Artillery
History
The Norwich University Independent Artillery Battery fires muzzle-loaded Civil War era cannons and howitzers at sporting events, graduation, alumni homecoming, family weekend, military ceremonies, and other special events. Members of the unit wear replicas of Civil War uniforms, and membership in the unit is open to all Cadets. First year Cadets may apply for membership after their first semester at Norwich.
The cannons fired during events include two James cannons, two Pack Howitzers, one Gattling gun, one Sir W.C. Armstrong and the Whitworth Salute Cannon. The oldest of our artillery pieces are the James Cannons. These cannons were made in 1850 at Ames Foundry in Chicopee, Massachusetts. There are only two fully operational James Cannons left in the world from the original 46 that were made at the foundry. Norwich originally had four James Cannons; however, two of them were lost during Pickett's Charge on Cemetery Ridge at the Battle of Gettysburg.
The Battery also fires two M1A1 75mm Pack Howitzers. The howitzers saw action in WWII during the Pacific Campaign and were used by units of the United States Marine Corps and Army Airborne. They were made in 1943 at Rock Island Arsenal, Rock Island, Illinois, and are called Pack Howitzers because they could be separated into several pieces and transported on pack mules.
The Patron Saint of Artillery, Saint Barbara
According to legend, Saint Barbara was the beautiful daughter of a heathen named Dioscorus, who lived near Nicomedia in Asia Minor. Because of her beauty and fearful that she be demanded in marriage and taken away from him, he jealously shut her in a tower to protect her from the outside world.
During his absence, Barbara heard the teachings of Christ and spent much of her time in contemplation, gradually accepting the Christian faith. Upon his return, Barbara's father was infuriated when she acknowledged that she was a Christian. Dioscorus dragged his daughter before the Prefect of the province, who decreed that she be tortured and put to death by beheading. Her own father carried out the death sentence. On his way home, he was struck by lightening and his body consumed by fire.
Saint Barbara lived and died about the year 300 AD. The legend of the lightning bolt striking down her father caused her to be regarded as the patron saint in time of danger from thunderstorms, fire, and sudden death. When gunpowder made its appearance in the Western world, Saint Barbara was invoked in aid against accidents resulting from the explosions, since some of the earlier artillery pieces had a bad habit of blowing up instead of firing their projectile.
The Field Artillery Song
The Caissons Go Rolling Along
The Caissons Go Rolling Along was originally written by field artillery First Lieutenant (later Brigadier General) Edmund L. Gruber while stationed in the Philippines in 1908. The original lyrics reflect routine activities in a horse-drawn field artillery battery. Since 1775, when cannons forced the British to evacuate Boston, artillery has been an arm of distinction in the U.S. Army. The song was transformed into a march by John Philips Sousa in 1917 and renamed the Field Artillery Song. After World War II, the song was adopted as the Army's Song with different lyrics.
