US Navy 8-Inch Chambered Shell Gun of 63 Hundredweight Number 358 of USS Cairo
US Navy 8-Inch Chambered Shell Gun of 63 Hundredweight Number 358 is displayed aboard USS Cairo at Vicksburg National Military Park. It is mounted on the port broadside in the second position from the bow. Number 358 is one of three of the 8-Inch shell guns aboard. Number 358 was cast at the West Point Foundry in 1845. It is marked as weighed in hundredweight "63-0-18" (7,074 pounds).
Republic of Yucatán 18-Pounder Gunade at Trophy Park
Trophy Park at Norfolk Naval Shipyard displays a mix of US Navy weaponry from throughout the Navy’s history and a handful of items captured from other nations. One of the latter is an 18-Pounder Gunade manufactured for the Republic of Yucatán. Presumably it was brought back from the Mexican American War.
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 Army 24-Pounder Siege Guns at Shiloh
Two US Army 24-Pounders, Pattern 1819, are among the many artillery pieces which may be seen at Shiloh National Military Park.
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.
7-Inch Double Banded Brooke Rifle S81 at the National Civil War Naval Museum
7-Inch Double Banded Brooke Rifle, S81, is displayed overlooking the Chattahoochee River at the National Civil War Naval Museum. S81 is displayed on “Cannon Row” in front of the museum - giving the visitor the opportunity to compare it to other heavy cannons of the American Civil War.
US Navy 32-Pounder of 32 Hundredweight of USS Pennsylvania
A US Navy 32-Pounder of 32 Hundredweight which was recovered from the wreck of USS Pennsylvania is displayed in Trophy Park in Norfolk Naval Shipyard.
Iron, Banded 6-Pounders in Joliet, Illinois
Two smoothbore iron banded six-pounders that the registry identifies as of probable Confederate manufacture are displayed beside a G.A.R. Memorial in St. Peter Lutheran Cemetery in Joliet, Illinois today at a GAR Memorial. Many thanks to friend of the page Mike Clennon for sharing these photos!
US Navy 12-Pounder Dahlgren Boat Howitzer Number 36
A US Navy 12-Pounder Dahlgren Boat Howitzer (Heavy), Registry Number 36, is displayed in Trophy Park at Norfolk Naval Shipyard. It was cast in 1854 at the Washington Navy Yard. It served aboard USS Constellation from 1854 to 1866.
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 32-Pounders of 57 Hundredweight of Stoneham, Massachusetts
The monument to Civil War soldiers and sailors in Lindenwood Cemetery in Stoneham, Massachusetts is surrounded by four US Navy 32-Pounders of 57 Hundredweight.
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 24-Pounder Dahlgren Boat Howitzer at Shiloh
US Navy 24-Pounder Dahlgren Boat Howitzer Number 656 is displayed at Shiloh National Military Park. (Many thanks to James Murray for sharing these photos with us!) It was cast in 1864 by Ames. As manufactured it weighed 1305 pounds. This boat howitzer has a portion of its hammer still in place - and a something (a projectile?) lodged in the tube.
The 32-Pounder of 4,500 Pounds of San Luis Obispo
A US Navy Bureau of Ordnance 32-Pounder of 4,500 Pounds is displayed in the San Luis Cemetery in San Luis Obispo, California. This 32-Pounder was manufactured at Builders Foundry (Providence, Rhode Island) in 1866. According to the data in a 2000 edition of the registry, it weighed 4,530 pounds as manufactured in 1866. It is US Navy registry number 333. The 32-Pounder is mounted on an original iron Marsilly carriage.
The 32-Pounders of Old North Cemetery, Weymouth
Four US Navy 32-Pounders of 51 Hundredweight surround a Monument dedicated to the Soldiers and Sailors of Weymouth, Massachusetts who died during the American Civil War. The monument was dedicated in 1868 and lists each man by his unit and the circumstances of his death. The fearsome toll taken by disease during the war can clearly be seen etched in stone. The cannons were likely placed later in the 19th century.
The Breechloading Rifle of Columbus
This little breechloading rifle was manufactured in 1863 by engineer W.J. McAllister using the wheel shaft of the sunken riverboat John C. Calhoun at the Columbus Naval Ironworks Company. Warren Ripley measured the bore at 2.75 inches. Ripley also gives the length overall as 61.25 inches, though he states that this doesn’t include the breechblock link (pg. 181).
US Navy Ordnance of the 1845/1846 System
In May of 1845, a board of US Navy Captains recommended a system of ordnance for the navy. Their report called for the Navy to standardize on the 32-Pounder. The deficiencies of this system would cause John Dahlgren to design a replacement - which became the Dahlgren guns with which the US Navy fought the American Civil War.
8-Inch Rifle Number 45 of USS Lancaster
US Navy 8-Inch Muzzle Loading Rifle Number 45 of USS Lancaster at Patriots Point Soccer Stadium in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. This is one of four 8-Inch Rifles which were carried aboard USS Lancaster in the 1880s which are displayed at the stadium. Previously these 8-Inch MLR were displayed beside the aircraft carrier Yorktown. Before that they were at the Charleston Navy Yard.
10-Inch Brooke Smoothbore S87 at the National Civil War Naval Museum
A 10-Inch Double Banded Brooke Smoothbore, S87, is displayed at the National Civil War Naval Museum in Columbus, Georgia. This gun was cast in 1864 at Selma, Alabama. In November of 1864 it was shipped for delivery to Commodore Ingraham commanding the Charleston Squadron of the Confederate Navy. However, neither this gun nor the 11-Inch Brooke displayed next to it reached Charleston due to transportation disruptions at the end of the war.
The US Army 42-Pounders of USS Cairo
The US Army 42-Pounders are displayed aboard USS Cairo in Vicksburg, Mississippi. One is a Pattern 1831 and two are Pattern 1845. All three were rifled for service during the American Civil War.