Fort Vancouver

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Left Portland and went across the river to Fort Vancouver to attend a blackpowder demonstration put on by park rangers and volunteers. Shown and fired were a selection of rifles and cannon that would have been used by soldiers stationed at the fort between the 1840s and 1880s: 1861 Springfield, 1873 Trapdoor rifles and carbines, and a 1841 Mountain Howitzer. Later took another tour of the old Hudsons Bay fort. It's always a good day when things go bang (that aren't pointed in your direction).
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https://www.nps.gov/fova/index.htm
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Re: Fort Vancouver

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lurker wrote:very cool, thx. get any more pics? i'd like to see more uniforms, especially post-civ-war.
Sorry, I just took the one pic. I didn't want anyone to think I was a tourist. ;)
One of the demonstrators was wearing an Indian War (circa 1870s) cavalry uniform.
They did talk about the soldiers from Vancouver barracks who went to Idaho to fight the Nez Perce in the Battle of White Bird Canyon and other battles.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of ... ird_Canyon

In that battle was the only known instance of a howitzer being fired from the back of a mule. According to the ranger, the infantry was retreating. The artillery came up on the ridge line with their canon packed on three mules and saw what was happening, but they couldn't assemble their 1841 mountain howitzer because they were under heavy fire. So, thinking fast, they "aimed" the mule carrying the howitzer at the enemy and fired. The Nez Perce halted their advance and the poor mule ran away never to be seen again. That's the story, anyway...
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