A Man of Mystery: An Introduction to Mr. Clark Gardner

Clark Alving Gardner was born on June 20, 1839, to Peleg and Julia Gardner in Rodman, New York, a town in Jefferson County. He was the oldest of five children. On July 31, 1862, at the age of twenty-three years, Gardner enlisted in the Black River Artillery, and was called to service on September 11 of the same year. The Black River Artillery originated from Sackett’s Harbor, New York, located off the Black River Bay in Jefferson County. The 4th, 5th, and 7th Battalion units of the Black River Artillery were consolidated to form the 10th New York Heavy Artillery regiment on December 31, 1862, shortly after Gardner had joined and one day before President Abraham Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation. [excerpt

“Our Artillery Would Smash It All Up:” Canadian Artillery During the Battle of the Somme, September-November 1916

The historiography of the First World War has produced no recent comprehensive study of the Canadian artillery, despite its importance on the battlefield. This article seeks to explain how Canadian artillery evolved on the Somme. The central conclusions of this article are that the Canadian artillery’s performance during the battle was mixed, and that a number of technological, tactical, and organizational changes, not all of them Canadian, in the Canadian Corps that we recognize from the artillery of 1917-1918 were developed during, or as a result of, the Somme

Growing Up in the Trenches: Fritz Draper Hurd and the Great War

On February 18, 1919, Second Lieutenant Fritz Draper Hurd supervised recreational activities for the men of the 103rd Field Artillery. The men breathed easy; they tossed a football and even engaged in a little gallows humor with a “gas mask race,” at last finding a use for the once fearsome yet no longer needed device. The Great War was over, and the men of the 103rd Field Artillery were content to lob footballs instead of shells as they awaited their discharge papers. [excerpt

SOME ISSUES ABOUT AIR DEFENCE IN HUNGARY AFTER THE WORLD WAR I

After the World War I Hungary got into a difficult situation politically and militarily, too. The European great powers with the help of Trianon Peace Treaty hurdled and prohibited to develop a powerful and modern armed forces. The political and military leadership decided not to comply some parts of the decisions. Accordingly, the forbidden air defence artillery was organized as well. This article describes the first steps of how the Hungarian anti-aircraft artillery was supplied with cannons for air defence until 1929

The Bytown Gunners: The History of Ottawa’s Artillery, 1855-2015 (Book Review) by Kenneth W. Reynolds

Review of The Bytown Gunners: The History of Ottawa’s Artillery, 1855-2015 by Kenneth W. Reynolds

Cannons and Columns: The Phoenix Iron Company and the Civil War

Anyone who has visited a Civil War battlefield is familiar with the sight of artillery pieces dotting the landscape, marking the places where artillery units were positioned on the field. Gettysburg National Military Park has one of the largest and most diverse collections of these now silent sentinels, ranging from bronze Napoleons to breech-loading Whitworth rifled guns. One of the most common types of cannon found at Gettysburg is the 3-inch Ordnance rifle. The Ordnance rifle is interesting for a number of reasons, not least of which are its connections to Phoenix Iron Company of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. [excerpt

Artillery Barn

Entry created by John H. Herrick January 19, 1973.John H. Herrick Archives: Documenting Structures at The Ohio State UniversityThe University Archives has determined that this item is of continuing value to OSU's history.The Artillery Barn was located at 2170 Olentangy River Road. It was never officially named by the Board of Trustees. The building was part of a development called the "Artillery Park". The structure was also known as the Artillery Horse Stables, the Artillery Stable, the Field Artillery Stables, the Calvary Barn, the Agricultural Utility Barn, and the Artillery Horse Barn

Pictorial review Seventy-second Field Artillery Brigade, Army of the United States, 1941

The 72nd Field Artillery Brigade, although composed of veteran troops, is a comparatively new organization. It is made up of the 119th Field Artillery, the 177th Field Artillery, and the 182nd Field Artillery and was formed in September, 1940, under the command of Colonel Joseph H. Lewis, who has since been promoted to the rank of Brigadier General. General Lewis formerly commanded the 57th Field Artillery Brigade. The 119th Field Artillery, a World War Artillery Regiment of the 32nd Division, was converted from a light artillery regiment to a 155 millimeter gun regiment by Special Order 224, Adjutant General\u27s Office, State of Michigan, September 18, 1940, and assigned to the 72nd Field Artillery Brigade. It is commanded by Colonel Glenn W. Carey. The 182nd Field Artillery, formerly medium artillery of the Sixth Corps, was likewise transferred to the 72nd Field Artillery Brigade, remaining a 155 millimeter howitzer regiment. Colonel George V. N. Lothrop is in command. Fire power was completed by the addition of the second Howitzer Regiment, the 177th Field Artillery. The regiment was formed from ,all the Michigan units of the First Squadron, 106th Cavalry, and of the 107th Quartermaster Regiment, and is commanded by Colonel Russell G. Simpson. On the 7th day of April, 1941, the 72nd Field Artillery Brigade was inducted into Federal Service in accordance with a Presidential Order dated January 11, 1941. Induction having been completed, the Brigade proceeded by rail and motor convoy to Fort Knox, Kentucky, where it began the early stages of its preliminary training. While at Fort Knox, the Brigade lived under canvas and experienced many uncomfortable periods of inclement weather, which alternately subjected the personnel to deep mud and fine dust, indoors and out. The Brigade remained at Fort Knox until June 1, 1941, and then proceeded to its first permanent station at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, arriving there June 2nd.https://digicom.bpl.lib.me.us/ww_reg_his/1089/thumbnail.jp

Saint John’s Red Head Battery: A Forgotten Military Artifact of Confederation

In the early 1860s, driven by the threat of war with the United States, British army engineers and local contractors built a coast artillery battery on top of the red-coloured bluffs overlooking the eastern approach to Saint John harbour. It is broadly similar to earlier coastal batteries that still exist at Halifax and Quebec City, but on a more massive scale because artillery was rapidly increasing in size and power during the 1860s. Other heavy batteries were constructed at other Canadian ports during that decade, but all were subsequently rebuilt with more modern structures. Red Head Battery is the only surviving example in the country. It was also the last major defensive work built to guard the strategic overland road from Saint John to the Canadian interior, which was the only means of access from the Atlantic to the interior in winter

A Canadian on Horseback: 9 July 1944 Memorialized in Bronze

Canadian and British troops liberated Caen after 33 days of the bloodiest battles of the Normandy campaign. A small but dramatic ceremony in the main square marked the historic first raising of the French flag. But a Canadian artillery officer on horseback made the moment symbolically Canadian too