The Woodruff Gun
Annotations to the Margreiter Article
Woodruff Gun Chronology in the Quincy Press
Click on the links to view the original newspaper pages on the site of the Quincy Public Library.
Quincy Daily Whig and Republican, 10 September 1861. page 3, column 1.
This is the first mention of the Woodruff gun in a Quincy newspaper. Note that it does not mention James Woodruff, only the founder, Miller T. Geenleaf.
CANNON FOUNDRY.―Mr. M. T. GREENLEAF, on Front street, has been casting a small cannon which carries a three-pound ball from a mile to a mile and a half. If small cannon can be successfully manufactured here, why not larger ones also, and our city be put on a “war footing?” Who knows?
The next article confirms the existence of a prototype Woodruff gun that was built prior to Woodruff’s offer of guns to the Ordnance Department in Washington. Again, Woodruff’s name was not mentioned, although he had a financial interest in Battel & Boyd, the wagon company that manufactured the carriages.
Quincy Herald, 16 September 1861, page 1 column 5.
Quincy Cannon Foundry.
Two or three experimental shots were fired, on Saturday evening, from a small cannon, cast at the foundry of Mr. T. GREENLEAF on Front street. The gun carries a three pound ball, and the result of the firing was quite satisfactory. The gun was placed on the levee, near the water’s edge, in front of the foundery [sic], and was pointed down the river. The distance at which the balls struck was variously estimated at from one mile to a mile and a half, the latter named distance, we should think, from our own observation, was nearly correct. A friend suggested that it would be good policy to furnish a given number of companies of each regiment with similar pieces, to be used in all cases in which they could be managed efficiently, but especially when the enemy is beyond musket range. The suggestion is worth of consideration.
Within a few weeks, the City of Quincy authorized purchase of a cannon for the city’s defense.
Quincy Daily Herald, 10 October 1861, page 2 column 4, Proceedings of the City Council meeting of 1 October 1861.
COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS.
CITY CLERK’S OFFICE,
QUINCY, Oct. 1st, 1861.
On motion of Ald. Green, the Mayor and Finance Committee were authorized to purchase a cannon for the defence of the city of Quincy.
Quincy took its new artillery piece seriously, noting when challengers to its small cannon were promoted elsewhere. Jim Bender, keeper of the National Register of Surviving Civil War Artillery, recalled that he had once seen a news article referring to this gun, which was reported to have been manufactured in Richmond, Indiana.
Quincy Daily Whig and Republican, 6 November 1861, page 3, column 1, also 9 November 1861, page 3, column 2.
A RIVAL FOR THE QUINCY GUN.—The citizens of Richmond, Indiana, have been getting up a small cannon for Gen. Lane [U.S. Senator and Union Brig. Gen. James Henry “Jim” Lane, leader of the Kansas “Jayhawkers” in “Bleeding Kansas”], which beats the gun manufactured here by Mr. Greenleaf so far as lightness is concerned. The Chicago Tribune says it arrived in Chicago on Saturday en route for Lane’s brigade, and describes it as “of the finest cast steel, five feet in length, inch and a half bore, carrying a two pound Minie ball, and weighing only one hundred pounds. Its efficient range is two miles. This most appropriate gift is admirably adapted to guerrilla warfare, and combines strength and accuracy with lightness and ease of handling. The piece is under the charge of some Kansas boys who will attend to it during the transit thitherwards and after its arrival. They are determined that it shall never be taken from them by the rebels and are longing for an opportunity to test its merits.”
Although the City of Quincy authorized the purchase of a cannon on 1 October 1861, a group of Quincy citizens formed a committee to fund the purchase of additional guns.
Quincy Daily Whig and Republican, 23 November 1861, page 3, column 1.
QUINCY CANNON.—The subscribers to the fund for purchasing cannon for this city are requested to meet at the Court House this (Satarday [sic: Saturday]) evening, to appoint officers to carry into effect the object of the organization. A prompt attendance is solicited.
The subscribers to the little gun, “Old Abe,” are also requested to be in attendance.
What kind of gun “Old Abe” was is not specified.
The subscribers met on Saturday, 23 November 1861, elected officers, and appointed a committee to collect subscriptions. This is the first mention of James Woodruff in connection with the Woodruff gun.
