Company M fields a battery of a 4-pounder Filley gun, a Woodruff gun, and two 12-pounder mountain howitzers. With the smaller guns, Company M serves as mobile artillery at reenactments, often advancing with the infantry in line of battle. For national events, the Company is affiliated with the Western Artillery Reserve, 1st Federal Division.
The 4-pounder gun is patterned after a cannon made by Giles F. Filley, an example of which is in the collection of the Missouri Historical Society.
Giles F. Filley was a prominent St. Louis businessman during the mid-to-late 19th century. He founded the Excelsior Stove Works in St. Louis in 1849 and ran the company until his retirement in 1895. Before and during the Civil War, he was an ardent Unionist, and his brother Oliver D. Filley was Republican mayor of St. Louis from 1858-1861. The Filley brothers and their cousins were all active in the raising of Union militia in St. Louis at the outset of the war.
In a note written to the Missouri Historical Society accompanying a donation in 1898, he described his gift:
For an official history of the various units of the 1stĀ Missouri Light Artillery during the War of the Rebellion, read the excerpt of Annual Report of the Adjutant General of Missouri for the Year ending DecemberĀ 31, 1865.
For information about Company M, or if you have additional information about Giles F. Filley or the cannon he had made, contact:
Capt. Steve Allen, Company M commander
For a general biography of Giles F. Filley, click here.
For a reprint of an 1861 newspaper article on the History of Rifled Cannon, click here. This article includes a description of French 4-pounder guns.
For a reprint of a 1973 Civil War Times Illustrated article on the The Woodruff Gun, click here.