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Title:	CANNON -  FRENCH CANNON 4 PDR.
Maker/Manufacturer:	BERENGER
Date of Manufacture:	C 1758
Eminent Figure:
Catalog Number:	SPAR 1709
Measurements:	OL: 64"

Object Description:

FRENCH CANNON 4 PDR.
Manufactured by Berenger, Strasbourg, France - Light French 4 Pdr. bronze gun tube of the so-called Swedish or Marshal Saxe pattern. This piece has been bored up slightly to an English 6 Pdr. size, possibly during the War of 1812. Tube measures 56" from breech ring to muzzle and the overall length is 64". The chace is decorated in relief with: La Perilleuse/Ultima Ratio Regum/the sunburst of King Louis. The first reinforce has in relief: Nec Pluribus Impar/a sunburst/and a French stand of arms. Two ornate dolphins (handles) are located the balance. The breech ring is marked: A Strasbourg Par J. Berenger 1758. The right trunnion is marked: P.605, the left trunnion: No. 82. In good condition - was painted black at one time, but was sandblasted by Army - now has "sandblast finish." Trunnions have iron sleeves to fit carriage. Cannon weighs approximately 1,265 lbs. Two-hundred of these were purchased from France during the Revolution, most, if not all. passing through Springfield. This gun and its carriage (SPAR-1710) sat in front of Armory Administration Building (Bldg.# 19) for many years.

Markings:
Chace: Decorated in relief with LA PERILLEUSE/ULTIMA RATIO REGUM/sunburst of King Louis.
First reinforce: NEC PLURIBUS IMPAR/sunburst/French stand of arms.
Breech ring: A STRASBOURG PAR J BERENGER 1758.
Right trunnion: P.605
Left trunnion: No. 82
Handles: Dolphins.

Many of the pictures on this catalog card were taken at the 2004 & 2006 Historic Weapons Course held at Camp Blanding, Florida. The National Park Service holds this course every two years and it is considered by many to be the finest course of instruction given in the NPS. The course is admistered and led by Rick Martin of Vicksburg National Military Park and John Sutton of Wilson's Creek National Battlefield. The Washington representive who keeps the money flowing is Sandy Weber. Instructors include Cathy Beeler, Jimmy Blankenship, Joe Brehm, Joe Craig, George Elmore, Galen Ewing, Ron W. Gimmillaro, Ove Jensen, Jim Lewis, Craig Morris, Eric Olsen, Ed Sanders. The course is hosted by Ticmucuan Ecological Historic Preserve. Park Ranger "Colonel" Craig Morris of Ticmucuan is to be thanked for the great job he does in handling all the logistics and giving the NPS a first class training facility. Most of the pictures here from Florida were taken by Darryl Gillette of the Oneida Indian Nation. We thank Darryl, Dan Umstead, and Nate George as well as all the members of the Oneida Indian Nation for all the support they have given the Springfield Armory.
Many other pictures have been submitted by National Parks around the country the Springfield Armory.

Notes: Springfield Republican, 10/25/1881 - "WARLIKE CURIOSITIES AT THE ARMORY. The armory has been enriched from time to time with specimens of various weapons and the collection is now very interesting though the government regulations prevent all but the favored few from seeing it. In the open park in the center of the grounds, however, is an old cannon, a reminder of the days before the purchase of Louisiana from the French. It is a bronze 4-inch gun of graceful shape and admirable proportions, and dented as though it has been well peppered some time. It has the warlike motto 'Ultima ratio regum' - the last argument of kings, and was probably made in 1756 at Strasbourg. There are a pair of raised dolphins, finely modeled, over the trunnions, and other representations and inscriptions decorate the piece."

Springfield Daily News, 06/17/1948 - "ARMORY GUN IS FOUND RARE AS PAINT REMOVED - Lt. Col. Wiard Finds Cannon Bronze 1758 from Alsace - It is seldom that a man with a penknife does anything constructive but Lt. Col. Seth Wiard, stationed at Springfield Armory, became one of the exceptions recently when he scratched the surface and found a treasure.
In this case his scratch was through a heavy coat of black paint covering a cannon, which has stood in front of the administration building on the Armory grounds for many years. He found a glitter beneath the paint, scraped aExcited over the find, he reported to Col. Morris K. Barroll and the two men supervised the dipping of the heavy piece into a paint remover solution. It was then burnished and lacquered against the elements.
With almost engraving clear designs the bronze casting has legend and designs intricately spun over the barrel. Dolphins form handles and there is the face of a woman casting off rays, supposedly sunshine.
Lettering shows the casting was made in Strassbourg, Alsace in 1758, years before the American Revolution.
Because of the dolphins, it is believed the cannon was manufactured for naval use, but Col. Barroll and Lt. Col. Wiard are now engaged in some private research to get all the facts behind the piece.
The public will benefit from the scratch of a penknife too because the article is much more interesting than before."

