9-Inch Dahlgren at Old Fort Jackson
9-Inch Dahlgren displayed at Old Fort Jackson outside of Savannah, Georgia
The largest intact cannon displayed at Old Fort Jackson near Savannah, Georgia is a 9-Inch Dahlgren cast in 1857 at Tredegar. It is marked as weighing 9,154 pounds as originally manufactured. It is Tredegar registry number 116. It is displayed on a center-pintle barbette carriage.
Records indicate that it served in the US Navy on USS Brooklyn during the Civil War. USS Brooklyn participated in the Battles of New Orleans, Mobile Bay, and Fort Fisher among others. It is possible that this cannon was present for some or all of those engagements. This cannon was cemented into a dock at the Norfolk Navy Yard - perhaps as a bollard. It eventually ended up in private hands in Virginia. It was acquired by Coastal Heritage Society in 1997. Damage to the muzzle was repaired, and a steel sleave was inserted into the barrel which allows the cannon to be safely fired on special occasions.
A video of the Dahlgren being fired can be seen here.
Old Fort Jackson was not armed with Dahlgrens during the war. At the fort, the Dahlgren stands in for the 8-Inch Columbiads which armed the fort during the war. However, CSS Georgia which served alongside the fort was armed with 9-Inch Dahlgrens - which have been recovered and are undergoing conservation at Texas A&M.
Postwar photo of USS Brooklyn. US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/our-collections/photography/numerical-list-of-images/nhhc-series/nh-series/NH-56000/NH-56578.html
The Dahlgren viewed from the parade ground inside the fort.
The Dahlgren can be seen at center left above the parapet.
