 www.netdotcom.com/revmexpc by John Hardman EMail: johardman@netdotcom.com P.O.Box721, Warren, OH 44482-0721 |
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Link "Soldiers of Fortune" in the Mexican Revolution |
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The Blue Whistler was a Civil War era cannon that made a distinctive whistle when fired and thus its name. It saw duty, on the Union side, at the battle of Map Val Verde in New Mexico (171 miles north of El Paso and 109 miles south of Albuquerque) during the Civil War and was captured along with a number of other artillery pieces by the Confederacy. See: Link New Mexico in the Civil War by Oliver James Stevens. An article from the New Mexico Genealogist 36:3, September 1997.
A bronze 12-pounder M1841 howitzer has a tube length of 53 inches, a tube weight of 778 pounds, tube material of bronze, a tube bore diameter of 4.62 inches, a range at five degrees of elevation of 1100 yards, and used the following types of ammunition; Shell, Case Shot and Canister Shot. An interesting sidebar note: "Two bronze 6-pounder field guns (Ames Nos.250&255, both dated 1846) were buried by members of the Val Verde Battery on the McCoslin Ranch outside of Fairfield, Texas and were dug up a few years ago. They are on display there by the ranch house. There are supposedly some more Val Verde cannons buried on the ranch that have not yet been located." - Wayne E. Stark Sometime after 1889, a 6-pounder cannon came into the possession of the McGinty Club of El Paso, Texas, a musical organization. The club disbanded in the early 1900's, and the El Paso Pioneer Association acquired that cannon. Link The kidnaping of the famous McGinty cannon On St. Patrick's Day (March 17) in 1911, the cannon was "kidnapped" by Madero sympathizers (Dr. Ira J. Bush, Ned Harper, Abraham Molina and Dr. Frank Thatcher) and was transported to Mexico (April 5), where it was used at Map Banderas (75 miles SE of El Paso near Van Horn, Texas), Map Ojinaga (April 29) (200 miles SE of El Paso near Presido, Texas), and Map Santa Rosalú} (SW of Chihuahua City?) The map may not show the correct Santa Rosalú}. I have no verification on this yet. My circa 1960 Mexican Estados maps show railroads from Ojinaga to the area of Santa Rosalú} and then on to Ciudad Juárez so perhaps the map is correct. So far I have found that the valley of Santa Rosalú}, Chihuahua, contains four pueblos: San Francisco de Conchos, La Cruz, Camargo and Saucillo. - vrw
So far, it would seem that the carriage was so badly damaged that the last use was at Santa Rosalú} but a 1985 Old West Magazine article, Link The Wars of the Blue Whistler, states (with considerable detail) that it was used at Ciudad Juárez. Most likely we just haven't dug deeply enough yet. :-) Any help would be appreciated...PLEASE contact me.
The kidnapped cannon was not a 12-pounder howitzer. "The kidnaped cannon is a bronze Link 6-pounder field gun and, it is difficult to tell positively from the photos, but it appears to be a Model 1841. Its weight would be about 880 pounds. It is not a U.S. 12-pounder bronze field gun as that one would be much larger and have handles over the trunnions. It is definitely a gun, not a howitzer. Also, the wheels are not original in any of the postcards." - Wayne E. Stark The kidnaped cannon was probably the only muzzle loading cannon used in the Mexican Revolution - at least with any documentation. The world had gone to breech loaders before this conflict. Thanks to the journalists and photographers documenting the kidnaped cannon it apparently becomes the Blue Whistler. The following postcards mostly christen the kidnaped McGinty cannon as the Blue Whistler.
For that matter... an article by the nephew of Dr. Bush, the kidnaping instigator, failed to observe that the kidnaped cannon was not the Ames No.39 howitzer. Check out this interesting article by Bill Jordan.
A bronze 6-pounder M1841 field gun has a tube length of 60 inches, a tube weight of 884 pounds, tube material of bronze, a tube bore diameter of 3.67 inches, a range at five degrees of elevation of 1520 yards, and used the following types of ammunition; Shell, Case Shot and Canister Shot. If this cannon had been manufactured at the beginning of the American Civil War it would have cost 40 cents a pound or roughly $352 ($7,040 in 1998 dollars)...of course it was manufactured some years before the war. Wonder how long a person had to work then to put aside over $350?
Any help would be appreciated...PLEASE contact me.
The kidnaped cannon's carriage and wheels arrived in Ciudad Juárez (August 13) on the Mexican National Railway but the battle scarred barrel was not there. The train crew said that the barrel was not put on the train at Santa Rosalú}. Don Abraham Molina left to search the thieves' markets in the towns along the railroad. The barrel was found and sent on to Juárez.
With great pomp and ceremony the kidnaped cannon was returned to El Paso personally by Gen. Pascual Orozco (August 18) at the orders of Gov. Abram Gonzales of Chihuahua. We are looking for postcards or photos of the kidnaped cannon's return ceremony. Any help would be appreciated...PLEASE contact me.
The kidnaped Blue Whistler was displayed at various sites in El Paso until it was, again, kidnapped and given a wild ride through El Paso. The carriage was damaged beyond repair, and the barrel put into storage. In 1961, the McGinty Ames No.39 cannon was donated to the newly opened Eastwood High School. The students raised funds to restore the carriage, and the cannon remains on display at the school. The Eastwood High School History states that the cannon they have is the Blue Whistler which agrees with the written accounts that No.39 is the Blue Whistler. "The cannon at Eastwood High School in El Paso is a 12-pounder bronze field howitzer, Model of 1841. It is Ames Registry No.39, was inspected by James Wolfe Ripley in 1846, and should have a marked weight of 784 [pounds] on the breech under the knob. It is definitely not the "Blue Whistler" shown in the Plaza photos and in the postcards from Ojinaga." - Wayne E. Stark But... Where is the kidnaped cannon now?Were it and Long Tom "drafted" in the WWII Scrap Metal Drives?
We finally have an answer! EMail:John Hardman - 12 January 2002
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1. The Madero Spoon 2. The Orozco Spoon 3. The Juárez Spoon 4. The Blue Whistler Spoon 5. McGinty Cannon In Action At Ojinaga Spoon 6. Rebels In Action In Juárez Spoon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Check out the U.S. Mexican Numismatic Association |
 Consulting by... KansaSoft |
