Accession Number

1986.008.0825

Alternate object names

Swivel Rail Gun;Rail Gun;Gun

Creation Date

circa 1620

Description

This early, breech loading gun is of a style that was most popular nearly 100 years before the 1622 fleet sailed. It is designed to have mounted on a pivot-point on a ship’s rail, where it could be aimed in any direction using the tiller-like handle. It was used in combination with removable breech chambers that held the gunpowder charge used to blast chunks of iron through the barrel. This piece is the only such gun recovered at the 1622 wreck sites, and when it was found it was oddly rigged with a swivel-link and a length of chain.

Historical evidence suggests that this piece was part of a marker placed between the wrecks of Atocha and Santa Margarita by a Spanish rescue team, immediately after the disaster. A document from 1622 describes how a similar cannon was used as an anchor for a buoy used to mark the sunken ships. See also 1986.008.1946e & 1986.008.1946f.

Exhibition Label

Case/Object Caption (2023):

Rail Gun
Wrought Iron (c.1550)
Gift of Jamestown Inc.
1986.008.0825

Breech loading artillery was invented in the mid-1300s, using strips of wrought iron. By the early 1600s, Europeans had learned to cast large items, including bronze and iron cannons. These were not only faster to load and fire but also much safer for the gun crew. This rail gun would have been considered antiquated and perhaps was being used as ballast.

This is the only breech loader recovered at the wreck sites. When it was found, it was oddly rigged with a length of chain. A document from 1622 describes how a rescue team used a gun like this to anchor a buoy, marking the location of the sunken galleons.