St. Barbara, patron saint of artillery, wood sculpture

Description

Artillerymen are a peculiar breed. Part grunt, part Motor T (transport), part communications, and part deaf, they have a long lineage dating back to the Roman legions in 399 BC. From the Middle Ages through most of the modern era, artillery pieces on land were moved by horse-drawn gun carriages. In the contemporary era, the artillery and crew have relied primarily on wheel or tracked vehicles as transportation, though some of the largest were railway guns. Twenty-first century artillery consists of the M777 Howitzer as well as various other naval and land rocket pieces. Despite the years that separate the earliest artillerymen and today’s modern warriors, for a number of centuries they’ve all shared one thing in common — the veneration of Saint Barbara, the patron saint of artillery.