Bullet and Shell Civil War Projectiles Forum
Relic Discussion => Artillery => Topic started by: rommack on December 20, 2019, 09:26:50 AM
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Has anyone ever seen or heard of a Cannon Tompion marked Leeds and Co. New Orleans ?
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Not I. Either a fake or super rare!
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did you get the tompion ?? Any photo's ?? We'd all probably like to see it....
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My Buddy got it and I will see if he will post pics
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Here are pics of the tompion. Copper sheath attached over the outer portion.
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That is cool -- love the just under 3.3" diameter.
For reference and it may not be helpful, here is a water recovered wooden one from a much larger diameter CS gun. Looking closely at the surface, from the surface impressions it appears it was covered in cloth. And there is some glue remnants so perhaps it was glued on tightly. I could find no evidence of any markings stamped in it anywhere. In the bottom are 4 small threaded holes, I suppose from lathing. Yours appears to have one central hole, but yours is about 1/3rd this ones diameter.
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Thanks Mike.
Very cool
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great pieces - both of them. Thanks for sharing !
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To be stamped with "Leeds" is a home run. Was the brass covering a standard process that is seen on all of them? I am a bit surprised that they don't have rings or something to grasp to pull it out of the tube. Is there any indication there of something like that?
Really neat pieces. I'll be on the hunt for one now.
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Carl,
with the way its shaped and the size it would be easy to extract.
I assume the copper cover was a weather protection possibly related to sea service. Dont know.
Will post the gun soon when I can get measurements together.
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For the Leeds I can certainly see that. But with Mike's not so much. Plus I would think there would be a place to hang it when not inserted into the tube.
Makes sense on the copper. They would certainly last longer and be more durable.
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Very nice pieces John and Mike!
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Ronnie, I found this info on the Leeds & Co. Foundry. Hope it's helpful.
This firm, dating back to 1825, is one of the earliest woodworking machinery makers we have found. In 1862, its proprietors were Charles J. Leeds and Thomas L. Leeds. Charles' father, Jedediah Leeds, was a predecessor, and may have been the founder. In 1874 the business had 250 employees. The business survived into the 1890s, and probably for longer than that.
In its earlier days it was known as the Leeds Foundry. That name likely persisted for their manufactory long after the business was renamed to Leeds & Co.
Information Sources
Listed in the 1874 work, Wiley's American iron trade manual of the leading iron industries of the United States: "Steam engines, boilers, sugar machinery of all kinds, saw-mills, gins, grate bars, and ordinary castings. Established in 1825. Employ 250 hands.
A web search revealed that Leeds & Co. issued banknotes.
A web site dedicated to Civil War artillery lists this company as the maker of "3.3-inch Confederate bronze field rifles" and "6-pounder Confederate bronze field guns". Another page on the same site has the following listing: "Leeds & Co.: New Orleans firm which apparently made a single 8-inch Columbiad, which burst, and from then on produced bronze field calibers until fall of the city in April, 1862. Charles J. and Thomas L. Leeds, proprietors. Several 3.3-inch caliber bronze cannon were manufactured. One example is located in the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, Virginia. From O.R. Series I, Volume 6, Serial No. 6, page 621-6."
An auction site lists the proceeds of a recent sale: "A New Orleans Cast Iron Sugar Kettle (lot 732), 19th c., marked “Leeds & Co. NO”, brought $4,600.00."
Co-proprietor Charles J. Leeds was later the mayor of New Orleans (1874-1876). According to a page on the web site of the New Orleans Public Library,
"Charles J. Leeds, the thirty-third Mayor of New Orleans was born in Stonington, Connecticut in 1823. His parents were Jedediah Leeds and Mary Stanton who moved to New Orleans from Connecticut in the early part of the 19th century.
"Upon his father’s death in 1844, he became partner in the Leeds Foundry which was established in 1824, at the corner of Delord and Constance Streets. It was in this foundry that the principal piece of artillery was made that was used by the White League in their battle with the Metropolitan Police. Some years later this foundry changed hands and Mr. Leeds accepted a position as Secretary of the Carondelet Canal and Navigation Company. He was a man of means and position and respected for his ability and public spirit."
According to the New Orleans Public Library, the Leeds Foundry Warehouse, built in the 1850s, is now on the National Register of Historic Places.
An 1851 New Orleans city directory that is no longer available online lists Leeds & Co. as a foundry located at the corner of Foucher & Delord.
An 1886 New Orleans city directory lists several employees of Leeds & Co. A site with an 1881 New Orleans city directory is no longer online, but the content can still be found at the Internet Archive.
Greg Lambousy of the Louisiana State Museum provide us the following list of the chief New Orleans foundries of the 19th century.
Armstrong Foundry
Drummond, Doig, & Co.
John Clark Foundry
Daniel Edwards Iron Works
Leeds Foundry
Novelty Iron Works
Shakespeare Iron Works
St. Louis Foundry
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And I also found this, Ronnie.
Leeds Iron Foundry
By Paul Zachry & Kathryn O’Dwyer, Editor
The Leeds Iron Foundry was owned and operated by Charles Leeds. It was located at Delord and Constance Streets during the Antebellum period of the nineteenth century. The foundry was opened in 1824. Leeds became a partner in 1844 upon his father’s death. Before the Civil War, this foundry was the most prolific producer of “steel cotton bale presses” in the world and was one of the most important foundries in the South. It maintained several hundred employees for the production of various iron plantation equipment. The Leeds Company was successful enough that it actually issued its own banknotes, a common practice at the time.
The foundry manufactured supplies for the Confederate army and navy, including two naval vessels and even an early submarine, the Pioneer I. In particular, the Leeds Foundry was reported to have built “‘3.3-inch Confederate bronze field rifles’ and ’6-pounder Confederate bronze field guns.’”
During the period of Reconstruction, Leeds allowed his foundry to function as a base of operations for a subgroup of the White League, a militant white supremacy organization. It produced arms for the White League, including one cannon. An arms shipment sent from the Leeds Foundry prompted the New Orleans Police to clash with the White League members stationed in the city and ended with their violent takeover of the city for roughly three days. Leeds’ collusion with this group helped fuel his election to mayor in 1874.
Today, the area which once housed the iron foundry is home to the Preservation Resource Center. This particular building in the foundry complex was built to serve as storage space and showrooms, so it was ideally suited for the new center. [4] This organization was founded in order to help preserve the architecture in the city of New Orleans. It is open to the public. The site of the Leeds Iron Foundry can be found on the US Register of Historic Places.
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Ward,
Excellent posting. Keep it up.
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Thanks, Selma...Glad you enjoyed the research material. Did you see my post on the Rarity 9 bolt I posted yesterday? I could sure use any updated info on that one.
ps...I'm not sure why I'm a "newbie"... lol.... I've been in the group since 2012 or so. But it has been a couple of years since I posted.
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Ward,
No ideas as to the "newbie" except I think it has to do with postings more than time.
I'm the wrong guy to ask about the projectile. That would be Carl, Mike, Jack M, Jack B, Glenn, Pete or one of the real experts.
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Hello,
Yes, the status of "Newbie", "Junior", etc. are based on number of replies and posts. They are not tied to time being a member.
Ward: Thanks for all the interesting info on Leeds and foundries in NO.