Quaker Cannon from Augusta Arsenal

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Local lore has it that this Quaker cannon or wooden gun was manufactured at the shops of the Augusta Arsenal and were ordered by Col. William G. Gill, Ordnance Officer and CSA's first commander of the Arsenal in 1861.  Since there were very few real cannons at the Arsenal at the beginning of the War Between the States, these wooden guns were made quickly and cheaply, and were placed at most of the  earthen works and rebouts protecting the Augusta area and the Arsenal itself.  They were mixed in with other cannons and a partial charge was fired occasionally so that it appeared to be a real cannon from a distance, giving the illusion that the area was well fortified.  Orders to produce Quaker cannons were often verbal to hinder the enemy from learning that the South was using fake guns.  Excluding the wooden base, this Quaker cannon is 8 inches in diameter and  33 inches long, with 29 inches of the interior hollowed out.  Photo provided by a private collector.