8-Inch Parrott Rifles of Forts Moultrie and Sumter

Jul 6

8-Inch Parrott Rifle preserved at Fort Moultrie near Charleston, South Carolina

Note: these cannon have been part of an earlier post on all the Parrott Rifles of Forts Sumter and Moultrie.

Two 8-Inch Parrott Rifles are preserved near Charleston, South Carolina. (These pieces are also called a “200-Pounder” in US Army service or a “150-Pounder” in US Navy service.) The 8-Inch Parrott at Fort Moultrie is displayed on “Cannon Row” beside a 10-Inch Parrott. This 8-Inch was cast at West Point Foundry in 1864 for the US Army. It is registry number 56 and foundry number 884. It is marked as weighing 16,487 pounds. This Parrott was shipped to Fort Moultrie in 1872 as part of repairs and modernization of the fort. In 1897 the Parrott was one of the obsolete cannons surveyed and approved for removal. Rather than remove this and several other pieces of heavy ordnance were buried on the western side of the fort. Archeologists found these cannons in 1974 when they were looking for the original barracks of Fort Moultrie.

The other 8-Inch Parrott is at Fort Sumter. It was also cast at the West Point Foundry for the US Army in 1864. It is Registry Number 58 and foundry number 876. It is marked as weighing 16,537 pounds. This Parrott was brought to Fort Sumter in 1872 as part of the repair and modernization of the fort. Having outlived its usefulness, it was buried at Fort Sumter following the construction of Battery Huger in 1900. It was rediscovered in the major excavations at the Fort in 1959.

The 8-Inch Parrott fired a 135 to 200 pound projectile (depending on the type of projectile and year of service). With a 16-pound charge of black powder as propellant, the rifle could range out to 4.5 miles or more (as shown when “The Swamp Angel” bombarded Charleston in 1863). As also shown with the Swamp Angel, the type had an reputation for very uneven reliability - with some bursting very early in their service while others lasted through hundreds of rounds.

A good account of the Swamp Angel may be found here: https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/swamp-angel

A 1901 photo of Fort Sumter shows an 8-Inch Parrott dismounted from it’s carriage near battery Huger along with two 15-Inch Rodmans.

Mike Ryan (whose excellent “The Historic Guns of Forts Sumter and Moultrie” has once again been a major source of information for this post) notes in that paper that as many as three more 8-Inch Parrotts are thought to be buried at Fort Sumter. A more recent conversation with a Park Ranger at the site confirmed that this is still thought to be the case. However with many cannon already on display at the site there is little interest in conducting the excavations needed to find these cannons - which would then need lengthy preservation and all the funding to go with it. In the absence of such an effort, they are best left where they are.