The Columbiads of Magnolia Cemetery
10-Inch Confederate Columbiads at Magnolia Cemetery. The Tredegar Columbiad is in the center of the photo. The Bellona Columbiad is at left.
These two Columbiads were mentioned in a previous post about all of the Columbiads on display in Charleston: The Columbiads of Charleston.
Two 10-Inch Confederate Columbiads cast in Virgina (one at Tredegar in 1862, one at Bellona in 1863) may be found in Magnolia Cemetery among the Confederate war graves. The setting is at once hauntingly beautiful and yet undeniably tragic. I hope I’ve managed to convey something of both those sentiments in the photographs. It's worth taking the time to visit. I, like many of you, am interested in the human and technical stories related to military history, equipment, ships, and armaments. However, the graves here and elsewhere of young men on both sides, not to mention the many who were given no grave, point to the true nature of war. As a boy, when I (hoping for a story of glory) asked my grandmother if she knew anything of her family during “the war”, the story I heard was one of sorrow, loss, devastation, and grief still felt. It turns out that both of her grandmothers as young girls had seen their fathers go off to war and never return. I appreciate the technical history, but it’s people, then and now, who matter.
The Bellona Columbiad behind the gravestone of Pvt. Robert D. Ewing, Company E. 27th Georgia Regiment.
The technical details: According to Warren Ripley’s “Artillery and Ammunition of the Civil War” these are 10-inch Confederate Columbiads, Model 1861. Unlike the similarly shaped Federal Columbiads, also Model 1861, which were cast using Thomas Jackson Rodman’s hollow method, the Confederate Columbiads were cast solid and bored out in the traditional manner. Therefore, the title “Confederate Rodman” is incorrect. (Ripley, pg. 82). These are two of the eight surviving 10-inch Confederate Columbiads on public display in the Charleston area.
The Bellona Columbiad is marked "13945" which is about right for the weight of these guns in pounds. Shot weight would be about 128 pounds. Shell weight about 100 pounds.
The Columbiad to the east was cast at Tredegar. According to Ripley, it is marked on the muzzle: 1678. It is marked on the left trunnion: 1862. It is marked on the right trunnion: J.R.A. & Co, T.F.
Again, according to Ripley, the Columbiad to the west was cast at Bellona Foundry in 1863. According to Ripley, it is marked on the muzzle: 1863, 13945, No. 20, R.M.C., B.F. It is marked on the left trunnion: J.L.A. It is marked on the right trunnion: J.L.A.
According to the 1997 paper “The Historic Guns of Forts Sumter and Moultrie” available on the National Park Service website, these two Columbiads along with the two preserved at White Point Garden may have been present at Fort Sumter following the war.
It is very clear that these grounds are well maintained. I think I’ve seen a recent post by a member the “Civil War Artillery” Facebook Group sharing an effort to repaint the cannon - thank you for volunteering in that way! Your efforts are greatly appreciated.
