By George! The Thilenius Tube

By George! The Thilenius Tube

by Scott House

In the late summer and fall of 1861 four forts were constructed around the city of Cape Girardeau in southeast Missouri. Sitting on high ground above the Mississippi, the town was an important river port that connected to inland areas. With a strong base of mostly-German Unionist immigrants in the area, it was a natural to be occupied by Union forces early in the war. After the arrival of the 20th Illinois Volunteer Infantry in early July 1861, plans were made to build a series of fortifications protecting the town and its loyalist population. A second-lieutenant in the 20th who had a science and math background was detailed to take charge of the siting and building of the forts. One fort was begun on a hill overlooking the river and two days later Allen M. Geer, a literate private in the 20th, wrote: “Regular scientific fortifications were begun on the Ridge, engineered by Lieut. Powell in the form of a triangle with a bastion at each angle raking the trenches.”¹Andersen, The Civil War Diary of Allen Morgan Geer Twentieth Regiment, Illinois Volunteers, 9. The Lieutenant Powell was John Wesley Powell, eventually to become the famed explorer of the Colorado River and Grand Canyon. Cape Girardeau would play an important role in his future.²National Register Nomination

At the end of the war, Fort D was forgotten, but unlike the other three earthen fortifications, it survived. By 1915 the area it is in was subdivided, but due to citizen action, the earthworks were saved. In 1936 as part of a WPA project, the fort was cleaned up, sidewalks built, a stone museum building constructed, and the fort was in the public eye once more. Seeking militaria for display, the American Legion managed to get two French “75” cannon donated from an arsenal, but they lacked a Civil War piece. A loaner was found in the form of a small field cannon, documented by a couple of photographs in 1937.

Fort D photograph, circa 1937, shows the Woodruff gun “George” from the front.
Photo by Garland D. Fronabarger used with the permission of the Southeast Missourian newspaper, Cape Girardeau, Mo.

Fast forwarding to 2005, the fort grounds were rundown and forgotten; the cannons had disappeared, apparently to the metal drives during World War II. The roof on the museum structure had largely collapsed, and the fate of that structure seemed to lie with demolition. A group of local history geeks, reenactors, and citizens began renovating the grounds and exploring the possibilities. Years of dedicated work and living history events resulted in the entire site, earthworks and building, being listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2019; city voters subsequently passed a new parks tax that included rebuilding the roof on the museum. The site is alive once more to interpret the role that the city played in the Civil War.

In 2023, Bruce Bowers, a retired reenactor from Indiana, contacted Randy Baehr, a reenactor familiar with small field guns in the Civil War, concerning a small cannon tube that he possessed, which had been obtained in the 1970s from Cape Girardeau. Bowers subsequently visited Fort D and spoke to us about the cannon, of which we had no idea. Intrigued, Baehr visited Bowers and identified the cannon as a Woodruff gun, although with some design differences from other surviving Woodruff tubes. But the length, shape, and bore dimensions matched the other Woodruffs known to exist.

Fellow reenactor and historian Bill Eddleman went to work on digging through digital newspaper archives to find where the missing Fort D cannon came from and went. We were on the track. From the existing photographs, Randy Baehr determined that the Bowers tube was the same one previously at Fort D. But where did it originally come from, how did it come to Cape, and how did it end up in Indiana? Bowers indicated it was found behind a house on a certain block in Cape Girardeau and was considered, basically, as trash.

As Bill dug through newspaper records he found mention that, in the 1936 renovations, “one Civil War cannon” was going to be loaned to Fort D.³Southeast Missourian, 22 September 1936, p. 3. This was a revelation and was followed by more. A follow-up article indicated that “the Thilenius family had donated a Civil War cannon, captured by a member of the family at the Battle of Pilot Knob.”⁴Southeast Missourian, 22 April 1937, p. 1 After picking ourselves up off of the floor, we made final arrangements to purchase the tube from Bruce Bowers and pick it up. We transported the tube back to Cape Girardeau and began linking the strands together.

George Thilenius, circa 1865. (Missouri Historical Society)

George C. Thilenius was born in Germany in 1829 and, like many other democracy advocates, immigrated to the United States in 1849 relocating to Cape Girardeau in the late 1850’s. A patriotic man in love with his adopted country, he volunteered for the local militias that were formed early in the war. In Missouri, the Union militias were of several types. One was the Missouri State Militia; these soldiers were paid by the federal government, issued uniforms, and eventually received pensions for their federal service.⁵The understanding was that these troops were for use within Missouri and rarely went outside the state borders. Less organized, and part-time only, were the various regiments of the Enrolled Missouri Militia (EMM), membership in which was mostly compulsory if one wanted to stay in good with the state government. These men lived at home, were not usually armed or equipped by the federal or state government, were not paid, and rarely received pensions after the war; the unit from Cape Girardeau and surrounding areas was the 56th EMM. Thilenius rose to Lieutenant Colonel of the 56th by late 1862 and full Colonel of the regiment in early 1865; also on January 11th, 1865, Thilenius was one of the brave signers of the Missouri Proclamation of Emancipation, freeing the slaves of Missouri three months before the 13th Amendment. After the war Thilenius was a very successful businessman, owning mills, retail stores, and eventually a bottling works; he also served as mayor of Cape Girardeau in the early postwar years.