Quincy Daily Whig and Republican, 26 November 1861, page 3, column 1.
SUBSCRIBERS MEETING.—At a meeting of the subscribers to the Quincy Cannon Fund, held at the Court House on Saturday evening, when U. S. Penfield was called to the Chair, and S. P. Cohen appointed Secretary.
A statement of the object of the meeting having been given.
On motion, the following gentlemen were appointed a committee to collect the subscriptions already made, obtain further subscribers, and complete the purchase of the cannon:
Mayor Redmond, E. Wells, A. Green, Gen. W. Burns, I. G. Woodruff, R. S Benneson, James Woodruff, Sam’l Artus and S. P. Cohen..
The Chairman was instructed to convene an early meeting of the subscribers to receive a report of the Committee, and other purposes for organization.
On motion the meeting was adjourned.
SIMEON P. COHEN, Sec’y.
The Quincy Cannon Fund committee met Monday evening, 25 November 1861. Besides the one gun authorized by the city, two more guns were fully subscribed, and subscribers for three more were sought.
Quincy Daily Herald, 27 November 1861, page 3 column 2.
Also Quincy Whig and Republican, 30 November 1861, page 3 column 2, .
Quincy Cannon Fund.
QUINCY, Nov. 25, 1861.
The Quincy Cannon Fund Committee met this evening. Hon. THOMAS REDMOND was appointed President, and ROBERT S. BENNESON, Treasurer.
On motion, it was
Resolved, That the City Council having donated one cannon complete, ROBERT TILLSON & CO., one and HAYS, WOODRUFF & CO. one, the citizens of Quincy he requested to subscribe sufficient funds for the purchase of three other cannon, so that a complete battery may be provided, and that the members of the Committee call upon them for the said subscriptions. The cannon to be provided being such as those now in use by Light Artillery, and in course of manufacture by GREENLEAF & CO.
The Committee adjourned to meet on Monday next.
SIMEON P. COHEN, Sec’y.
On 15 November 1861, the Ordnance Department ordered 30 cavalry model smoothbore Woodruff guns. The following article, the first to make a clear association between James Woodruff and “his small cannon”, announced the contract and revealed several interesting details about the guns. It states the average weight of the tubes was 230 pounds, substantially less than the 256 pounds reported in Woodruff’s proposal. This corresponds with the known weights of surviving tubes, which range from 234 to 238 pounds. It also states the weight of the tube and the carriage together as 450 pounds, no doubt with empty ammunition boxes, which would have held about 61 lbs. of rounds each. In claiming that a Woodruff gun could “do the work of six-pounders”, its proponents failed to note that Woodruff guns could not fire exploding rounds like the larger guns. They also said that, in common service, “they will undoubtedly be used without the horses altogether”, ignoring the fact that they still needed to be moved from place to place over longer distances than just different positions on the battlefield. The local boosters were far too optimistic about the sales prospects of the Woodruff gun.
Quincy Daily Whig and Republican, 3 December 1861, page 3, column 1.
CANNON CONTRACT.—James Woodruff, Esq., of this city, of the firm of Hayes & Woodruff, has secured an order from the War Department for thirty of his small cannon, of which notice has before been made. The average weight of these guns is 230 pounds, and with the carriage 450. The ball weighs only two pounds. The peculiar merit of these guns consist in the fact that they can do all the work of six-pounders (breaching perhaps excepted) can be drawn by men instead of horses, and cost only about $280 each, while six-pounders with their equipments, cost $4200! The fossils in the War Department, some of whom are really deaf, fought against the “innovation” until the last moment, and had nearly killed the plan of introducing them into the army when finally “old Abe” interfered and took the responsibility. Good for Abraham! These guns promise to effect a great saving to the people.
The thirty now ordered are for Col. Kavannaugh’s [sic: Col. Thomas H. Cavanaugh, first commander of the 6th Illinois Volunteer Cavalry, the regiment for which James Woodruff helped collect arms] regiment of cavalry, and will be drawn by horses. Four men, however, can easily draw them. And if they go into general use, as soon seems probable, they will undoubtedly be used without the horses altogether. Now when the artillery horses are killed in battle, the guns are often lost. Batteries of these guns could also be effectually “masked” until needed, by the troops themselves, and with no resort to brushwood, or standing timber. They carry about the same distance as six-pounders, and a man hit by the ball would hardly stop to investigate whether it weighed two pounds or six—it would be all the same.
