San Luis Cemetery, (aka: Lawn Memorial Cemetery), San Luis Obispo County, CA
California Civil War Rosters


Info provided with permission by Tim Reese 6 Aug 2009

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Big Bill �Naval Civil War relic of the USS Kearsarge :                             

At the GAR PLOT in the San Luis Obispo�s IOOF Cemetery off of Elks Lane, 
San Luis Obispo, California.
	By Charles W. Mabie


    The history of Big Bill is an interesting one. Often misidentified as a Dahlgren gun, it is 
actually known as a �32-pounder Bureau shell gun of 4500#, � according to artillery expert 
Wayne E. Stark. In an email letter sent by Mr. Stark to Ed Strobridge, Admiral Dahlgren 
refused to have anything to do with the design of this specific gun, as he felt the gun was 
far to light for Navy use.

	Mr. Stark further explained that the Navy Bureau of Ordnance designed the 32-pdr 
of 4500#. The term �shell gun� refers to a smoothbore gun with a chamber for the powder. 
�32-pdr� refers to the weight of the projectile, while �45))#� is the approximate weight of the barrel.  
A total of 379 of these guns were made between 1864 � 1867, and a total of 91 still survive.

	BIG BILL, number 333 of the series, was placed on the USS Kearsarge at the Boston 
Navy Yard in December of 1867, where it was fired 54 times up to 1870, probably all in practice.  
It was off loaded at Mare Island Navy Yard, California, in October 1870, and remained there in 
inventory.  The final disposition of the gun is noted in government records as � Loaned to Fred 
Steel Post G.A.R. (Grand Army of the Republic) #70, San Luis Obispo, CAL Feb�y 1892.�

Ed Strobridge, first became interested in Big Bill during the early 1970�s while researching the 
building of the Southern Pacific Railroad.  According to local history, on May 10, 1894, there was 
a celebration in San Luis Obispo to mark the arrival of the Southern Pacific Railroad.  As part of 
the celebration, Big Bill was hauled from the cemetery to the Southern Pacific Depot, where it was 
fired in a ceremonial salute.  At the time of Ed�s initial research, the gun had been neglected for 
decades and was in a poor state of repair.

	During 1993, in preparation of the centennial of the Southern Pacific�s arrival in San Luis 
Obispo, Ed decided to further research the cannon�s role in the railroad celebration of 1894.  
However, when he went to the cemetery, he discovered that the gun was no longer there.  According 
to the local organization in charge of the cemetery, the gun was regarded as an eyesore, and was 
given to a San Luis Obispo local, who hauled it to his property. Through various channels, Ed was 
able to convince the individual that the cannon was still the  possession of the United States Navy, on 
loan to the Grand Army of the Republic ( and their successors, the � Sons of Union Veterans of the 
Civil War �). The cannon was returned, and Ed set about the restoration of the gun, as well as the 
restoration of the GAR cemetery plot, which was also long neglected.

	If you wish to obtain the 20 page book titled: Big Bill and Little Bill by Charles W. Mabie 
(complete with diagrams & Photos) contact  : commander@suvpac.org  or go to WWW.SUVCW.ORG  
go to web index , scroll to California & Pacific, then hit local camps , and go to Camp Alfred Pleasanton 
# 24 & make contact with one of the elected officers.


Note by Tim Reese:
The photo is a picture of Big Bill, a 32-pounder cannon, a GAR (Grand Army of the Republic) 
memorial mounted in the GAR PLOT of the San Luis Obispo's IOOF Cemetery off Elks Lane 
[the GAR plot is on the side of the loop closest to Higuera Street] (right across from the Elks Lodge), 
a Naval Civil War ordnance from the USS Kearsarge, standing next to the cannon is a delegate to the 123rd State Encampment of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, Department of Calif. & Pacific that was held at Camp San Luis Obispo. Picture was taken in March of 2009.