The Union forces built a number of barges early in the Civil War to support their actions against the Confederacy on the Mississippi River. Each barge carried one 13-inch seacoast mortar capable of firing a 200-pound shell more than three miles. The unpowered barges were towed to their positions and anchored or tied up on the riverbank. Period illustrations show the gun crew outside the bulwark when the mortar was fired. My image, inspired by one of these illustrations, shows a navy crew, although army crews, who were familiar with the mortars, may have been used. The officer stands next to the gunner who uses a long lanyard to fire the mortar. The crew is ready to climb back inside to prepare the mortar for the next shot. The environment is the 2nd_world Swimming Lake, water from DAZ's Lake Village, and one of FLink's Sunset skies. The barge is my latest Civil War product. The rope holding the barge is from Rope Construction Kit. The crew are all M4 wearing Cybertenko's Universal Sailor uniform with modified textures. Some are wearing a retextured hat from Rhi's Hatz. The officer is M4 with a retextured Shenandoah Officer's uniform from DAZ and a highly modified Conductor Cap from Varsel. The startled gulls are from the Hivewire Flock Formations. The mortar blast is mostly an overlay form Gunplay! Composed and Superfly rendered in Poser 11 Pro. The only post-processing was the addition of the gun blast.