Gen. Gamble, of Missouri, has given encouragement about a considerable order for Missouri. Besides the thirty for the United States, the city is to have six of these guns. Greenleaf is manufacturing them, and Messrs. Battell [sic] & Boyd have the contract for mounting them.
Around the time that Woodruff received his contract from the War Department, Mr. Greenleaf was reported to have made a direct sale of a Woodruff gun to “Capt. Love of the 18th Missouri Regiment”. As yet, this report is uncorroborated by other documentation, but, if true, it would mean 37 Woodruff guns were manufactured, not 36.
Quincy Daily Whig and Republican, 7 December 1861, page 3, column 1
DOING GOOD SERVICE.—A short time since Capt. Love of the 18th Missouri Regiment [sic: Click here for “Finding Love”, about Capt. Wesley Love, who was an elusive figure to track down] purchased of Mr. Greenleaf one of the cannon which he has been for some time past engaged in manufacturing in this city.
A letter received in this city from the Captain—who is represented as being something of a sportsman—states that he took it with him on a hunting excursion recently, during which he came across a covey of seseshers [sic], and succeeded in bagging seven and winging seven more. Whether any of his party were killed or not we did not learn, but one man was brought over last night that was wounded in the skirmish and left at the Hospital. The 18th Missouri have recently moved from Laclede [in Linn County, where they were organized], and are now quartered at Weston [in Platte County on the Missouri River north of Kansas City].
On Tuesday, 17 December 1861, at the meeting of the Adams County Board of Supervisors, the Quincy Cannon Committee applied for a county appropriation to aid with the purchase of cannons. Apparently, not enough subscribers could be enticed to contribute.
Quincy Daily Whig and Republican, 23 December 1861, page 2, column 3
Quincy Daily Herald, 24 December 1861, page 3 column 2.
Proceedings of the Board of Supervisors at their December Special Term, A. D. 1861.
Tuesday, December 17th, 1861.
The Committee to procure cannon for the city of Quincy, through their Secretary, Simeon P. Cohen, applied to the Board of Supervisors for an appropriation to aid in procuring said cannon, and on motion of J. T. May the matter was referred to the Committee on petitions.
The committee on petitions recommended that the County Board make an appropriation for the cannons, but did not recommend an amount.
Quincy Daily Whig and Republican, 24 December 1861, page 2 column 3
Proceedings of the Board of Supervisors at their December Special Term, continued.
Tuesday, December 17th, 1861.
The committee to whom was referred the petition of the cannon committee submitted the following report, which, on motion, was laid on the table, and the committee discharged:
We, the committee on petitions, having had under advisement the request of the committee of Quincy, for subscription to assist in forming a battery for the protection and defense of said city,recommend that something be done for its security this winter, but leave the amount to be appropriated to be fixed by the Board.
SAMUEL WOODS,
GEORGE RHEA,
J. L. WORKMAN,
JOHN A. WHITE,
H. C. CRAIG.
Committee
By 4 February 1862, all 36 Woodruff guns that were ordered were reported delivered.
Quincy Daily Whig and Republican, 4 February 1862, page 1 column 1.
THE CITY PREPARED FOR DEFENCE.—The six cannon intended for the use of the city, are at last completed and delivered, and can be seen at the Market House. Nothing is wanted now but a force of men to use them, which we presume will soon be forthcoming.
The cannon ordered for Col. Kavannauh’s [sic: Col. Thomas H. Cavanaugh, first commander of the 6th Illinois Volunteer Cavalry, the regiment for which James Woodruff helped collect arms] regiment are also completed, and are very generally admired. Now let them be tried on secesh, and then we shall soon know their exact worth.
The Woodruff guns were apparently never issued to the 6th Illinois Cavalry, but were issued to Battery K, 1st Illinois Light Artillery, which served for a long time with the 6th Illinois, including on Grierson’s Raid.
The report in the Daily Herald included the information that, of the six Woodruffs delivered to the City of Quincy, four were smoothbore, and two were rifled. This is the only indication that any Woodruffs were rifled.
