Part 5 (2/2)

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.

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