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| Federals firing the
captured Blakely across the Pedee River...South
Carolina, March, 1865 - From Harper's weekly, 1 April
1865 |
"We have a remarkable rifled cannon, 12 pdr., superior to
any other here. Others ought to be ordered."
(As reported by General P.G.T. Beauregard to Confederate
Sec'y of War L.P. Walker, April 15, 1861.)
At 4:30 A.M. on April 12, 1861, Confederate artillery
batteries ringing the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina
opened fire upon the Federal garrison occupying Fort Sumter. Of
these batteries, the "Point Battery," emplaced on
Cummings Point of Morris Island, possessed a then truly novel
weapon...an English-made 3.67 inch Blakely rifled gun...which
despite a shortage of suitable ammunition, consistently hurled
twelve pound iron projectiles to breach the walls of the
fortress, 1200 yards distant.
Commanded by Captain J.P. Thomas, the Blakely gun literally
reverberated with history. For not only was it a participant in
the initial engagement of the American Civil war... it was the
first rifled cannon to be fired in combat on the American
continent.
Brig. General P.G.T. Beauregard, commander of the Confederate
forces, saw fit to specifically mention the Blakely in his
official report of the hostilities at Charleston:
"I would also mention in terms of praise...Captain
Thomas, of the Citadel Academy, who had charge of the rifled
cannon, and had the honor of using this valuable weapon -- a
gift of one of South Carolina's distant sons to his native State
-- with peculiar effect."
So unique was the Blakely rifle, that the May 18, 1861 issue
of Harper's Weekly contained an engraving of the gun, mounted
upon its carriage...the Confederate Morris Island encampments in
the background. Of particular importance in this drawing is the
visible presence of a commemorative plate, shown mounted above
the breach of the gun. Engraved upon this plaque of brass was
the inscription:
"Presented to the Sovereign State of South Carolina by
Citizens Residing Abroad, in Commemoration of the 20th of
December, 1860."
December 20, 1860 ...The State of South Carolina, by
ordinance passed in convention assembled, seceded from the
United States of America.
Sherman's army rolled inexorably northward. On the morning of
March 3, 1865, elements of the Seventeenth Army Corps approached
the South Carolina hamlet of Cheraw. Confederate skirmishers
presented only a token resistance before withdrawing across the
Big Pedee River... burning the bridge behind them. The Union
troops... including the 45th Illinois Volunteer Infantry, the
"Washburne Lead Mine Regiment"... entered the
unoccupied town and discovered a sizable store of ordnance
abandoned by the retreating forces. This Confederate materiel
had recently been transported from Charleston, upon the
evacuation of that city...muskets, sabers, small arm and
artillery ammunition, limbers, caissons ... and twenty-five
pieces of artillery.
Several of the captured cannon were turned upon the fleeing
foe across the Pedee. One participant in the cannonade was a
3.67 inch Blakely rifled gun...with a brass commemorative plate
mounted upon its breach.
On April 26, 1865, General Joseph Johnston surrendered the
last of the principal Confederate armies to Union General
Sherman. The long dying was over. The volunteer forces were
dismantled and the weaponry retired. And the Blakely rifle of
Charleston and Cheraw languished at the United States Arsenal in
Rock Island, Illinois until 1896 when an old soldier had an
idea.
Jo Daviess County Treasurer Jonathan White had marched with
Company D of the "Washburne Lead Mine Regiment." He
had been among the troops entering Cheraw, South Carolina on
that March day of 1865.
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| The 3.67 inch
Blakely rifled gun, Morris Island, South CArolina --
from Harper's Weekly, 18 May 1861 |
Now, in April of 1896, he related to ex-Galena Major Thaddeus
Bermingham the history of a distinctive artillery piece seized
during the South Carolina invasion ...a Blakely rifled gun, with
a commemorative plate mounted upon its breach. White suggested
that the cannon, then stored at Federal arsenal in Rock Island,
be secured from the government and presented to the Galena Grant
Park Commission for permanent display in the Park itself. He
hoped the formal presentation could be made during the Grant's
Birthday Celebration held on April 27.
Impressed with the suggestion, Bermingham penned a letter to
congressman Robert Hitt, who promptly replied:
"Washington, D.C. April 14-- T.J. Bermingham, Esq.,
Galena, Ill.
