Gettysburg Cannons and Carriages Getting Long-Overdue Facelifts .......
Gettysburg Cannons and Carriages Getting Long-Overdue Facelifts
June 6, 2002--The cannons placed around Gettysburg National Military Park, along with their carriages, are sturdy and durable items. But like any of us would after sitting outdoors for over 100 years, they are in need of touchups that go beyond facelifts.
They are in the process of getting them, too, park officials said. Out of 389 cannon carriages, 136 have been redone so far, according to National Park Service spokeswoman Katie Lawhon. The entire process will take five years, she said.
"We do look for unsafe carriages, and pull them off the battlefield right away." said Lawhon, adding that park visitors also report damage. Sometimes the cannon carriages may look fine on the outside, but have structural problems under layers and layers of lead paint.
A celebration of the 100th cannon to be restored under the program was held last year, supervisory exhibits specialist Vic Gavin said.
"We're two years out from doing the rest of West Confederate Avenue," he added.
Gavin said the restoration requires special skills, including blacksmithing, cast iron welding and pattern making. The cannon carriage restoration work is being done in an old factory off of York Street, the use of which was donated rent-free to the Friends of the National Park at Gettysburg for the purpose. There lead paint is removed, the carriages are repaired and detailed painting takes place.
Without the volunteer help from the Friends, the park could only restore 12 cannon carriages a year, Lawhon noted. With that assistance, they number is up to 40 a year. It takes about 120 man-hours and $4,850 to do each one.
"We just completed the cannons at the High Water Mark and the Pennsylvania Memorial, and we're also doing the caissons and limbers near the Meade Equestrian Statue," said Lawhon.
In fact, visitors to the park last weekend reported seeing restored cannon carriages at the Meade site which still had "wet paint' signs attached to them.
"Some of them still look horrible," Lawhon told the Gettysburg Times, "but the good news is that with the expanded space, we're doing more cannon carriages, faster."
