QUAKER GUNS
G'day folks,
You may well ask yourself, 'What are Quaker guns?' Read on ...
Used in
warfare to fake out an enemy, a Quaker gun is a dummy piece of artillery,
typically constructed of wood and sometimes painted black. The term comes from
the fact that Quakers, members of a religious group formally known as the
Society of Friends (or Religious Society of Friends), traditionally believe in
pacifism and non-violence. Quakerism began in England in the mid-1600s as a new
Christian sect that rejected grandiose religious ceremonies, didn’t have clergy
and held that the presence of God existed in every person.
In 1682, Englishman
William Penn, one of the many early Quakers who faced persecution in his
homeland, arrived in America and founded the colony of Pennsylvania as a place
for religious freedom.
It’s uncertain
exactly when the term Quaker gun originated, but one such sham weapon was
employed in the Revolutionary War battle at Rugeley’s Mill in South Carolina.
(The Quakers’ anti-war stance stopped them from actively participating in the
American Revolution.) During that engagement, on December 4, 1780, Continental
forces under the command of Colonel William Washington attacked the fortified
barn where some 100 Loyalists under Colonel Henry Rugeley were holed up. When
the attack failed, Washington, lacking artillery, had his soldiers construct a
phony cannon from a log—and then called for Rugeley and his men to surrender or
else. The ploy worked and the Loyalists gave up.
During the
U.S. Civil War, Quaker guns were used as a means to make fortifications seem
from a distance as if they were stronger, as well as a way to make it look like
troops were occupying a certain position when in reality they’d already
retreated. In one example during Union General George McClellan’s 1862 Peninsula
Campaign, the Confederates placed logs made to resemble cannons at their
earthworks around Centerville, Virginia, and duped Union scouts into thinking
these sites were heavily fortified. As a result, McClellan delayed his troops’
advance and the rebels escaped the area.
Clancy's comment: There ya go. I guess all stops are pulled out to win a war.
I'm ...
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