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Name
editWhy was it called a Columbiad? Humphrey Tribble (talk) 05:20, 22 July 2023 (UTC)
- I am also curious about that. Wiktionary says this etymology is missing or incomplete, but I'll put link there anyway.
- Meriam Webster says columbiad gets from Columbiade (French)[1] (I understand from then Columbia for then French monicker for US, and -ade, meaning US invented or made - or both - cannon type, but there are no sources; I saw this use first in Jules Verne's book, and he was French so it's possible.
A five minute research of the Internet leads me to believe the naming of the big Seacoast Guns "Columbiad"s is going to come from the fanciful or perhaps the philosophical. The Meaning of the word Columbiad prior to the big guns was, "any of certain epics recounting the European settlement and growth of the United States." A study of contemprary literature, may reveal the answer.
- Scientific American was mentioned. Those issued from the middle 19th C. are online and searchable here:
- The name Columbiad appears in ordnance inventories pretty soon after 1800, so research in that timeframe is needed. I have been contacted by a "D.E. Graves" from Canada who has done a lot of research and tried to find out the answer also, without success. He's been through the Correspondence of the Secretary of War in the National Archives, which is known as "REcord Group 107" consisting of 66 reels of microfilm. It ain't there, if he read every single document. But maybe he didn't!
- There is a wealth of stuff out there -
- One source credit's the design to George Bomford, West point graduate, CLASS OF 1805, After graduating from West Point, Bomford continued his army career in the Corps of Engineers, building seacoast fortifications. He also experimented with designs for heavy guns able to fire both explosive shells and solid shot.
- JSTOR has some interesting things as well, as DD pointed out the term used to broadly define a class of heavy cannons, and the resulting ambiguities.[2]
- That that at least one of the first prototypes of the type seem to have been invented by an American (see article intro and picture to the right of history section) fits to that. But that's OR at best, so not yet fit for the article either here or in Etymology section in Wiktionary, but can be used by some next editor.)
- Some other possible sources...[3][4]
Look up columbiad#Etymology in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
:Marjan Tomki SI (talk) 18:14, 2 September 2024 (UTC)
References
- ^ “Columbiad.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/columbiad. Accessed 2 Sep. 2024.
- ^ “Topic: Origin of name "Columbiad" for early US seacoast artillery?”, Graybeard Outdoors (GBO Reloaded) » Black Powder Forums, https://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php?topic=134240.0. Accessed 2 Sep. 2024.
- ^ “The "Columbiad" Cannon 10 inch”, Columbia in Richland County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic), https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=51733. Accessed 2 Sep. 2024.
- ^ “TColumbiad Definition ”, Your Dictionary, https://www.yourdictionary.com/columbiad. Accessed 2 Sep. 2024.
Notability
editWhat makes a Colombiad different from other large cannon? Humphrey Tribble (talk) 07:19, 17 August 2023 (UTC)