CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — (CLARKSVILLENOW) Clarksville Foundry is one of the oldest continuously operating foundries in the United States. The foundry’s origins predate the Civil War, having first opened in 1847. While the family owned and operated foundry today casts component parts for a variety of industries, it once manufactured cannons and munitions for the Confederate States of America (1861-1862).
Prior to the Civil War Sesquicentennial in 2011, Clarksville Foundry President Charles Foust Jr. obtained an original drawing of a Model 1841 6-Pounder Field Gun, and along with foundry employees, created a pattern and cast a replica cannon barrel that was mounted on a borrowed Civil War-era carriage reproduction. This 6-Pounder Field Gun was fired to kick off local Sesquicentennial festivities and is now on display at Fort Defiance Civil War Park and Interpretative Center overlooking the Cumberland River.
While assembling the newly-produced barrel onto the replica carriage, foundry personnel noticed that the carriage was almost entirely made of iron castings and agreed they should be able to cast their own version. They obtained copies of a complete set of engineering drawings for a No. 1 field gun carriage. In the three-year period from 2010 through 2012, using the project as “fill-in” work, Clarksville Foundry patternmaker James Lumpkin built a total of 13 patterns to produce all the necessary components of the carriage.
The replica cannon will be unveiled in a public ceremony hosted by the Clarksville Rotary Club, Friday, May 12 at 10:30 a.m. on the Montgomery County Courthouse grounds. Porter’s Battery, a local Civil War reenactment group, will fire the cannon after the unveiling.
“The cannon project was appealing for a number of reasons,” said Foust. “It is a connection to our city’s rich history, and it allows us to showcase our company’s capabilities in a form that has generated tremendous community and regional interest.”
“With more precise metallurgy and enhanced processes, replicas of historical items can become even more durable than the originals,” Foust explained. “It was a pleasure to produce this replica 6-Pounder, in order to demonstrate how casting processes have evolved since the 19th Century while providing a unique item to honor Clarksville Rotary Club’s 100th Anniversary. It’s been a lot of fun to do this and see the cannon take shape. It’s quite a feeling of accomplishment.”
The Sesquicentennial cannon’s carriage was provided on permanent loan from Shiloh National Military Park. For this latest replica, Foust returned to the original Civil War-era armament drawings to draft the plans to manufacture the carriage in-house. “The cannon barrel and carriage was 100 percent made here,” Foust said. “I’m pretty impressed by how it turned out.”
The 850-pound replica cannon’s barrel and carriage are cast using ductile iron. During the Civil War era, cannons would be made from gray cast iron, as ductile iron was not invented until 1943. The carriage would have been constructed primarily from wood.
“We don’t know how many of the castings we produce will be used by our customers. We ship them out and move on to the next project,” Foust said. “The cannon is going to be sitting on the courthouse grounds for years to come. Local citizens and visitors will see it every day. It’s a big deal.”
“The Rotary Club has contributed to our community in many ways,” said Carter Briggs, Clarksville Rotary member and past president. “Some of our contributions have been projects that are both visible and everlasting, like Rotary Park, International Avenue of Flags, the Where Imagination Flows playground in what is known today as Liberty Park and now the Rotary Cannon at the Courthouse. These projects benefit our fellow citizens and our community by providing recreational opportunities and showcasing our rich heritage.”
Clarksville Foundry also produced a smaller 50-pound, 2-foot-long cannon replica, which is being donated as a Silent Auction item for the Clarksville Rotary Club 100th Anniversary Gala, May 17. For more information about Clarksville Rotary Club or its 100th Anniversary Celebration, visit www.clarksvillerotaryclubtn.com.
Charles Foust Jr. is the third generation of his family to run and manage Clarksville Foundry. In 1994, Foust was named Tennessee Small Business Person of the Year by the United States Small Business Administration.
For more information about Clarksville Foundry, visit www.clarksvillefoundry.com.