Mary Ellin has concluded that "fixed" does not mean "unbroken" when
it concerns guns in inventories, etc. I always assumed that a fixed
gun was a mounted piece, while most of my colleagues here in Virginia
have assumed it meant a functioning piece. I have recently become
convinced that I was wrong and they were right. Too often in the
early musters and inventories of Virginia, "fixed" appears opposed to
some synonym of "broken." Of course, I'm willing to change my mind
again anytime.
 
Dan Mouer