The 56th was apparently one of the most reliable EMM units, was known to receive uniforms, and while many of the units slowly disbanded or became inactive, the 56th served until the end of the war. In September 1864, Confederate forces under General Sterling Price attacked southeast Missouri. Among their targets was the federal post at Pilot Knob. There, a variety of federal and state forces, including newly-formed units and civilians, coalesced into a force that defended the post, including its redoubt, a hexagonal earthwork called Fort Davidson. In the fighting that followed on September 26th and 27th, the greatly-outnumbered Unionists held off the attacks and managed to withdraw during the following night. Part of the fort’s advantage was that it literally bristled with cannons, more than could be serviced. In addition to its standard 4 32-pounders and 3 24-pound howitzers, a battery of 3” ordnance rifles had been sent from St. Louis a week before the battle, four of which were placed in the fort on the second day of the battle. Also inside of the fort were two Coehorn mortars and some light guns. The light guns did not belong to the fort and do not appear on the post’s ordnance returns for the previous month; they were probably a combination of Filley guns, purchased privately for use by the local militia, and Woodruff guns. The 3rd Missouri State Militia cavalry, involved in the battle, reportedly may have had as many as six of the Woodruff guns, but the exact location of any of the Woodruffs during the battle is not known. Perhaps it was that they were in the fort where one witness last saw the Filleys. But it may be that the 3rd MSM had them tucked away in a shed, warehouse, or corral in the village of Pilot Knob which was their home post. We will probably never know. Nonetheless the light guns in the fort were recorded being parked adjacent to the fort’s magazine, which was detonated by the Union forces after the evacuation. While the large siege artillery pieces survived the explosion and were later remounted, there is no further mention of the small guns. The Confederate records indicate that they captured four “steel 2-pounder skirmish guns” which they identified as Woodruff guns; two of which were given to one of the Confederate units.⁶Dunlap, W.W., OR 1 Volume XLI, Part 3, p. 961. Mackey, T.J., OR Volume XLI, Part 1, P. 710. These two accounts differ slightly and both are incorrect in one place or another. The first is dated 28 September 1864 while the second is from 24 April 1865. The first claims that the siege artillery was disabled by the Confederates and the second claims that much ammunition for the same was captured – both of which are incorrect. Those two were later recaptured from Price’s forces by the Union near Trading Post, Kansas.⁷Buresh, Lamir. The Battle of Mine Creek. 1977. p. 80-81.Collins, Charles. Battlefield Atlas of Price’s Missouri Expedition of 1864. Combat Studies Institute Press, Fort Leavenworth KS. 2016.p.129-130.

So, at least one or two of those guns, were not taken along by the Confederates. In the wake of the Battle of Pilot Knob, most Union forces in Missouri were either retreating from or following the Confederates. The railroad from St. Louis to Pilot Knob had been put out of commission by the Confederate raiders. Some forces needed to be sent to Pilot Knob to recover the sick and wounded and bring them to safety. Orders went out for the post of Cape Girardeau, Hiram Hiller commanding, to send forces to Pilot Knob. Available forces in Cape Girardeau probably amounted to a mish-mash of the EMM, raw recruits for the new 47th MO, or pieces of other commands garrisoned in the area. Immediately, on October 4th, Hiller ordered the 56th into unusual action: they were directed to “proceed to Pilot Knob for the purpose of bringing to this Post all our own Sick and wounded and such of the enemy as he has transportation for.” They were further ordered to “impress” such wagons as needed along the way, and they were admonished not to allow “straggling or plundering” along the route.⁸Hiller to McClane October 4 1864.Hiller papers. State Historical Society of Missouri.

This they did with George Thilenius in command, and, as Thilenius later said in sworn testimony, they brought back not only the sick and wounded but also “all the guns, cannon, stores, etc.”⁹George Stone pension file. It is interesting to note that Thilenius paroled 350 Confederate wounded left at Pilot Knob, a very high number. It is not known if “cannon” is singular or plural in this instance, but we do know that at least one cannon was brought back to Cape Girardeau. As to the later newspaper statement that the gun was “captured” we can imagine that when the gun was found (wherever it was found) it was perhaps assumed to have been a Confederate piece as the 56th would not have been familiar with whatever ordnance was at Pilot Knob before the battle.¹⁰It may be that two guns were brought back to the Cape, or perhaps the Confederates sent one back to Arkansas with some of the wounded from Pilot Knob.

