|
|
Small
Town Artillery I
The Most
Famous Piece of Ordnance in Texas
Gonzales'
Come and Take It Cannon
Gonzales,
Texas
by
Norman Conquest |
| |
| Read
four history books about the Texas Revolution and you'll
have four versions of what occurred on October 2, 1835.
They've pretty much settled on the number 18 for the Gonzalans
present, but the numbers of Mexicans varies as does the cannon's
composition. Sometimes the cannon is brass, sometimes it's iron.
Sometimes it makes it to the Alamo
where it was melted with the other cannons after the fall, and
sometimes it's buried en route. One thing is for sure, Dr.
Pat Wagner, who came into ownership of the cannon, spent
many many months working with Doug Kubacek of Hallettsville
to verify the pedigree of the gun, which now sits in the museum
in Gonzales.
The cannon had been lost, but very close to the Texas Centennial
(almost to the day) a flood of the Guadalupe revealed the cannon
you can see today. |
|
Dr.
Wagner and Come and Take It Cannon.
Courtesy of Gonzales County Archives |
|
X-rayed
and magnified, to the point of using the huge x-ray machine
at an airbase in San
Antonio, both Dr. Wagner and Doug Kubacek confirmed
that this was a cannon made by a blacksmith in Gonzales,
since they had access to a detailed diary the blacksmith kept
on the repairs done to the touch hole. |
 |
Although
it is portrayed in many different forms, a flared barrel, a
different carriage and sizes from small to 2XX, it still is
a tidy bit of work. |
|
|
Even if it
doesn't measure up to legend, that doesn't take away from
the fact that this was the defiant act that sparked the
revolution and this cannon was the instrument.
Dr.
Wagner passed away early this year, but he generously allowed
the cannon to be shown around the state where it could be
seen by a greater audience. It now resides at the
Gonzales Memorial Museum.
|
|
Come
And Take It Cannon in displayed in the museum
Photo courtesy Sarah
Reveley, 2007 |
Drawing
of the "Come And Take It" Cannon
Photo courtesy Sarah
Reveley, 2007 |
Related
Stories:
The
Women of 1836 by Linda Kirkpatrick
... In the midst of preparing to march to San Antonio, the
people of Gonzales decided that they needed a flag. An appointed
committee designed what they considered a flag of support
for the cause... The flag would have a white field without
a border and in the center a picture of the treasured cannon.
Over the cannon a single five-pointed lone star was sewn
and under the cannon the words, “Come and Take It!” ....more
Gonzales
Memorial Museum
Gonzales,
Texas
Forum:
Subject: The Gonzales cannon
It has a 1½" bore, & at some point it was turned, the vent
plugged, & a new vent bored on the other side. According
to Noah Smithwick in Evolution Of A State, he did the work.
The plugged original vent is what positively identified
it as the actual Gonzales cannon when it was found in the
1930s. - C.F.
Eckhardt, April 04, 2008
|
 |
Jack
"The Knife" Murphy demonstrating the ease with which
the cannon could be concealed. |
|
|
|
