How to Raise a 25-Ton Cannon: Elevation System for Rodman Guns

Yesterday I covered the mechanical operation of the elevating system on pre-Civil War columbiad gun carriages.  This type of elevating gear worked for columbiads, seacoast howitzers, and even a few Navy shell guns that entered service from the 1840s to the close of the 1850s.  Almost all Confederate columbiads used the system.  Even the first