10-Inch Confederate Columbiads at White Point Garden
A 10-Inch Confederate Columbiad “guards” Charleston Harbor
War-time photograph of “The Battery”. At left is an 11-inch Dahlgren recovered from USS Keokuk. The two other cannons are 10-inch Columbiads. Note, the three cannon pictured here are thought to have all been sold for scrap. Around 1900 three similar cannon (including the other 11-inch Dahlgren from USS Keokuk) were brought from Fort Moultrie for display at White Point Garden. National Archives photo no. 165-C-799.
During the American Civil War a Battery of two 10-Inch Confederate Columbiads and an 11-Inch Dahlgren was emplaced at White Point Garden to guard the city in the event that the US Navy was able to pass the outer defenses and enter Charleston Harbor. The 10-Inch Columbiad was one of the most powerful guns commonly produced by the Tredegar and Bellona Foundries in Richmond. Charleston still displays 8 of these 13,000 pound cannon. Others which were part of the defenses of Charleston, sold for scrap, and subsequently lost at sea near Georgetown have been salvaged for display elsewhere. And at least one 10-Inch Columbiad is buried at Castle Pinckney in Charleston Harbor.
The cannon that composed that battery seem to have been sold for scrap after the war. Around 1900, the City of Charleston requested from the Federal Government that two Confederate Columbiads, the other 11-Inch Dahlgren from USS Keokuk, and a 7-Inch Brooke Rifle be given to the city. These cannon seem to have come from Fort Moultrie. They were used to recreate the wartime battery at the park. The carriages upon which the cannon are mounted - US Army wrought iron, front pintle barbette carriages - may have been “donated” by the US Army Rodman guns and Parrott rifles still displayed at Forts Moultrie and Sumter.
For over 120 years now, these cannon have been an iconic part of one of the most scenic places in the city. Generations of local children have climbed up on them. The colloquial name for White Point Garden has become “The Battery” because of these cannon.
Early 20th Century view of the two Columbiads and the 11-Inch Dahlgren. Note that all three sit up on intact lower carriages. Library of Congress photo: https://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/det/item/2016815053/
10-Inch Confederate Columbiad at White Point Garden
10-Inch Confederate Columbiad at White Point Garden
10-Inch Confederate Columbiad at White Point Garden
10-Inch Confederate Columbiads at White Point Garden
10-Inch Confederate Columbiad at White Point Garden (with 11-Inch Dahlgren in the background)
10-Inch Confederate Columbiad at White Point Garden
The two Columbiads now flank a monument to Revolutionary War General Moultrie which was erected in 2007. (Prior to the Moultrie monument, a capstan from USS Maine was displayed in this location.)
Two 10-Inch Confederate Columbiads and an 11-Inch Dahlgren as displayed at White Point Garden
