"Presently his bugle was heard singing in the cedars, and in an incredibly short time a single gun with its caisson, each drawn by six horses and manned by its full complement of gunners, came bounding and banging up the grade in a storm of dust,
unlimbered under cover, and was run forward by hand to the fatal crest among the dead horses. "
Webster's 1913 Dictionary
Definition: \Lim"ber\ (l[i^]m"b[~e]r), n. [For limmer, Icel. limar
branches, boughs, pl. of lim; akin to E. limb. See {Limb} a
branch.]
1. pl. The shafts or thills of a wagon or carriage. [Prov.
Eng.]
2. (Mil.) The detachable fore part of a gun carriage,
consisting of two wheels, an axle, and a shaft to which
the horses are attached. On top is an ammunition box upon
which the cannoneers sit.
3. pl. (Naut.) Gutters or conduits on each side of the
keelson to afford a passage for water to the pump well.
{Limber boards} (Naut.), short pieces of plank forming part
of the lining of a ship's floor immediately above the
timbers, so as to prevent the limbers from becoming
clogged.
{Limber box or chest} (Mil.), a box on the limber for
carrying ammunition.
{Limber rope}, {Limber chain}, or {Limber clearer} (Naut.), a
rope or chain passing through the limbers of a ship, by
which they may be cleared of dirt that chokes them.
--Totten.
{Limber strake} (Shipbuilding), the first course of inside
planking next the keelson.
\Lim"ber\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Limbered} (-b[~e]rd); p.
pr. & vb. n. {Limbering}.] (Mil.)
To attach to the limber; as, to limber a gun.
{To limber up}, to change a gun carriage into a four-wheeled
vehicle by attaching the limber.
\Lim"ber\, a. [Akin to limp, a. [root]125. See {Limp},
a.]
Easily bent; flexible; pliant; yielding. --Milton.
The bargeman that doth row with long and limber oar.
--Turbervile.
\Lim"ber\, v. t.
To cause to become limber; to make flexible or pliant.
--Richardson.
Here's a picture of a civil war cannon, and its limber. The way they are pictured is misleading. When underway, the cannon was pointing to the rear.
http://www.collectorsarmory.com/civil_war_cannon_and_limber.htm OP
