The 6.4-Inch Brooke at Historic Tredegar
A Double Banded 6.4-Inch Brooke Rifle is displayed outside of Historic Tredegar Ironworks in Richmond, Virginia where it was originally manufactured in 1862.
The Brooke in Richmond is marked with the Tredegar foundry number 1633 and as weighing 9,400 pounds as manufactured. Number 1633 was cast at Tredegar on or about July 26th, 1862.
The Whitworth Rifles of the Naval Battery on Morris Island
Four 5-Inch Whitworth Muzzle Loading Rifles were captured by the US Navy when the Blockade Runner S.S. Princess Royal was captured by USS Unadilla off of Charleston. Two of the four survive. One at West Point bearing a plaque stating that it was used on Morris Island. The other is at the Washington Navy Yard where it may have been tested in the experimental battery there.
24-Pounder Dahlgren Boat Howitzer at Petersburg, Virginia
24-Pounder Dahlgren Boat Howitzer Number 388 is displayed at the Petersburg National Battlefield. According to the research reflected in Olmstead et al., this particular boat howitzer was aboard USS Granite City when that ship was captured by Confederate infantry and artillery at Calcasieu Pass, Louisiana. I do not know what subsequent Confederate service the howitzer saw nor what brought it to Petersburg.
4.62-Inch Gorgas Rifle at Stony Creek, Virginia
A 4.62-Inch Siege Rifle cast by Bellona Foundry (near Richmond) in 1862 may be found in Stony Creek, Virginia. Weight of 5,360 pounds is stamped on the breech. The right trunnion reads "BF / JLA" (Bellona Foundry / Junius L. Archer).
Olmstead et al. identifies this cannon as a "Gorgas Rifle", a type manufactured by both Tredegar and Bellona. This example is the only known survivor of the type. As noted in "The Big Guns", this rifle is nearly identical to the 4.62-Inch "Gibbon and Andrews" rifle found at Fort Branch except for the latter rifle being banded and therefore eight hundred pounds heavier.
The 32-Pounder of 32 Hundredweight at Petersburg
A 32-Pounder of 32 Hundredweight of the type manufactured for the US Navy beginning in 1846 for use as the main battery aboard smaller sloops is displayed at Petersburg National Battlefield. The 32-Pounder of 32 Hundredweight is a chambered cannon - meaning the chamber in the barrel where the propellant charge is placed is of smaller diameter than the 6.4-Inch diameter of the main portion of the barrel.
A Brooke Smoothbore at Dutch Gap on the James River
Four photos of the same heavy Brooke Smoothbore seem to have been taken at the same time. The cannon was emplaced overlooking the James River at the Dutch Gap.
The 8-Inch Siege Howitzer of USS Pawnee
Two 8-Inch Siege Howitzers, Model 1841 (Olmstead et. al say "Pattern 1840") at the Washington Navy Yard.
Both were used in an attempted ambush of USS Marblehead on the Stono River on Christmas Day, 1863. One was subsequently carried as a pet aboard USS Pawnee.
The Cannons of the North Carolina State Capitol
A number of statues and monuments dot the grounds of the historic North Carolina State Capitol (built 1833-1840) in Raleigh, North Carolina. This post looks at the cannons which flank those statues.
The monuments cannons covered in this post are:
The Statue of George Washington and the Edenton Cannons
The US Army 8-Inch Siege Mortars and the Statue of North Carolina Presidents
The 4-Inch Fawcett and Preston Rifle
The 32-Pounders of 57 Hundredweight now at Fort Fisher
Fort Johnson in 1865
Fort Johnson, which dated to colonial times, had fired the "signal" mortar round at the beginning of the Bombardment of Fort Sumter, and which had been a major component of the defenses of Charleston harbor - especially after the reduction of Fort Sumter, was photographed in 1865. These photos, available in high resolution on the Library of Congress website, show the four heavy cannons facing the shipping channel, along with carriages, implements, projectiles, and more.
