Leeds and Co. Napoleon Number 19 at Petersburg, National Battlefield
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Leeds and Co. Napoleon Number 19 at Petersburg, National Battlefield

Among the many interesting artillery pieces at Petersburg National Battlefield is the earliest surviving Napoleon manufactured for the Confederacy. This Napoleon made by Leeds and Company of New Orleans is displayed at Battery Number Five within walking distance of the visitors center. (It is marked with the Leeds and Co. Foundry Number 19.)

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The Napoleons of Carthage, North Carolina
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The Napoleons of Carthage, North Carolina

Two Napoleons (12-Pounder Field Gun-Howitzers of the American Civil War) flank a monument to James Roger McConnell, pilot of the Lafayette Escadrille, in Carthage, North Carolina outside of the historic former Moore County Courthouse.

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Gonzalez Hontoria de 14cm mod 1883 at Trophy Park
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Gonzalez Hontoria de 14cm mod 1883 at Trophy Park

14cm Spanish Naval Gun (Gonzalez Hontoria de 14 cm mod 1883) which was carried aboard the Spanish cruiser Almirante Oquendo. Almirante Oquendo, was an Infanta Maria Teresa-class armored cruiser of the Spanish Navy that fought at the Battle of Santiago de Cuba during the Spanish–American War on July 3rd, 1898. This gun is displayed at Trophy Park at Norfolk Naval Shipyard.

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US Navy 8-Inch Chambered Shell Gun of 63 Hundredweight Number 358 of USS Cairo
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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).

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Republic of Yucatán 18-Pounder Gunade at Trophy Park
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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.

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US Navy 60-Pounder Parrott Rifle at Trophy Park
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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.

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Iron, Banded 6-Pounders in Joliet, Illinois
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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!

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US Navy 12-Pounder Dahlgren Boat Howitzer Number 36
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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.

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The 100-Pounder Parrott Rifle of USS Dawn at York, Maine
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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.

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US Navy 24-Pounder Dahlgren Boat Howitzer at Shiloh
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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.

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The 32-Pounder of 4,500 Pounds of San Luis Obispo
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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.

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The 32-Pounders of Old North Cemetery, Weymouth
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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.

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The Breechloading Rifle of Columbus
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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).

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US Navy Ordnance of the 1845/1846 System
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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.

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