Gettysburg Daily

Gettysburg National Military Park Cannon Shop: Part 2

National Park Service volunteer Barb Adams hand-paints a carriage in the Gettysburg National Military Park Cannon Shop. In the first year of Gettysburg Daily, we visited Barb in the summer of 2008 at the High Water Mark. This view was taken at approximately 3:45 PM on Wednesday, January 4, 2012.

In part one of our visit, Joe Catchings and Brian Knepper took us through some of the metalworking process involved in cannon carriage restoration. Today, Joe Catchings will show us the storage area of the shop and introduce us to the paint room. This view was taken at approximately 3:45 PM on Wednesday, January 4, 2012.

In this video, Gettysburg National Military Park Preservation Specialist Joe Catchings shows us a few miscellaneous locations around the shop on our way to the back storage area.

As Joe explained in the previous video, carpeting is placed around the wheels of completed carriages to prevent scratches and scuffing of both the paint and the metal underneath. This view was taken at approximately 3:45 PM on Wednesday, January 4, 2012.

Joe Catchings shows us the rear storage area and the approximately 60 artillery carriages located there.

The storage area of the shop holds carriages that the staff have yet to restore, but which have already been sandblasted. This view was taken at approximately 3:45 PM on Wednesday, January 4, 2012.

This queue of carriages will slowly be returned to the field as each is given a thorough restoration. This view was taken at approximately 3:45 PM on Wednesday, January 4, 2012.

Before we look at the paint room, Joe shows us some iron tubes located in the shop, as well as discussing some of the other responsibilities of the staff and volunteers.

Though we call it the “Cannon Shop,” there is an overlap in the duties of both the monument preservation branch and the individuals working primarily on the cannon carriages. Signs like this one, previously located on Route 30, also fall under the purview of the staff and volunteers in the Cannon Shop. This view was taken at approximately 3:45 PM on Wednesday, January 4, 2012.

Joe Catchings takes us to the paint room and explains the restoration process once a carriage is ready for paint.

In the next few images, we’ll show you the current carriage that Barb Adams is in the process of painting. This view was taken at approximately 3:45 PM on Wednesday, January 4, 2012.

This view was taken at approximately 3:45 PM on Wednesday, January 4, 2012.

This view was taken at approximately 3:45 PM on Wednesday, January 4, 2012.

Joe explains why each of the carriages is hand-painted during the restoration process and provides some background on the reproduction artillery carriages.

This view was taken at approximately 3:45 PM on Wednesday, January 4, 2012.

This view was taken at approximately 3:45 PM on Wednesday, January 4, 2012.

The carriages are elevated to make working on the wheels easier by allowing them to rotate. This view was taken at approximately 3:45 PM on Wednesday, January 4, 2012.

This bulletin board, which hangs in the painting room, shows the steps of firing a cannon. This view was taken at approximately 3:45 PM on Wednesday, January 4, 2012.

Also hanging on the wall is this old display plate on “Cannon Barrels” with accompanying photographs. This view was taken at approximately 3:45 PM on Wednesday, January 4, 2012.

If it isn’t clear by now, the “hardware” that accompanies each cannon carriage is extensive, and these pieces need painting too. To accomplish this, they are hung by hooks here in the paint room. This view was taken at approximately 3:45 PM on Wednesday, January 4, 2012.

This view was taken at approximately 3:45 PM on Wednesday, January 4, 2012.

Again, our thanks to the National Park Service staff and volunteers for their hard work returning cannon carriages to the field. The two pieces pictured here were returned to the Valley of Death in the fall of last year. We hope you’ve enjoyed this behind-the-scenes look at the restoration process. The north slope of Little Round Top is in the center and right background. This view was taken facing east at approximately 4:30 PM on Tuesday, November 1, 2011.