In this heavily populated world, where much of society lives cheek by jowl in large cities, it’s not uncommon to find a neighbor irritating. Indeed, if we got along well with everyone living on our street or in our building, it’d be nothing short of miraculous.
Should someone be playing their music too loud three doors down, one would typically knock on their door to deliver a polite request. However, in more rural parts of the United States, neighbors might have a bit more leeway to resort to extraordinary means to register their displeasure.
Taking things a bit too far
Sixty miles south of Buffalo, New York, close to the state’s border with Pennsylvania, is the country town of Kiantone. Resident Brian Malta was so outraged by the conduct of one of his neighbors that he took out his replica American Civil War cannon and fired it across his fence for eight days.
The cannon was loaded with powder and wadding, so it was technically no more dangerous than a bird-scaring device. However, the discharge could be heard for miles around, so, eventually, Malta was arrested and charged. While it isn’t illegal to own a cannon in New York state, deputies seized the weapon, since it was being used maliciously. Malta was charged with harassment and was allowed to return home after posting $2,500 bail.
No details as to the cause of the dispute were released by the authorities. However, should you decide that a Civil War-era cannon is the way forward regarding a problem neighbor, you’d be well to consider which type and size would be most effective.
Cannons and the American Civil War
At the Battle of Gettysburg, there were hundreds of cannons present: 362 on the Union side and 270 manned by the Confederates. The Union guns were said to be superior, as manufacturing centers in the North were known to produce better-quality weapons.
Confederate generals were keen to create a bridgehead at Gettysburg and continue their invasion of the North. That may have given the Southern states the international recognition they craved to legitimize their status as a sovereign entity.
The Battle of Gettysburg cost the lives of thousands of men, and it was the bloodiest encounter of the American Civil War, with an estimated 50,000 total casualties. The effectiveness of cannon fire was pivotal to the success of the Union defense and marked the beginning of the end for the Confederate campaign.
Parrott rifles
A brand-new replica Parrott cannon barrel will cost you around $499.00, but you’ll have to find the gun carriage yourself.
The Parrott could deliver a 10-pound charge and was accurate up to 2,000 yards. However, the brittle nature of the iron barrel meant that the Parrott was vulnerable to shattering, which proved lethal to the multi-man gunnery team needed to operate it.
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Even so, the Parrott was popular, due to its overall range and comparatively light weight, which made it an easier artillery piece to handle under fire than others. So if your annoying neighbor is only three doors down the hall, this cannon would do the trick (not that we’re saying you should resort to violence).