Dear Sir: I have your interesting letter of the 11th, and
will today endeavor to obtain from the Secretary of War
authority to take the Rock Island gun that has such a history to
Grant Park for the Grant Birthday celebration on the 27th, and I
hope he will give an order that it can be made a permanent
feature of that memorial park.
Very truly yours, R.R. Hitt"
Congressman Hitt immediately introduced legislation mandating
the gift... and on April 22, 1896, both houses of Congress
passed the bill "with a hurrah." It was signed by
President Cleveland, and Bermingham was notified by the War
Department:
"Rock Island, Ill., April 23-- Mr. T.J. Bermingham,
Galena, Ill.
Sir: Pursuant to instructions received from the Chief of
Ordnance, U.S. Army, a Blakely gun, 3.67 calibre, has this day
been shipped to your address as freight...All transportation
charges to be paid by you. This gun has a brass plate with the
following inscription:
"Presented to the Sovereign State of South Carolina, by
one of her citizens residing abroad, in commemoration of the
20th of December, 1860."
Respectfully, A.A. Buffington, Colonel of Ordnance
Commanding"
The shipping costs were defrayed by Messrs. Bermingham and
E.W. Montgomery, of the Galena firm of William Hoskins & Co.
On Saturday evening, April 25, the Blakely arrived and was
carried to a place at the base of the Jo Daviess County Soldiers
Monument in Grant Park.
At 7:30 A.M. on April 27, 1896, a "large crowd of old
soldiers and citizens" gathered at the base of the
Soldier's Monument for the formal presentation of the "war
worn cannon" to the Grant Park Commission.
T.J. Bermingham, who was "chiefly instrumental in
securing the relic for Galena", spoke briefly to open the
ceremonies:
"Gentlemen of the Board of Park Commissioners: It gives
me great pleasure to transfer to you for the use and
embellishment of Grant Park, this historic trophy. What more
appropriate place could be selected, or what day could be more
desirable? Here, under the shadow of this monument, erected to
the sacred memory of the brave heroes who faced death, that the
spirit of treason might be destroyed, this war relic has been
placed, and is now conveyed to your care on this memorable day
which we are celebrating to the memory of the Great Commander.
This ordnance was dedicated on the 20th day of December,
1860...the birthday of secession. We dedicate it anew today with
thankful hearts that we are a great and undivided
nation..."
At the appropriate moment during Bermingham's address, the
Blakely was unveiled by "little" Harriet Montgomery.
The Honorable Richard Barrett, representing the Park
Commissioners, then formally accepted the gun. His remarks were
filled with the chauvinism so characteristic of the period: The
Blakely Rifle in Grant Park, Galena, Illinois...1989
"...Monuments that commemorate deeds of valor, and love
of country, cannot be too numerous.
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The Blakely
Rifle in Grant Park, Galena, Illinois...1989
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They are sure means of keeping alive the martial spirit which
has been awakened by past triumphs. They animate the beholders
with the pride of their country's renown. They remind us of
former greatness and point to future glory. With monuments, such
as this, (in) our public places, where they force themselves
upon the attention of the people, the memories of glorious deeds
will never die. In behalf of the commissioners of Grant Park,
and of the thousands who will inspect it, and be moved by the
events connected with its history, it is with very great
pleasure that I receive this cannon, and give it this most
suitable place in this park, from whence is a full view of the
monument to the memory of the Great Commander, our former fellow
citizen, General Grant, under whose banner many of you have
often marched to victory..."
After Treasurer White related an informal history of the
capture of the gun, "with a joke or two at the expense of
the rebels," the crowd dispersed.
Today the Blakely rifled gun rests on the fringe of Grant
Park... silently trained toward the west side of the river. The
commemorative plate has been removed... its fate unknown. Its
original shape and position is evidenced by pitting of the iron
on the gun's breach.
The Blakely is often ignored by visitors... overshadowed by
the nearby statue of Galena's citizen Ulysses Grant. An
occasional child will peer into its muzzle, or straddle the tube
like some imaginary steed. But the Blakely rifle merits the
attention of all... for its distinguished history makes it a
truly "remarkable cannon."
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