Wooden Mortar Questions

[D1861]

Greetings,
During the siege of Vicksburg Union troops constructed three wooden mortars from sweetgum logs. They mounted two 12 pounders and one 6 pounder in a ravine below the 3rd Louisiana Redan and raised havoc among the Confederates in that area. I am attempting to build one for the park and will be grateful for any information you have on construction techniques, especially photos. In particular I interested in knowing if the soldiers used green wood, sleeved the bores and vents, and how they mounted them. I found a photo of an oak 12 pounder used at Petersburg but the photo is to small to make out any details.

Thanks,

David

[MoFed]

Re: Wooden Mortar Questions

I can't recall whether this mortar is from Vicksburg or Fort Blakely, but it is in the State Museum in the Missouri State Capitol Building in Jefferson City, Missouri. It used to be in the now defunct Missouri National Guard museum at Jefferson Barracks.



Charles D. Hoskins

[Vuhginyuh]

Re: Wooden Mortar Questions

Why?
I can understand CS usage but why the Feds?
I want one.

[D1861]

Re: Wooden Mortar Questions

That's a good question to which there is no logical answer in regard to Vicksburg. My best guess is Pemberton's hoarding of ammo prevented it.


Mr. Slay,

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Justin Runyon
Forum Moderator

[John of the Skulkers Mess]

Re: Wooden Mortar

The photo does not do it justice in regards to the size.
I believe I saw its 'mate' in the underground storage at the Museum (next to a Gatling gun and Civil War flags) and believe I could sit atop it and my feet would not touch the ground....

Nice pic,
John Pillers
TSM

P.S.
There is a marker at Vicksburg denoting where the wooden mortars were posted.

[Johan Steele]

Re: Wooden Mortar Questions

Field expedient... it was easier and likely faster to fashion a wooden mortar from local materials than to create a seige train and haul some mortars a large distance.

[MountedRifle]

Re: Wooden Mortar Questions

David,
There is an example of a wooden mortar in the museum at the Missouri State Capital in Jefferson City. I think it is banded with iron straps. You might check with the Museum staff.

Mark White
16th MO Mounted Rifles

[John Pellarin]

Re: Wooden Mortar Questions

To All,

I do not have the reference at hand, it might be in Grant's autobiography, but if I remember correctly, there was a temorary shortage of mortars during the opening of the seige, and this is where the "gum tree mortars" came into being as a stop gap. It tooks several weeks until regular ordnance could be transported down to Vicksburg.

John Pellarin

[Vuhginyuh]

Re: Wooden Mortar Questions

Truely fascinating.

[37NC]

Re: Wooden Mortar Questions

To All,

I do not have the reference at hand, it might be in Grant's autobiography, but if I remember correctly, there was a temorary shortage of mortars during the opening of the seige, and this is where the "gum tree mortars" came into being as a stop gap. It tooks several weeks until regular ordnance could be transported down to Vicksburg.

John Pellarin

It is in Grant' s autobiography he talkes about not having mortars and having to use wooden ones instead. I have the page and paragraph marked but because of copy right law I am not sure if I can put it here.



Sgt. Daniel Curran

[10TnVI]

Re: Wooden Mortar Questions

Grant's autobiography can be found on-line already at

http://home.nycap.rr.com/history/grant.html

Set a link to the pertinent section or just cut and paste it. As long as you atribute shouldn't have any copyright problems.

[John Pellarin]

Re: Wooden Mortar Questions

To All and One,

From U S Grant "Memoirs"

"There were no mortars with the besiegers, execpt those that the navy had in front of the city: but wooded ones were made by taking logs of the toughest wood that could be found, boring them out for six or twelve pounder shells, and binding them with strong iron bands. These answered as coehorns, and shells were successfully thrown from them into the trenches of the emeny."

John Pellarin

[flattop32355]

Re: Wooden Mortar Questions

Why?
I can understand CS usage but why the Feds?

One possibility is that it was discovered that mortars were more effective than cannon for lobbing shells into the Confederate works, so they made the wood ones from materials on hand rather than wait for shipment of metal ones. Since the barrel is shorter and doesn't build up as much pressure as a cannon barrel does upon firing, wood, with reinforcing bands, was adequate to the task of increasing firepower in the shortest possible time.

This is, however, just a hypothesis.

Just read through the rest of the posts, and see that others (including General Grant) agree.

[Vuhginyuh]

Re: Wooden Mortar Questions

Ersatz Motars...these are amazing times we live in.

[RN_PAC]

Re: Wooden Mortar Questions

I recall reading that the Army of the Tennessee did not have any sort of a seige train when it initially invested Vicksburg, and that would make sense given the circumstances under which it had to operate prior to opening the seige (operating in the swamps and cutting canals across the river from the city and ultimately making rapid marches though much of Mississippi before settling down). Ergo, wooden mortars.

I read only a little about this before, and saw one sketch of a wooden mortar at Vicksburg but never came across anything about it since. Neat thread.

Sincerely,
Tom Scoufalos