Winans Steam Gun
Encyclopedia
In 1861, Ross Winans
, a locomotive builder in Baltimore, Md., manufactured a steam-powered gun
invented by a Charles S. Dickenson. Winans welcomed novelty, a trait he was known for in his locomotive designs, and he applied his enthusiasm for innovation when he produced the steam gun that came to bear his name. The idea behind the gun was to use steam to hurl a cannonball; his "gun" was supposedly capable of throwing 200 balls a minute (weight unknown) up to 2 miles, of projecting a 100-pound cannon ball and even of firing bullets. The Winans device could be considered an early machine gun, and certain writers have described it by that term. A hopper fed the pivoted gun barrel of the Winans gun, which itself ran on railroad tracks.
Winans evidently hoped it might be used to bring the rapidly escalating Civil War to a quick conclusion. Although born in Vernon, N.J., Winans was a Confederate sympathizer who was actively involved in Confederate politics. In May 1861 Winans shipped his gun south from Baltimore to Harpers Ferry, Va., but on May 11, 1861, Colonel Edward F. Jones of the 6th Massachusetts Regiment under Brigadier General Benjamin F. Butler intercepted Winans' gun. Three days later, Butler captured Winans in Baltimore. Had Secretary of State William H. Seward not interceded on behalf of the millionaire prisoner, Winans might have been hanged for treason. Instead, he was released, a fact that angered Butler for the rest of his life. Through the remainder of the war, the gun protected the Baltimore & Ohio Patuxent River Viaduct.
Though it was invented and built elsewhere, the gun quickly became associated with Ross Winans, a pioneering locomotive builder, and inventor of an unorthodox class of steamships - the Winans Cigar ships. Since then the gun has become a familiar part of the story of the riot’s aftermath. It has been counted as his invention ever since, though his connection to it has been greatly exaggerated.
The gun in fact grew out of work by Ohio inventors William Joslin and Charles S. Dickinson. After the two had a falling out, Dickinson promoted the device under his name, and found funding to build a steam powered gun in Boston in 1860. He brought the device to Baltimore where it was publicly exhibited.
After April 19, 1861, the gun was taken from Dickinson and/ or his associates by city police to be put in readiness for use if needed. Available evidence suggests that the gun was take to foundry/machine shop of Ross Winans and his son Thomas who had been engaged by city’s Board of Police to make pikes, shot and other munitions items. Shortly after, the gun was taken from the Winans’ facility and publicly displayed with other weapons being gathered by city authorities.
In the excitement of the times, Ross Winans' public involvement in state’s right politics in Maryland, his great fortune, word of the munitions work being done at his factory for the city, and city defense appropriations became mixed in the press, and were carried in papers across the country. After calm returned, the gun was taken again to Winans shop for repair at city expense, then returned to Dickinson, who then attempted to take it to Harper’s Ferry to sell to Confederate forces. Union forces captured the gun, intact, in mid journey and took it to their camp at Relay, Maryland. His association with the gun, his politics and rumors of his munitions making led to Ross Winans’ arrest and a brief detention by Federal forces. He was released after 48 hours, after agreeing that he would not take up arms against the government. Among the weapons bought from the five hundred thousand dollar fund that Baltimore Mayor Brown and Maryland Governor Hicks gathered "for the defense of the city" was the "Winans Steam Gun," a steam-powered automatic gun mounted on an armored carriage. This experimental weapon was not designed by Winans, but was produced and sold by his iron works. Though this novelty ultimately had no military impact, it was widely discussed at the time and may have enhanced Winans' reputation as a threat to federal control of Maryland.
Ross Winans
Ross Winans was an American inventor, mechanic, and builder of locomotives and railroad machinery. He is also noted for design of pioneering cigar-hulled ships. Winans, one of the United States' first multi-millionaires, was involved in politics and was a vehement states' rights advocate...
, a locomotive builder in Baltimore, Md., manufactured a steam-powered gun
Steam cannon
A steam cannon is a cannon that launches a projectile using only heat and water. The first steam cannon was designed by Archimedes during the Siege of Syracuse. Leonardo da Vinci was also known to have designed one ....
invented by a Charles S. Dickenson. Winans welcomed novelty, a trait he was known for in his locomotive designs, and he applied his enthusiasm for innovation when he produced the steam gun that came to bear his name. The idea behind the gun was to use steam to hurl a cannonball; his "gun" was supposedly capable of throwing 200 balls a minute (weight unknown) up to 2 miles, of projecting a 100-pound cannon ball and even of firing bullets. The Winans device could be considered an early machine gun, and certain writers have described it by that term. A hopper fed the pivoted gun barrel of the Winans gun, which itself ran on railroad tracks.
Winans evidently hoped it might be used to bring the rapidly escalating Civil War to a quick conclusion. Although born in Vernon, N.J., Winans was a Confederate sympathizer who was actively involved in Confederate politics. In May 1861 Winans shipped his gun south from Baltimore to Harpers Ferry, Va., but on May 11, 1861, Colonel Edward F. Jones of the 6th Massachusetts Regiment under Brigadier General Benjamin F. Butler intercepted Winans' gun. Three days later, Butler captured Winans in Baltimore. Had Secretary of State William H. Seward not interceded on behalf of the millionaire prisoner, Winans might have been hanged for treason. Instead, he was released, a fact that angered Butler for the rest of his life. Through the remainder of the war, the gun protected the Baltimore & Ohio Patuxent River Viaduct.
Though it was invented and built elsewhere, the gun quickly became associated with Ross Winans, a pioneering locomotive builder, and inventor of an unorthodox class of steamships - the Winans Cigar ships. Since then the gun has become a familiar part of the story of the riot’s aftermath. It has been counted as his invention ever since, though his connection to it has been greatly exaggerated.
The gun in fact grew out of work by Ohio inventors William Joslin and Charles S. Dickinson. After the two had a falling out, Dickinson promoted the device under his name, and found funding to build a steam powered gun in Boston in 1860. He brought the device to Baltimore where it was publicly exhibited.
After April 19, 1861, the gun was taken from Dickinson and/ or his associates by city police to be put in readiness for use if needed. Available evidence suggests that the gun was take to foundry/machine shop of Ross Winans and his son Thomas who had been engaged by city’s Board of Police to make pikes, shot and other munitions items. Shortly after, the gun was taken from the Winans’ facility and publicly displayed with other weapons being gathered by city authorities.
In the excitement of the times, Ross Winans' public involvement in state’s right politics in Maryland, his great fortune, word of the munitions work being done at his factory for the city, and city defense appropriations became mixed in the press, and were carried in papers across the country. After calm returned, the gun was taken again to Winans shop for repair at city expense, then returned to Dickinson, who then attempted to take it to Harper’s Ferry to sell to Confederate forces. Union forces captured the gun, intact, in mid journey and took it to their camp at Relay, Maryland. His association with the gun, his politics and rumors of his munitions making led to Ross Winans’ arrest and a brief detention by Federal forces. He was released after 48 hours, after agreeing that he would not take up arms against the government. Among the weapons bought from the five hundred thousand dollar fund that Baltimore Mayor Brown and Maryland Governor Hicks gathered "for the defense of the city" was the "Winans Steam Gun," a steam-powered automatic gun mounted on an armored carriage. This experimental weapon was not designed by Winans, but was produced and sold by his iron works. Though this novelty ultimately had no military impact, it was widely discussed at the time and may have enhanced Winans' reputation as a threat to federal control of Maryland.