This is going to be a shortened version of the whole story behind them. Mainly the movements of the cannons. More detailed information can be found easily on the web.
On November 17, 1835 the Twin Sister cannons were a gift from the people of Cincinnati, to aid Texas in its revolution from Mexico. The foundry of Greenwood and Webb made the two cannons and they were shipped down the Mississippi to New Orleans. William Bryan took delivery of them and sent them to Galveston aboard the schooner Pennsylvania. They got their name their name when they were presented to representatives of Texas by Dr. Charles Rice's twin daughters, Elizabeth and Eleanor in April 1836. The name connection began there. It took awhile for the cannons to make it to the Texas army under Major General Sam Houston. They were put under the command of Lt. Col. James Clinton Neill and saw action April 20 in a skirmish with Santa Anna's army. Lt. Col. Neill was wounded during the battle and the cannons were passed over to the chief of staff of the Texas army George W. Hockley. April 21, 1836 they were used in the Battle of San Jacinto.
Skip ahead in time. After Texas joined the United States the cannons were moved to the federal arsenal at Baton Rouge. They remained there for 15 years. Benjamin McCulloch who had served in the gun crew contacted Governor Sam Houston about the guns. When Texas seceded from the union he arranged the cannons to be returned. One of the cannons had almost made it as scrap and would have been melted down. The cannons were reworked in Louisiana and sent back to Texas on April 20, 1861.
They were used next in the battle of Galveston, January 1, 1863. They disappeared afterward until they showed up in the rebel arsenal at Austin. According to the last known documents the last person seeing them was Lt. Walter W. Blow in a letter to Col. John S. (Rip) Ford saying he was going to send them to him.
One of the rumors involving where the cannons went to was that some Confederate soldiers led by Dr. Henry North Graves had taken the cannons and hid them. He said before he died they had buried the cannons in field near Harrisburg, Texas. Presently the city of Harrisburg has been incorporated in to Houston 1926.
The following is just stories I remember from a long time back. ( early 1970's) So the rest may be influenced by my memory. I did some research and found other things associated with the Graves rumor. During the night they had rescued the cannons from down town Houston and used rail hand carts to move the cannons. They were also supposed to have burned the carriages in the same night. So between loading them, moving them, taking them apart, burning the carriages, and burying the cannons. It would seem to me that fits as far as time goes. From period maps I located the existing rail line follows the same route past Harrisburg toward Galveston along Highway 3 "Old Galveston Road". Rumors also link Graves to the Milby family. They had a mansion about 500 yards from the railroad line. The Milby's mansion was located by Buffalo Bayou near the rail line. Which also fits with rumors that they had been buried near Buffalo Bayou. Milby Mansion was torn down and a waste water treatment plant stands there. Milby park was bequeathed by the Milby's and is behind where the mansion stood.
If the cannons are on either the old mansion lands or the park unless an organization such as the local museum searches they may never be found. Other things in the area which present a problem are houses and a chemical plant. There are some open areas which would be accessible, but I don't know what restrictions may be in effect. Buffalo Bayou was widened awhile back and I had hoped they might turn up during the digging, but nothing came of it.
In the late 60's I had a chance to go in to the abandoned Milby mansion before it was demoed. It had been through a lot but still had glass, doors, etc. It had a large carriage drive through front porch so people could step from the carriage to the porch directly. Large 2 story front room with balconies on each side to bedrooms. Large ball room on the right. It had to have been impressive in its day. I still to this day can't understand why they did not save it.
Linkback: You are not allowed to view links.
Please Register or Login
http://www.thunting.com/smf/index.php/topic,25510.msg177585.html#msg177585
|
|
Logged
|
|
