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 firstContinue reading “How to Raise a 25-Ton Cannon: Elevation System for Rodman Guns”