Caption with newspaper photo - "ARMORY CANNON FOUND RARE PIECE - Col. Morris K. Barroll, commanding officer at the Springfield Armory, is pictured with the old Armory cannon that has been given a 'new look' through the simple procedure of clearing off a heaving coating of black paint that marred its beauty. The cannon, cast in 1758, is of bronze, with copper touchhole, and its beauty and worth was discovered by Lt. Col. Seth Wiard, who investigated with a penknife. It stands at the entrance to the administrative building."

Notes: FRENCH ARTILLERY - Second in influence on American artillery history came the French. There were fewer French cannon in the fortresses that stood in what is now the United States, but American artillerymen received French guns during the Revolution, and in the next century the United States adopted the great French Gribeauval artillery system that first appeared during this period.
At the beginning of the period French artillery was completely heterogeneous. There were no standards whatsoever, and each founder or artillery official continued to cast cannon according to whatever pattern he felt best. Most guns intended for field use were brass. Fortress guns might be either brass or iron. Generally all were long pieces in proportion to their bore, and the brass ones were beautifully decorated with sculptured handles called dolphins for use in mounting and dismounting the piece, foliate cascabel buttons, a foliate band near the muzzle, often a scroll bearing the name of the gun itself, and various arms, frequently including the royal arms on the first reinforce.
The Valliere System - The confusion of designs and calibers was such that orderly artillerists longed for an end to it. When one of their number, General Valliere, was appointed by the King to take charge of all French artillery he quickly began to bring order to the jumble of ordnance material. In 1732 he standardized French gun calibers as 4-, 8-, 12-, 16-, and 24-pounders, and added 8- and 12-inch mortars plus a 16-inch stone-throwing mortar. He specified lengths, proportions, and weights for each and even decreed the methods of manufacture. Going still further, he described the decorative details that should appear on the barrel. All guns of the same caliber were to be alike regardless of function. The was no distinction between field, siege and garrison service.
The result was a series of handsome guns as well as standardized models. All Valliere guns were brass, and they were long and slender. They ranged from 20 caliber long for a 24-pounder to 25-calibers for a 4-pounder, and for figuring proportions, this length was broken into seven equal parts. The first reinforce took two of these parts, the second reinforce one part, and the chase the remaining four. The trunnions were located at the front end of the second reinforce, and what is more, they were to be one caliber long and one caliber in diameter and centered on the low line of the bore.
The decoration was to be functional as well as ornamental. Most notable for their dual roles were the breech faces and cascabel buttons. Each caliber usually had a different designfirst reinforce, came the royal arms surmounted by a sunburst and the motto 'Nec Pluribus Impan' - Not Unequal to Many. This has been the device and motto of Louis XIV, and it was a rather backward way of saying that the king by himself was equal to many others.
Interestingly enough, Valliere recognized no howitzers among his official artillery pieces. Perhaps this was because the French had not yet adopted the technique of placing the shell in the tube with the fuze turned away from the powder charge and allowing the flash from the charge to ignite it. With their mortars they still lit the fuze separately before applying the match to the vent to fire the piece. This was called firing at two strokes, and it was a dangerous practice. Nevertheless it was almost 1750 before the French began to 'fire at one stroke' and let the flash from the charge ignite the shell fuze. Despite their lack of official recognition, however, some howitzers did appear in France and find employments by artillerymen. Since these were irregular pieces, there was no standardized size of design, but the 8-inch bore seems to have been the most popular.
Valliere did an excellent job as far as he went. The difficulty was that he stopped with the standardization of gun and mortar tubes. Carriages and beds were left to the inclinations of the various manufacturers, with the result that there were variations from one department of France to another. And there was absolutely no uniformity in the wagons and other rolling stock that supported the guns. One of the few unifying characteristics of Valliere carriages and rolling stock was their color. All were to be painted a deep red.
In all of this discussion of French artillery materiel, it might be mentioned that the French inch was slightly longer than the American inch and that the French livre, which is translated as pound actually weighed a bit more than the English or American pound. Thus their pieces were a little larger that their designations might indicate. In fact, the French 8-pounder was almost exactly equal to the English 9-pounder." - Peterson

"...In fact, the survival of these ordnance establishments, whose authority extended from the manufacture, testing, and servicing of the cannon themselves to the education and training of their crews, was generally based on the direct patronage of the monarch. When Louis XIV had his cannon inscribed with the motto Ultima Ratio Regis (the last argument of the King), he probably meant it literally. For the special relationship between the prince and his artillery was based on important practical considerations. If infantry was the focal point of battle, it was cannon which were considered to be the most lethal individually. As such, they were hoarded by monarchs, prized as a symbols of power." - O'Connell

"The devilish invention of artillery enables a base cowardly hand to take the life of the bravest gentleman....A chance bullet, coming nobody knows how or from whence, fired perchance by one that fled affrighted at the very flash of his villainous piece, may in a moment put a period to the vastest designs...." - Cervantes

References:
O'Connell, Robert L. OF ARMS AND MEN: A HISTORY OF WAR, WEAPONS, AND AGGRESSION. Oxford University Press. N.Peterson, Harold L. ROUND SHOT AND RAMMERS. Stackpole Books. Harrisburg, Pa. 1969.