Rare Confederate Imported 4-inch, 18-pounder Fawcett Preston, Blakely Pattern Rifled Cannon. 

EXTREMELY RARE CONFEDERATE CANNON WITH A RICH AND TRACEABLE HISTORY

With the serial number 137 stamped on both the muzzle face and the right trunnion, this extraordinary 4-inch, 18-pounder gun's markings show it was cast in 1862 at the Fawcett Preston &. Co. foundry in Liverpool, England, using the Blakely style of flanged rifling. The cannon was one of a set of six rifled 4-inch guns and part of C.S. Order No. 66 by Josiah Gorgas in March of that year. The original order, along with drawings and specifications, is in the Maritime Museum in Liverpool. 

The original tube has been restored and mounted on a No. 3 carriage, using all the original irons that came with the cannon that were serviceable. This unto itself is extremely rare. The carriage was rebuilt by Historical Ordnance Works in Woodstock, Georgia, by restoration specialist Tom Bailey. 

The battery would have been run through the Union Navy's blockade, almost certainly delivered from Liverpool to Bermuda. Then, according to additional research, to Fort Fisher, North Carolina, likely aboard the blockade runner CSS Robert E. Lee on 30 April 1863. There is a high probability this cannon could have been used in the "flying battery" at Fort Fisher, which was operated to protect grounded blockade runners that were trying to enter the Cape Fear River but were thwarted in their attempts and run ashore by the Union naval vessel blockaders. This is supported by another 4-inch Fawcett Preston, No. 136, and a Whitworth rifle that were both captured by the Federals and are now together and on display in the Fort Fisher State Historic Site. 

There is mention in records of three cannons being used at times in the flying battery; No. 137 may be the third. Also, there is a substantial theory that No. 137 might have been later sent up to Fort Branch on the Roanoke River to help protect Plymouth, North Carolina, from Federal Naval bombardment and invasion. If so, it was manned by "Lee's Alabama Battery", along with Fawcett Preston No. 138 and possibly ordered later to Weldon, North Carolina, but captured in April 1865 by the 1st New York Mounted Rifles. 

It's known that a large group of Confederate cannons was sold by the U.S. Government as surplus to a scrap dealer in Connecticut after the war. This cannon was most likely in this group and eventually displayed for many years in Hamilton Park, Waterbury, Connecticut. Later removed from the park, the cannon was given to an individual in trade and has remained in private hands since that time. 

BUYER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PICK-UP/SHIPPING ARRANGEMENT. 

[Civil War, Union, Confederate]  [Relics, Militaria, Accouterment, Equipment, Uniforms] [Cannon, Ordnance, Artillery]