replica guns. The Mexicans took another three bronze cannon with them, when they left Texas. Some were lost in the cast iron drives of the two World Wars, and others . . . we will see. The two guns at the Stockyards in Fort Worth, a 4 & 6 pdr, have to have their provenience checked out again. There are gaps in the story, and too much does not necessarily add up. There were a lot of cannon in Texas in the mid 1800’s, some of which were made in the mid 1700’s, but they were not all at the Alamo!"
So there you have it!
