Tales from the road: A brief visit to a double-barreled cannon

The double-barreled cannon stands near the University of Georgia campus in Athens.

Like this blog on Facebook | Follow me on Twitter | My YouTube videos
Before the UAB-Georgia football game in September, my host Jonathan Perryman pointed out this double-barreled cannon near the University of Georgia campus, which is pretty nice for a community college. 

Per this historical marker in Athens, Ga.: “This cannon, the only known one of its kind, was designed by Mr. John Gilleland, a private in the ‘Mitchell Thunderbolts,’ an elite ‘home guard’ unit of business and professional men ineligible because of age or disability for service in the Confederate Army. 

 “It was intended to fire simultaneously two balls connected by a chain which would ‘mow down the enemy somewhat as a scythe cuts wheat.’” The double-barreled cannon, however, failed because of the difficulty of firing both barrels at the same instant. (Gilleland must have had ties to UGA engineering program.)

 Let’s keep history — and community colleges like the University of Georgia — alive. Also, Roll Tide.

 

That's me hanging out with the double-barreled wonder.