Buffalo, New York’s Front Park gets new Carriages for their 100-pounder Parrott Rifles

Delaware Park–Front Park System is a historic park system and national historic district located in the northern and western sections of Buffalo in Erie County, New York. The park system was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux and developed between 1868 and 1876.
Front Park (formerly The Front): A 32-acre (13 ha) park located at the beginning of the Niagara River and overlooking Lake Erie. The park is home to the U.S. entrance to the Peace Bridge, erected in 1927 on the site of the former Fort Porter, and includes baseball diamonds, large open playing fields, and tennis courts. The park contains a monument to Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry. The Picnic Shelter (ca. 1900) is a contributing structure. (more…)

Palo Alto Battlefield gets 4 new 6-Pounders

The war began as a result of Mexican efforts to besiege a U.S. army installation, “Fort Texas”, (Garrison: Major Brown with 7th Infantry, Capt. Loud’s Artillery Co. with four 18 pounders, & Lt. Bragg’s Light Artillery four guns) which the Mexicans viewed as having been built within the boundaries of Mexican Texas. General Zachary Taylor, receiving supplies from Port Isabel, heard the distant report of cannon fire. The Mexicans had begun to attack Fort Texas. Taylor gathered his troops and rushed to relieve the defenders of the fort but was intercepted by a Mexican force commanded by General Arista. Another Mexican force (1,540 men, including Artillery 14 Guns, Matamoros Natl. Guards Battalion, Mexico (Col. F. de Berra), Puebla (Col. Orihuella), & Morelia (Col. Urriza) Activos Battalions) under General Francisco Mejia were left behind at Fort Brown & Matamoros. (more…)

Boston National Historical Park Get New British 18-Pounder Cannon

The Boston National Historical Park is an association of sites that showcase Boston‘s role in the American Revolution. It was designated a national park on October 1, 1974. Seven of the eight sites are connected by the Freedom Trail, a walking tour of downtown Boston. (more…)

Private Collector Gets New All-Metal Gatling Gun Field Carriage, Model 1884

This “all-metal” field carriage was constructed by the Watervliet Arsenal during late 1884. It was designed for use with the Model 1883 Gatling Gun fitted for the Accles feed. As was the standard U.S. Army practice, Archibald wheels, with wooden spokes and felloes, were used. No provision was made for filling the Accles drums, a rather slow process. The carriage was designed by Lt. W.B. Gordon of the Ordnance Department. (more…)

Fort Smith at St Joseph, MO gets new 10-inch Siege Mortar on Iron Bed

Ft. Smith was erected in the early days of September 1861, as a Union fortification for several very important reasons. First, by mid-August 1861, the Confederacy was will on its way to gaining military control over the state of Missouri. On August 10, 1861, Confederate General Sterling Price achieved a major victory at the Battle of Wilson’s Creek, located outside Springfield, Missouri in the southwest corner of the state. Commanding Union General Nathaniel Lyon was killed during the engagement. Lyon would become the first Union general to be killed during the American Civil War. (more…)

Fort Donelson, Dover, TN Gets Reproduction 32-pounder Seacoast Gun

Fort Donelson
Location: Stewart County
Campaign: Federal Penetration up the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers (1862)
Date(s): February 11-16, 1862
Principal Commanders: Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Flag-Officer A.H. Foote [US]; Brig. Gen. John B. Floyd, Brig. Gen. Gideon Pillow, and Brig. Gen. Simon B. Buckner [CS]
Forces Engaged: Army in the Field [US]; Fort Donelson Garrison [CS]
Estimated Casualties: 17,398 total (US 2,331; CS 15,067)

Description: After capturing Fort Henry on February 6, 1862, Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant advanced cross-country to invest Fort Donelson. (more…)