The Guns of USS Peterhoff at Fort Fisher
Four US Navy cannons recovered from the wreck of the Civil War ship USS Peterhoff are currently in storage awaiting future display at Fort Fisher State Historic Site. The four cannons include three types of 32-Pounder and a 30-Pounder Parrott Rifle.
US Navy 30-Pounder Parrott of USS Cairo
A US Navy 30-Pounder Parrott Rifle, Number 61, is mounted aboard USS Cairo to fire over the stern. The 30-Pounder (4.2-Inch) Rifle was manufactured by West Point Foundry in 1862. As manufactured it weighed 3,460 pounds.
The 60-Pounder Breech Loader of USS Kearsarge
A US Navy 60-Pounder Breech Loader which served aboard USS Kearsarge from about 1880 to 1886 is displayed at Trophy Park at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia. This gun was originally manufactured as a muzzle loading 60-Pounder (5.3-Inch) Parrott Rifle, Registry Number 61, at West Point Foundry in 1865.
US Navy 100-Pounder Parrott Rifle of USS Otsego in Manhattan, Kansas
A US Navy 100-Pounder Parrott Rifle, Registry Number 224, is displayed in Sunset Cemetery in Manhattan, Kansas. During the American Civil War, it was carried aboard USS Otsego which was sunk by a torpedo in December of 1864.
US Navy 60-Pounder Parrott Rifle at Trophy Park
A US Navy 60-Pounder (5.3-Inch) Parrott Rifle is displayed alongside other Parrotts and Dahlgrens of the Civil War era at Trophy Park at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia. This 60-Pounder is Number 56. It was manufactured at West Point Foundry in 1865. As manufactured it weighed 5,430 pounds.
The 100-Pounder Parrott Rifles of Fort Mill, South Carolina
Two US Army 100-Pounder (or 6.4-Inch) Parrott Rifles are displayed in Fort Mill, South Carolina. The two Parrotts were brought to the town around 1901. Since 1973 they have been fired every year as part of the Fourth of July celebrations.
The 100-Pounder Parrott Rifle of USS Dawn at York, Maine
A US Navy 100-Pounder Parrott Rifle, US Navy Registry Number 206, is displayed in front of the Old Gaol in York, Maine. Number 206 was cast at West Point Foundry in 1863. It’s weight as manufactured is 9,672 pounds. According to the research of Olmstead, Stark, and Tucker, Number 206 served aboard USS Dawn during the American Civil War.
US Navy 30-Pounder Parrott Rifle of USS Stettin
A US Navy 30-Pounder Parrott Rifle, Registry Number 119, is on displayed at the National Civil War Naval Museum in Columbus, Georgia. It was manufactured by the West Point Foundry in 1862, and its original weight was 3,544 pounds. It is displayed alongside four 9-Inch Dahlgrens. All five cannons show signs of being ex-bollards.
CS Army 30-Pounder “Parrott” Rifle at Fort Morgan
A 30-Pounder (4.2-Inch) Rifle manufactured by Tredegar (Richmond, Virginia) in 1862 is displayed at Fort Morgan. The rifle is resembles the US Army Parrott Rifle. The rifle’s breech was blown off at some point. The missing breech allows the bore to be seen from the breech - and it is roughly and inch off-center.
Like the US Army Parrott Rifle, this is a cast iron cannon with a wrought iron reinforcing band over the breach.
US Army 30-Pounder Parrott Rifle in Lafayette, Indiana
A US Army 30-Pounder Parrott Rifle, Number 180, is displayed in front of the Tippecanoe County Courthouse in Lafayette, Indiana. The Parrott is displayed on the southeast corner of the courthouse lawn mounted on an iron pedestal mounted on top of a stone base with the dates 1861-1865. An 8-Inch siege howitzer is displayed on the northwest corner of the courthouse. Both cannons were donated to the John A Logan, Post Number 3, of the Grand Army of the Republic on July 15th, 1897.
