10-Inch Model 1844 Columbiad, Banded and Rifled, at Fort Sumter
10-Inch Columbiad Model 1844, Banded and Rifled, is preserved at Fort Sumter near Charleston, South Carolina.
A 10-Inch Columbiad Model 1844 which was banded and rifled by the Confederates during the war is preserved at Fort Sumter. The Columbiad was cast for the US Army by Cyrus Alger of Boston in 1846. It is marked with its original weight of 15,585 pounds and a registry number “9”. This Columbiad, in its original form, is thought to have been present at Fort Sumter for both the first battle in April of 1861 and the attack of the US Navy ironclads in April of 1863. Following the successful conversion of a damaged 10-Inch Columbiad to a rifle, this cannon was banded and rifled by James Eason and Brothers in September of 1863. After conversion, the cannon was placed at Fort Johnson on James Island. Immediate post war photos show it in a four gun battery with a Brooke Rifle and two Confederate Columbiads. Following the war, this Columbiad remained on James Island - eventually being mounted at the Charleston Board of Health Quarantine Station near the location of the old fort. In 1954 the old cannon was donated to the National Park Service and moved to Fort Sumter.
As always, consult Mike Ryan’s “The Historic Guns of Forts Sumter and Moultrie” for more information.
10-inch, Model 1844 Banded and Rifled at Fort Johnson immediately after the Civil War. Ripley believed this to be the same gun presently at Fort Sumter. Library of Congress Photo
Another view of Fort Johnson. The rifled and banded Model 1844 which Ripley believed was the Fort Sumter Columbiad can be seen towards the back. Also pictured are two Confederate Columbiads and a double-banded Brooke. Library of Congress Photo
Stereoscopic view of the same scene as above. Library of Congress photo: https://www.loc.gov/item/2011648049/
Circa 1900 view of the Columbiad at the Charleston Board of Health Quarantine Station