Quincy Daily Herald, 4 February 1862, page 3 column 1
Cannon Received
The six cannon, intended for the use of the city, having been completed, were delivered to the authorities yesterday. They are now in the armory intended for their protection, at the market house. They are two prouders [sic: pounders], four of them smooth bores, and two of them rifled. They are strongly mounted on handsome carriages, and are really formidable little weapons of the kind.
It now becomes necessary to form a company to work them, and it is hoped that there is yet sufficient military spirit in the city to effect its immediate organization.―Turn out, home soldiers,―fill up the ranks. Choose your officers, and render yourselves ready for service at a moment’s notice, and then “fight till you run, and run till you die,”―Of course the running will be in pursuit of the enemy.
Quincy Cannon Manufactory
Messrs. WOODRUFF, GREENLEAF & CO., have completed their “cannon contract,” having finished thirty pieces, with their carriages, all ready for the field, besides the six mentioned elsewhere, delivered to the city. Military officers who have examined them, including Gen. PRENTISS [Union Brig. Gen. Benjamin Prentiss, noted for his defense of the Hornet’s Nest at the Battle of Shiloh], Gen. LANE [U.S. Senator and Union Brig. Gen. James Henry “Jim” Lane, leader of the Kansas “Jayhawkers” in “Bleeding Kansas”], and others, speak in the strongest terms of approbation of these guns, not only for their beautiful finish, but for their accuracy and power in throwing balls. Messrs. W., G., & Co. expect another contract for several more of these pieces, and are prepared to execute it with promptness, and will receive orders for any number that may be wanted.
There is no record of any additional orders for Woodruffs after these deliveries. Gen. Prentiss later commanded Union forces at the Battle of Helena, 4 July 1863, where Woodruff guns were among his artillery.
During the Quincy City Council meeting of 3 February 1862, the cannon committee turned control of the battery over to the Mayor of Quincy.
Quincy Daily Whig and Republican, 7 February 1862, page 1 column 5.
COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS.
Feb. 3d, 1862.
The cannon committee made the following report:
WHEREAS, It having been deemed advisable that there be provided a battery of six pieces of light artillery for the protection of the city of Quincy, and the said six pieces of light artillery having been furnished by the following parties, to wit: One gun by the Quincy and Chicago Railroad Company; one gun by the City Council of the city of Quincy; one gun by Hays & Woodruff; one gun by Robert Tilson, and two guns by numerous citizens of Quincy; and the said parties who furnished said guns, having appointed a committee consisting of the following named persons: Thomas Redmond, Robert S. Benneson, James Woodruff, Edward Wells, Isaac O. Woodruff, Amos Green, George Burns, Samuel Artus, and S. P. Cohen; and having given said committee full power, control and authority over said battery of six guns, to make such disposition of them as should be deemed by said committee for the best interests of the parties furnishing them, and for the proper care, protection and control of said guns; and the said committee having decided to place said guns in the hands and under the control of the Mayor of the city of Quincy, to be by him, and his successors in office, held in trust for the parties who furnished said guns, which are to be used under the control of said Mayor, or his successors in office, for the protection of the city of Quincy; and the battery of six pieces of light artillery, having been placed in the hands of Thomas Redmond, now Mayor of the city of Quincy, by the above mentioned committee, in trust, for the purposes above mentioned.
Quincy City Ordinance No. 102 gave control of the Battery to the Mayor.
Quincy Daily Herald, 8 February 1862, page 3 column 3.
Also Quincy Daily Herald, 20 February 1862, page 3 column 7.
ORDINANCE NO. 102
An Ordinance Relating to the Battery of Six Pieces of Light Artillery Furnished by the Citizens and City of Quincy for the Defense of Said City.
Sec. 1. Be it ordained by the City Council of the City of Quincy, That the Mayor of said city shall provide a suitable building for the protection and safe keeping of said battery of six pieces of light artillery.
Sec. 2. Be it further ordained, When there shall be formed one or more companies of artillery in the city of Quincy, organized for drill and use of these guns, the commanding officer or officers of said company or companies shall furnish the Mayor with a written list of the names of the officers and men composing said company or companies which shall be placed on file in the office of the city clerk of the City of Quincy and thereupon the said Mayor shall deliver to said commanding officer or officers the number of guns designated in the next section and shall take from said commanding officer or officers, on delivery of the guns, a receipt for the same, in which receipt said commanding officer shall become responsible for the proper care, use and keeping of the guns so delivered to him and for the return of said guns to the custody of said Mayor, whenever the company of said commanding officer is disorganized or disbanded.
