Cannon Markings

The markings on this cannon tell us a great deal of its history.

1. Engravings on the first reinforce indicate that this gun was cast by John and Henry King at their foundry in 1810.

2. The cypher on the top of the charging cylinder tells us that it was inspected or proofed by the Earl of Chatham, who served as Britain's Master General of Ordinance from 1807-1810.

3. The Cannon was then assigned a registry number - CCCCLII - in Roman numerals.

4. This registry number - 452 - also appears on the right trunnion in Arabic numerals.

5. The engraved cypher on the first reinforce also tells us that this cannon was cast for George III, then King of Great Britain.

6. The final makings "3-0-4" on the bottom of the cascable indicate the weight of the cannon is three hundredweight, zero quarters and four pounds.  Since a hundredweight equals 112 pounds and a quarterweight 28 pounds the total weight is 340 pounds or about 155 kilograms.

7. The muzzle diameter and smooth bore show that this cannon fired round shot of about 2.875 inches or 7.3 centimetres that would have weighed about 3 pounds or 1.4 kilograms.

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