Oakland cannons return to MTMC service. (Civil War era).Two Civil War cannons that once guarded MTMC's Western Area Headquarters in Oakland, Calif., are serving again at Fort Eustis. The cannons flank the entrance of the Military Traffic Management Command A major command of the US Army, and the US Transportation Command's component command responsible for designated continental United States land transportation as well as common-user water terminal and traffic management service to deploy, employ, sustain, and redeploy US forces on a at Fort Eustis now. Training and Support Center workers from Fort Eustis installed the cannons May 24. "It was very thoughtful to bring them here" said Jimmie Fultz, a former Oakland employee who transferred to Fort Eustis. "It helps keep the Western Area morale high." Fultz, a team leader in the Command Operations Center, is among 50 former Oakland employees working for the Military Traffic Management Command at Fort Eustis. The cannon installation was the final step in a long process that began shortly after Oakland was selected for closing by the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure Base Realignment and Closure (or BRAC) is a process of the United States federal government directed at the administration and operation of the Armed Forces, used by the United States Department of Defense (DoD) and Congress to close excess military installations and realign Commission. Restoration of the cannons was spear headed by Barbara Bower, Director of the Army Transportation Museum. "We've very proud to see these cannons back in a public area," said Bower. When the cannons arrived at Fort Eustis in 1997, they were in need of restoration. "At the Oakland base the cannons were mounted in concrete bases and suffered a lot of wear and deterioration from constant polishing and resting on the concrete" said Bower. In an effort to restore the Civil War artifacts artifacts see specimen artifacts. , the tarnished and corroded cor·rode v. cor·rod·ed, cor·rod·ing, cor·rodes v.tr. 1. To destroy a metal or alloy gradually, especially by oxidation or chemical action: acid corroding metal. cannons were cleaned with a pressure washing of baking soda baking soda: see sodium bicarbonate. , and polished with a mild abrasive. Three coats of micro-crystalline wax were then applied to the cannons to prevent future discoloration dis·col·or·a·tion n. 1. a. The act of discoloring. b. The condition of being discolored. 2. A discolored spot, smudge, or area; a stain. Noun 1. . The revitalizing process took nearly one year. This gave a center worker, Danny Winstead, a specialist in metals, design, milling and commercial exhibits, time to design the brass mounts and granite bases. "These cannons show the shape and mode of history as a media form of their own" said Mike Bellafaire, Command Historian. "As the Military Traffic Management Command continues to change, they represent our continuity and history." MTMC's cannons were manufactured in 1857 and 1862 by the Revere Revere, city (1990 pop. 42,786), Suffolk co., E Mass., a residential suburb of Boston, on Massachusetts Bay; settled c.1630, set off from Chelsea and named for Paul Revere 1871, inc. as a city 1914. Copper Co., according to markings on their muzzles. The cannons are identified as bronze, Model 1857, 12-pound Napoleons, by the Center of Military History. They were used extensively by the Union Army. By 1863, Napoleons comprised 39 percent of the artillery in the Army of the Potomac This article is about the Union army. For the Confederate army of the same name, see Army of the Potomac (Confederate). The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. . In all, more than 1,000 of these cannons were manufactured for the Federal Government. Many are displayed today on Civil War battlefields. By 1st Lt. Kimberly Long Individual Mobilization Augmentee Deployment Support Command |
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