Sec. 3. Be it further ordained, That any commanding officer, being a citizen of Quincy, who shall file with the Mayor a company roll containing the signatures of not less than twenty citizens of Quincy, shall be entitled to receive from the Mayor three of the above mentioned guns; and should there be but one company formed, the commanding officer of said company shall be entitled to receive from said Mayor the entire battery of six guns on filing with Mayor a company roll containing the signatures of no less than forty citizens of Quincy.
Sec. 4. Be it further ordained. That the Mayor, or commanding officer, shall not permit any gun or guns belonging to the aforementioned battery, to be taken beyond the corporate limits of the city of Quincy unless said gun or guns are charge of and accompanied by the commanding officer and company to which said guns were delivered.
Adopted Feb. 3d, 1862
F. W. LANE
City Clerk
The news of the fall of Fort Donelson reached Quincy on 17 February 1862. To celebrate, the new battery was brought out into the town square.
Quincy Daily Whig and Republican, 17 February 1862, page 3 column 1.
“UP WITH THE STARRY BANNER.”—That was the order given from hundreds of lips this morning, when the glorious news came, and forthwith probably every Union flag in the city was soon waving in the breeze. Such a display of flags has not been seen, at least since Fort Sumter fell, and never perhaps was the city so universally excited.
Major John Wood received the first dispatch, and read it to a crowd at the telegraph office, and in a few moments the news, spreading like wildfire, was all over town. Less than thirty minutes later a dispatch came to Col. Jonas, (both published elsewhere) which heightened the excitement. Then the cannon were brought out; the old war-worn six-pounder was sent down to the bluff on the river bank, while the six new pieces were run into Washington Square, and opened the echoes in grand style, in the presence of a vast crowd, who seemed to think that tearing their throats was of no manner of consequence. Every man shook hands with every other man, and congratulated him two or three times; clerks and customers suspended business; servant girls left the kitchen to itself; boys ran away from school to “go to the Square;” children clapped their hands; our clergymen suddenly had “business down town;” our devil got on top of the house and crowed three times—and we wrote this “item.” And that’s the way Quincy received the news.
Miller T. Greenleaf, the actual manufacturer of the Woodruff tubes, died in 1908. His obituaries lauded his many mechanical accomplishments, but his guns were but a footnote among them. Apparently Greenleaf produced other cannons besides the Woodruff guns, since both obituaries mention a gun made by him as on display at the Illinois capitol building, and this gun is noted as being “brass”, while Woodruff guns were iron.
Quincy Daily Herald, 4 May 1908, page 10, column 7.
AN INVENTOR WAS CALLED
DEATH OF MILLER T. GREENLEAF IN QUINCY.
Was nearly Ninety Years of Age and Had Created Many Valuable Inventions During His Long and Honorable Career.
Miller T. Greenleaf, one of Quincy’s pioneer residents, passed away at his home, at 314 Elm street, at 10:15 o’clock Sunday night. For the past year he suffered with infirmities of old age and to these he finally succumbed last evening. Although not critically ill at any time, he was very feeble and when the end came it was not unexpected.
Mr. Greenleaf was born in Brattleboro, Vt., March 21st, 1821, and was therefore in his eighty-eighth year. In 1840, at the age of 19 years, he came west with his parents and settled at Columbus. There the family resided for ten years and in 1850, the deceased came to Quincy, where he had resided continually since.
Mr. Greenleaf had a remarkable mind for mechanics and the necessary skill to carry out his ideas. He built the first steam engine ever set up in Quincy and the one he brought with him from Columbus was equipped with a governor of his own invention, which eventually resulted in the perfection of the device which is today one of the most important fixtures on an engine. Although he is not the man who perfected the invention, it was he who gave the idea of a governor to the world.
He was the creator of numerous devices which have proven themselves of value, the principal ones being regulators for incubators. Besides this he had a reputation as a manufacturer of models for the United States patent office.
For over thirty years Mr. Greenleaf had a machine shop at the foot of Broadway. During the war he had a contract with the government for the manufacture of ordnance. One of the brass cannons cast by him is now included in the collection of war relics at the state house in Springfield.