No records have been found relative to the cannon after the war until 1917 when a Cape Girardeau newspaper article took note of a “patriotic display” at a furniture and undertaking business. Among the displays was a cannon “captured by the Colonel at Pilot Knob during the Civil War.”¹¹The Daily Republican, July 31 1917, p 4. George Thilenius had passed in 1910 but until this day, Cape Girardeans refer to him as Colonel Thilenius, rather than Mayor Thilenius. The cannon cropped up again in 1933. Emil Thilenius, son of Colonel Thilenius died of a heart attack at his residence in Cape Girardeau. A former commander of the local camp of the Sons of Union Veterans (literally in this case), Thilenius suffered a heart attack after having been outside polishing a “cannon and other Civil War relics” all of which were to be later displayed in connection with a state meeting of the Grand Army of the Republic.¹²Southeast Missourian 11 May 1932

Fort D old map, from Military Map of Cape Girardeau 1865

The opening of World War II caused the decline of the museum at Fort D. The French guns, as well as other cannons in town, were demolished in the very public scrap metal drives. The American Legion had, for some months, held off from scrapping the cannons, noting that the cannons were “a vivid reality” of the “gallantry in battle” of past soldiers who “captured such trophies from enemies of the republic.”¹³Southeast Missourian 22 Jan 1942 p. 1.

But in October of 1942 a public announcement was made concerning the scrapping of the guns at Fort D. The French guns disappeared into history, but clearly the Thilenius tube once again survived. Since it was on loan, it would not be terribly surprising that it must have been claimed by the family. Where it was subsequently stored is a mystery. The Thilenius family owned the Cape City Bottling Works, which building was next door to the home of Emil Thilenius. It may well have gone into hiding there.

The circle was not complete. Bruce Bowers knew the block address of the house in Cape Girardeau that the tube was found behind. Once again, Bill Eddleman dove into the available records and found a city directory, circa 1970. Looking over the list of homeowners for the block, none seemed obvious links. But Bill, a professional genealogist, found marriage records that revealed one of the homeowners was married to a Thilenius descendant. When that marriage ended in a divorce, the house was temporarily abandoned. About that time, the cannon was noted by a power lineman, who told Bruce Bowers’ brother, who contacted an attorney, who advised that he could remove the scrap piece of iron.¹⁴Bruce Bowers personal communication.

The circle was nearly complete. The cannon came back from Pilot Knob, was kept by the Thilenius family, was saved from destruction but eventually abandoned, then was salvaged by a family and moved to Indiana. It was offered for sale so that it could be returned to Cape Girardeau and put on display from whence it came.

“George” at Fort D, April 2024. Photo by Scott House.

Questions abound. Who was issued the cannon? It was likely Company K of the Third Missouri State Militia Cavalry. These were men recruited in southeast Missouri, including Bollinger and Cape Girardeau Counties. Supposedly, they were promised they would be an artillery unit and thus were given (or they acquired) artillery uniforms, complete with red trim and stripes. Like most of the rest of the 3rd MSM, they fought at Pilot Knob, some were captured and later murdered. The secessionist guerillas of southeast Missouri hated the Company K “Kill-Devils” who were virulent anti-guerrilla fighters; quarter was rarely given on either side.

It is not impossible that some of the retrievers of the cannon from Cape Girardeau recognized it as having belonged to a local unit, and thus perhaps salvaged it for that reason.

Secondly, how did the Colonel Thilenius come to have the cannon in his personal possession? No answer exists for this yet, but Thilenius was an important man, postwar, serving on the state constitutional convention, being a successful businessman, and serving as mayor of the town. It is not hard to imagine him retaining a visible reminder of his, and the 56th’s, service in the war.

Where did the cannon reside between 1942 and 1972? We do not yet know, but it was clearly in the possession of the family.

Today the tube, now nicknamed “George”, is back in Cape Girardeau. It has been cleaned, repainted, and temporarily mounted on a non-authentic loaner carriage. Owing to the care given to it over the years by the Thilenius and Bowers families, it is still capable of firing. A replica carriage identical to the original has been funded by local citizens and the Friends of Fort D. Soon it will take its place again at the Fort which it once graced.

Woodruff tube “George” before restoration. The sight mount on the breech was not authentic and removed. Photo by Scott House.

Stripped of rust and old paint, the tube shows off its wrought-iron origin, explaining why it was referred to as a “steel” gun. Photo by Scott. House.

The tube repainted in brushed flat black. Photo by Scott House.

“George”, cleaned up and on a loaner non-authentic carriage. Photo by Scott House.

Scott House and “George” at Fort Davidson in Pilot Knob, MO, in April 2024.

A version of this article was originally published in the Fall 2024 issue of The Artilleryman Magazine.

Click here for a link to the event report on the debut of “George” on it new authentic replica carriage on 9 September 2024 at Fort D.