The James Logan Courier

By Laurel Brodzinky, Courier Staff Writer

Thursday during fourth and fifth periods, several PE classes were startled by the booming roar of a cannon. Not many high schools generally have Civil War era cannons lying around their parking lots, but Logan teacher Richard Lawrence, who teaches drafting, has been bringing his cannons to Logan for years to show off to students.

Lawrence brought two cannons to school Thursday: a parrot rifle and a mountain howitzer. The parrot rifle was used for long range shots, typically around two thousand feet. Lawrence built the parrot rifle himself on his ranch in Cottonwood. He also built he limber, the device used to carry the guns and ammunition. The parrot rifle required a seven man crew in Civil War times. These men could get three shots in the space of a newspaper from 1000 yards away. The mountain howitzer is the smaller of the two cannons, and was used for short range shots.

Lawrence demonstrated firing the cannons to classes who came out to see it, using a friction primer. Friction primers were used during the civil War when it was raining to clear out the moisture and ensure the cannon worked. They contained very small amounts of gun powder. Most of the fulminated mercury used in friction primers came from mines near San Jose.

Lawrence got interested in cannons during college, primarily because his fraternity had one. As he got older and had some excess money, he decided it would be fun to have one of his own. He bought a mountain howitzer. One of Lawrence’s secretaries at school told him he could get a tax write off by participating in Civil War reenactments, and so, after being rejected by the Union, he joined the Confederacy. Lawrence had numerous relatives that fought for the Confederacy. He is now part of the 52nd Virginia regiment, and is a first lieutenant.

The cannons were available to be seen today (Thursday), and will be back in the spring, around March. Lawrence says he will probably bring the cannons to school on Fridays during the spring. If you are interested in seeing them, tell your teacher to contact Lawrence about