30pdr Parrott Rifle in Cincinnati, Ohio — 30-Pounder Parrott Rifle displayed in Washington Park in Cincinnati, Ohio - Photo courtesy of “Ferd454231”

Note: The photos of the Washington Park Parrott are posted here courtesy of the CWT user “Ferd454231” and are used with his permission. Many thanks to him! His original post may be found here.

A 30-Pounder (or 4.2-Inch) Parrott Rifle is displayed in Washington Park in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is a United States Navy model of the 30-Pounder Parrott. (The US Army model is about two feet longer and 700 pounds heavier.) It is stamped as weighing 3,520 pounds as manufactured. The Parrott is mounted on a reproduction Marsilly-style carriage.

The cannon is engraved with “30 Pound Parrott from Farragut Mobile Bay Campaign. Presented to City of Cincinnati by T.W. Seib.”

A nearby sign at the park explains: “This cannon, called a Parrott gun in 1864, from Farragut's feet and has been in Washington Park since 1870, acquired from the War Department and donated to Cincinnati by T.W. Seib of the Sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Washington Park was a center of activity for army recruitment during the Civil War. Regiments were formed in the park from citizens of Irish, German and African descent. One of the African Americans inducted in the park was Powhatan Beaty. Beaty was later awarded the Medal of Honor for gallantry at Chaffin's Farm in New Market Heights, Virginia, a battle fought in September, 1864. The donated cannon was meant to serve as a commemorative monument to Cincinnati soldiers inducted in the park. Anonymous donations and volunteer labor restored the cannon in the mid-1970s. It was restored and reinstalled again on August 5, 1997, 133 years to the day after the Battle of Mobile Bay.” Historical Marker Database Entry.

The current carriage that the cannon is mounted upon has trunnion caps which cover the trunnions. The entry for the piece in the Registry in The Big Guns notes that it was manufactured in 1865. The notes in the Registry also mention that the cannon has “modified breeching blocks and no Registry Number” on the reinforcing band behind the vent (pg. 186). The date, if correct, would mean that the cannon was not present at a battle fought in 1864.

The “modified breeching block” is shown in the Cincinnati photos to allow for an elevating screw to be easily connected to the breech of the cannon. This type of breeching block can also be seen on one of the four 30-Pounder Parrott Rifles displayed at Battleship New Jersey in Camden, New Jersey and on the 30-Pounder Parrott at Sackets Harbor (subject of an upcoming post.) Both the New Jersey and Sackets Harbor Parrotts were manufactured in 1865.

The lack of a standard United States Navy Registry Number is curious. Almost all USN cannons of the period carry a registry number. I suspect (and it is only a suspicion) that the Sackets Harbor Parrott was produced for and used aboard a United States Revenue Cutter and that the lack of a USN registry number indicates that the cannon was ordered by the Revenue Service rather than the Navy. Again, that is only a suspicion and may or may not be relevant to the Cincinnati Parrott.

Searching online, it appears that there may be a second 30-Pounder Parrott Rifle in Cincinnati also donated by T.W. Seib. This cannon was displayed in the cemetery of Pleasant Ridge Presbyterian Church until around the year 2000 when it was moved to the Cincinnati Museum Center. After a restoration and the creation a carriage, it was placed on display in 2015. I believe this is a different cannon than the one now in Washington Park. If anyone local to Cincinnati can confirm that they are two different Parrott Rifles - one at Washington Park and one in the collection of the Cincinnati Museum Center, I would appreciate it!

Articles about the conservation of the Cincinnati Museum Center Parrott: https://cincinnaticwrt.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Parrott-Rifle_CMC.pdf https://www.wvxu.org/local-news/2015-04-14/museum-center-moves-rare-cannon-for-new-exhibit#stream/0