The 4.62-Inch Gibbon and Andrews Rifle of Fort Branch
The only (known) surviving 4.62-Inch Gibbon and Andrews Rifle is part of the remarkable collection of original artillery at Fort Branch near Hamilton, North Carolina. This Confederate siege rifle was recovered from the Roanoke River at Fort Branch in 1977 having been submerged since the fort was destroyed and abandoned in April of 1865. It was recovered still mounted on the remains of its siege and garrison carriage which is also on display in the Fort’s museum.
Early 8-Inch Confederate Columbiad at Fort Pulaski
An early 8-Inch Confederate Columbiad is displayed on the parapet of Fort Pulaski near Savannah, Georgia. While it resembles the US Army “New Columbiad” of 1857/1858, it is the only known example of its specific type to survive.
2.9-Inch Blakely Rifles at the South Carolina Military Museum
Two 2.9-Inch Blakely Rifles recovered in 1974 from the wreck of SS Georgiana are displayed at the South Carolina Military Museum in Columbia, South Carolina. Georgiana was attempting to run the blockade into Charleston on March 19th, 1863 when she was intercepted by blockading vessels including the Yacht America, USS Housatonic, and USS Wissahickon.
The 32-Pounders of 57 Hundredweight at Fort Fisher
Two US Navy 32-Pounders of 57 Hundredweight which were made in 1848 and 1852 at Tredegar, captured by the Confederates, banded and rifled, and mounted during the war at Fort Caswell are displayed at Fort Fisher. Three other replicas based on these cannons are mounted at the fort.
10-Inch Confederate Columbiad at the South Carolina Military Museum
Bellona Foundry 10-Inch Columbiad Number 22 is displayed at the South Carolina Military Museum in Columbia, South Carolina. This Columbiad, cast in 1863, was part of the defenses of Charleston, sold for scrap after the war, lost in a shipwreck, and recovered and conserved in the 21st Century.
The 150-Pounder Armstrong of Fort Fisher
A 150-Pounder Armstrong Rifle which has been displayed at West Point since 1865 was mounted at Fort Fisher during the American Civil War. A replica represents the cannon at Fort Fisher State Historic Site today.
The 32-Pounder Carronade at Fort Macon
A carronade cast for the US Navy in 1820 and carried aboard the ship of the line USS Columbus is displayed at Fort Macon on Bogue Banks near Beaufort, North Carolina. The carronade represents the six carronades shipped from the Gosport Navy Yard in 1861 to be mounted for flank defense in the counterfire galleries of the fort. The six carronades ended up being used for high angle fire during the Siege of Fort Macon in 1862.
4-Inch Fawcett Preston Rifle in Raleigh, North Carolina
A 4-Inch Rifle manufactured by Fawcett, Preston, and Company of Liverpool which was used by the Confederates near Fort Fisher until captured by the US Navy on August 23rd, 1863 is displayed in Raleigh, North Carolina. This cannon may (or many not) be a “Blakely Rifle”.
Heavy Artillery of the Confederacy in the American Civil War
This post is an overview of the major types and systems of heavy naval and seacoast artillery operated by the Confederate Army and Confederate Navy during the American Civil War. The principle types used were: Pre-War US Army cannons and Columbiads, Pre-War US Navy cannons and Dahlgren guns, Confederate Columbiads, Brooke Rifles and Smoothbores, banded and rifled cannons, and British rifles.
The 12-Pounder Whitworth Rifle at Fort Fisher
A 12-Pounder Whitworth Breech Loading Rifle is displayed at Fort Fisher. This Whitworth was captured on August 23rd, 1863 by the United States Navy after two actions fought around the wreck of the blockader runner Hebe.
The 10-Inch Confederate Columbiad at Fort Macon
An original 10-Inch Confederate Columbiad is displayed at Fort Macon on Bogue Banks in North Carolina. While Fort Macon mounted two such cannons during the war, this particular Columbiad was mounted at Charleston, was sold for scrap after the Civil War, was shipped and lost aboard the schooner Philadelphia, and was recovered off the coast of South Carolina in the 2010s.