Weekly national intelligencer., 1854-01-14
MILITARY TROPHIES.

writer in New York Journal giving description
Of the fort Governors Island in New York harbor,
mentions the suboined interesting facts. We copy the
article into paper chiefly for the justice which 1t does
to the merit of an esteemed and valuable American off,
Ger, more and because recollection con-
firms the truth of what is stated Our Government has
avished bounes and rewards with far inferior
claims public rscompcnse than those Of COL GEORGE
BoaFoRD.
Among the cannon in the ordnance yard several
trophies of our victories in Mexico One Of these brass
cannon taken at the siege of Monterey, where it
poded while in the hands of the besieged killing four
Mexicans BY the side of this is another which bears
upon its breech the royal Of Spain and the follow
ing inscription:
"Ferdinandus VT, Hispania ct Indiaram Rex"
Which proves it to be about hundred years old It
has in the possession Of the French the Texans the
Mexcans and by strange freak of fortune it is in
our possession having been taken from the Mexcans at
Matamoros In addition to these there four hundred
32-pound brass copper shells, which were fired into
Fort Brown by the Mexcans while army was beseg
ing Matamoros. large number Of muskets and other
small arms which taken during the same campaign
sold back their former owners, thus helping to
defray the expenses of the In this appear to
have initiated the English, who while at war with Napo
leon actually sold him part of the ammunition which
used by his army There is slight difference, how
What Napoleon purchased was made by his enc
my, what the Mexicans purchased was made by chem
selves.
But perhaps the most valuable curiosities in the whole
collection are three 160-pound (American) Pazhans
These the first that were made, and if there
could be any controversy in relation the honor Of ha
ing invented them they be shown proof that to
an American only belongs that honor Col. BoMFoRD,
who engaged in the of 1872 conceived the idea
that bombshell could be thrown horizontally and de-
termned testing it's practicaby, made the exr.ri-
mcnt from Governors Island After few experiments
he succeeded in forming cannon with chamber some
what similar to that of mortar with whict nc coud
throw the shells with the precision Of caphon ball.
French officer, however, having obtained Information Oh
the invention before it thoroughly completed went
to France, and there asked noned Paxhan to de-
velop the metal required in the founding Of the piece
which he did, giving it his name which 1t has retained
ever since. COL BoMFoRp coHed it the Columbian, in
honor Of his country which the three pieces refer
red to and all the others the yard bear upon their
breeches The Columbian is far superior to the mortar
from the fact that it sends the shell straight to the mark
while the latter discharges at an angular elevation into
the air. from which it drops upon the object If fired at
ship the shell from the Columbian pierccs the hull and
explodes in the interior of the vessel causing terrible
havoc and probably setting fire to or blowing her up Be-
sides the three we have mentioned there thirteen ten
inch Cofu5ans each of which weighs fifteen thousand
pounds and whose bore is twelve inches the weight
Of which is twenty-five thousand pounds. We also
shown PIT cannon, which, from its great prowess in the
field is called the Brus. Upon the breech of the Brser
the of four FIVE battles in which it en-
gagged There several other pieces like it, bearing
the evidence of active service but the Bruiser ap
peared be considered superior them all in the great
work Of human destruction We must not conclude our
notice of the ordnance department without mentioning
three four brass pieces which used ct the battles
Vista 1t out of these that Capt. Bragg gave the
Mexicans ga little more grape, and poor Rnggold was
killed while serving at battery which was formed by
them.