30-Pounder Parrott Number 180 was manufactured at the West Point Foundry in 1863. As manufactured it weighed 4,206 pounds - as seen on the muzzle.
US Army 100-Pounder Parrott Rifle of Fort Morgan
A US Army 100-Pounder (6.4-Inch) Parrott Rifle, Number 90, is displayed near the entrance to Fort Morgan in Alabama. It was cast by West Point Foundry in 1863. As manufactured it weighed 9,827 pounds. It represents the cannons brought to the fort by the US Army in the 1870s.
US Navy 100-Pounder Parrott Rifles of Buffalo, New York
Two US Navy 100-Pounder Parrott Rifles, Numbers 346 and 352, are displayed in Front Park in Buffalo, New York. Both are marked "Water Core" on the muzzle signifying that they were cast according to Rodman's technique. The Parrotts are mounted on a ornamental iron pedestal which is in the shape of a stylized carriage.
US Army 30-Pounder Parrott Rifle Number 29
US Army 30-Pounder (4.2-Inch) Parrott Rifle Number 29 was manufactured at West Point Foundry in 1861. It is displayed near the site of the Third Louisiana Redan at Vicksburg National Military Park.
US Navy 100-Pounder Parrott Rifles of Reynoldsville, Pennsylvania
Two US Navy 100-Pounder (6.4-Inch) Parrott Rifles are displayed at Veterans Memorial Park in Reynoldsville, Pennsylvania. The two cannons are displayed on iron display stands. One or perhaps both of these Parrotts may have been used in action by the US Navy against the ironclad ram CSS Albemarle during the Battle of Albemarle Sound on May 5th, 1864.
3.3-Inch Parrott Rifle in Kingstree, South Carolina
3.3-Inch Parrott Rifle displayed beside the Williamsburg County Courthouse in Kingstree, South Carolina. As Hazlett et al. note, this is one of three surviving 3.3-Inch Parrotts. (One of the others is at The Citadel in Charleston while the third is at Harpers Ferry.) Also according to Hazlett, these rifles externally conform to the size an shape of a US Army 10-Pounder Parrott.
30-Pounder Parrott Rifle at Petersburg
US Army 30-Pounder Parrott Rifle Number 227 (manufactured in 1863 at the West Point Foundry, 4,155 Pounds as manufactured) is displayed at Petersburg National Battlefield.
The 6.4-Inch Parrott Rifles of Greenville, South Carolina
Two 6.4-Inch Parrott Rifles (also called 100-Pounder Parrott Rifles) are displayed in Greenville, South Carolina beside a Confederate Monument. Despite flanking a Confederate Monument, they were produced for the US Army, and cannons with “neighboring” serial numbers are known to have been used to bombard Confederate positions near Charleston. It is possible that these two cannons saw similar service.
The Guns of USS Kearsarge in 1894
When the USS Kearsarge grounded and sank on February 2nd, 1894 she was carrying two 8-Inch Muzzle Loading Rifles, four 9-Inch Dahlgrens, and one 5.3-Inch Breech Loading Rifle. This post looks at historic photos of USS Kearsarge, photos of preserved cannons similar to those lost aboard the ship, and photos that may show the current disposition of the cannons at Kearsarge’s wreck site.
The Cannons of Freeport: The Trubia Rifle and Hartford’s Parrott
Two 19th Century muzzle-loading rifled cannon sit about a half-mile apart on Long Island in Freeport, New York. One is an 8-Inch Muzzle Loading Rifle made at Trubia, Spain in 1874 and captured in the Spanish American War. The other is a US Navy 30-Pounder Parrott Rifle which served aboard USS Hartford during the American Civil War.
“Report on Rifled Guns” - 1865 Report on Parrott Rifles by the US Navy Bureau of Ordnance
After 5 US Navy Parrott Rifles failed causing some 45 casualties during the First Battle of Fort Fisher in December of 1865, the Bureau of Ordnance was tasked with determining the cause of the failures and whether Parrott Rifles continued to be suitable for use by the United States Navy. The report is transcribed in this post.