8-Inch Confederate Columbiad in Waterman, Illinois

Jul 19

An 8-Inch Confederate Columbiad cast in 1864 by Tredegar is displayed in Johnson Grove Cemetery near Waterman, Illinois. Photo by "CistomKonfliq".

An 8-Inch Confederate Columbiad is displayed in Johnson Grove Cemetery near Waterman, Illinois. It sits atop a pedestal bearing the inscriptions “Dedicated to the Soldiers of the Civil War” and “Erected 1905.”

The left trunnion bears the mark “1864” - probably for the date of acceptance into service. The Tredegar Foundry number on the muzzle - “1947” - actually corresponds to a casting date of October 27th, 1863 in the records of Tredegar Iron Works of Richmond, Virginia.

The right trunnion is somewhat pitted, but it likely bears the marks “JRA & Co" and “TF” for Joseph Reid Anderson and Company, Tredegar Foundry.

A 2018 news article by Katrina J.E. Milton on the rededication of this monument by the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War claims that the cannon came from Rock Island Arsenal in 1905. The article further claims that the Columbiad originally came from Fort Caswell (which is near Wilmington, North Carolina). An 1865 drawing of Fort Caswell does show two 8-Inch Columbiads mounted at the fort. However, I would regard the possible connection to Fort Caswell as an intriguing though very tenuous possibility.

The original installation of the monument included a pyramid of original cannon balls. However, these went missing over time. The 2018 rededication included the addition of a replica pyramid.

The 8-Inch Columbiad was used for Seacoast (and river) defense against ships. It could fire both explosive shell and solid shot - as well as grape shot. The 8-Inch Confederate Columbiad borrowed the general shape - including the distinctive “mushroom knob” breech - of the US Army 8-Inch Rodman. However, the Confederate Columbiad was cast solid and bored out rather being cast hollow using Rodman’s technique. The 8-Inch Confederate Columbiad weighed 8,500 pounds. While not as effective against ironclads as the large 10-Inch Confederate Columbiad, it was still a formidable weapon to counter wooden ships which formed the majority of the United States Navy during the war.