When steamboating was in its palmy days, Mr. Greenleaf had a monopoly on the machine work on the big palatial steamers which plied the Mississippi. In those days one of the principal causes of delay was the boring of cylinders. Whenever this became necessary the cylinder had to be taken out and hauled to a machine shop for the repairs. Mr. Greenleaf soon made it possible to take the machinery to the boat and instead of losing two days in the work, he would complete the job in six hours and the boat could continue its journey.
Mr. Greenleaf acquired considerable wealth during those years, but being generous and kind-hearted, he was taken advantage of by men whom he trusted and he lost considerable of his savings. Later on, however, he recouped his losses through his inventions and although not wealthy at the time of his death, he was in comfortable circumstances.
As a man he stood high in the esteem of all who knew him. He was a man who made everybody his friend. During the last years of his life he was revered as a life well spent. He was ever ready to assist whenever it was needed and to all his friends, he was a friend indeed and his passing is mourned by many. Although nearly a nonogenarian, his mind did not seem to grow old and his heart was as big and generous as it always had been to the end.
He is survived by his widow, now 82 years of age, seven children and four grandchildren. The children are Mrs. Josephine Inghram, Leroy Greenleaf, Mrs. Cecelia Lucas, Miss Annie Greenleaf, Mrs. Charles S. Lewis, and Charles Greenleaf, all of Quincy, and Mrs. W. H. Gibson, of Palo Alto, Cal.
The funeral will be held Wednesday afternoon at 3 o’clock at the residence of his daughter, 310 Elm street.
Quincy Daily Journal, 4 May 1908, page 5, column 5.
MILLER T. GREENLEAF DEAD
A PIONEER OF QUINCY, AGED 87, PASSED TO HIS REWARD LAST EVENING―HE WAS
In Business Here Over Thirty Years―Was a Fine Mechanic―Leaves Seven Children.
Another pioneer has lifted with feeble hand the latch which welcomes him to eternity. Miller T. Greenleaf died Sunday evening at 10:15 o’clock, at his home 314 Elm street, at the advanced age of 87 years.
“Of no distemper, of no blast he died,
But fell like autumn fruit that mellows long.
E’en wondered at because he dropt no sooner;
Fate seemed to wind him up for three-score years,
Yet freshly ran he on ten winters more,
Till, like a clock worn out with eating Time,
The wheels of weary life at last stood still.”>/p>
[Poem from Oedipus: A Tragedy, by John Dryden.]
This old town is rich in hallowed memories of its honored dead; yet, discounting perhaps what scant occasion gives to all of us, they hold not a single name more worthy of commemoration than the one whose passing is this day recorded.
Mr. Greenleaf was born at Brattleboro, Vermont, March 21, 1821, and came to Illinois with his parents in September, 1840, locating at Columbus, in this county, where he remained for ten years, removing to Quincy in 1850 with his young wife and baby to make a home in the then young and growing city.
He soon established himself in the machine business, which he conducted with success for thirty years, building up a large trade in steamboat equipment and railroad repair work, as well as mill supplies. during the war, he successfully executed several large contracts with the government for the manufacture of ordnance, a very fine specimen of which has an honored place in the state house at Springfield, among the war rccords.
He was also the inventor of several mechanical devices which not only proved successful financially, but whose present use evidences their practical utility. There are various firms in Quincy today whose success is in a large measure due to suggestions received from Mr. Greenleaf, as to the principle involved in some particular piece of mechanism.
Indeed, it is doubtful if Quincy ever had among her citizens a man of finer mechanical mind―one with a clearer conception of true mechanical principles. Combined with this was a natural skill in execution almost unsurpassed, and a fidelity to duty which is, indeed, rare.
Through the perfidy of a business associate, he had to sacrifice his business, yet, undaunted, he went to work again and soon recouped enough of his fortunes to insure competence through his remaining years.
Surviving him are his aged wife, now 82 years, and seven children, all but one of whom are residents of this city: Mrs. Josephine Inghram, Mrs. Cecelia Lucas, Mrs. Chas. S. Lewis, Miss Anie [sic] Greenleaf, Leroy Greenleaf, Chas. Greenleaf, all of Quincy, and Mrs. W. H. Gibson, of Palo Alto, Calif.
