The 7-Inch Blakely Rifle of CSS Florida
A 7-Inch Blakely Rifle carried aboard the Confederate Navy Cruiser CSS Florida and a 7.5-Inch Blakely Rifle which was mounted in a fortification are displayed as trophies at the Washington Navy Yard.
The Bronze Smoothbores of Charleston
Three bronze smoothbore cannons - A 6-Pounder Field Gun of the American Revolution, a Model 1841 12-Pounder Howitzer engraved S.C., and a 12-Pounder Mountain Howitzer at Fort Sumter - are displayed in Charleston, South Carolina.
The 9-Inch Dahlgrens of Webster, New York
Two 9-Inch Dahlgren cannons are displayed at Webster Rural Cemetery in Webster, New York. These two Dahlgrens are displayed on concrete recreations of the wooden carriages that they would have had in service aboard US Navy warships during the American Civil War. Both cannons were originally part of a shipment sent to Sackets Harbor.
The 9-Inch Dahlgren of Sackets Harbor
A US Navy 9-Inch Dahlgren is displayed alongside a 30-Pounder Parrott Rifle at Sackets Harbor Battlefield State Historic Site in Sackets Harbor, New York. Originally part of twenty such cannons sent to Sackets Harbor, the reason that these cannons were sent in 1864 remains a bit of a mystery. Sackets Harbor is a beautiful and historic site on Lake Ontario.
The Cannons at Fort Fisher
The Second Battle of Fort Fisher was fought from January 13th - 15th, 1865. This post gives an overview of the major types of heavy cannons present in the fort and aboard the fleet. The cannons pictured include Columbiads, Brooke Rifles, Dahlgren Cannons, and Parrott Rifles.
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.
The US 24-Pounders of 45 Hundredweight in Savannah, Georgia
Two US 24-Pounders of 45 Hundredweight Numbers 81 and 83 are displayed on the former building of the Savannah Volunteer Guards at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia. They may have originally been ordered for the first frigates of the US Navy including USS Constitution.
BuOrd 32-Pounders of 4,500 Pounds in Townsend, Massachusetts
Two US Navy Bureau of Ordnance 32-Pounders of 4,500 Pounds are displayed in front of Memorial Hall in Townsend, Massachusetts. Notably, one of the cannons still has a firing hammer attached on the lug at the breech.
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 French 36-Pounders of Fort McHenry
A French 36-Pounder, representing those taken from the French ship of the line Éole and used to arm Fort McHenry during the war of 1812, is displayed at Fort McHenry. Éole reached Annapolis after being dismasted in a storm in 1806. This French battleship saw no further service, and it was broken up in Maryland several years later.
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 at Fort Branch
A 4-Inch Rifle manufactured by Fawcett, Preston, and Company of Liverpool in 1862 is part of the extraordinary collection of artillery, carriages, and many other artifacts recovered from the Roanoke River near Fort Branch and presently displayed at the site in North Carolina.
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.
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 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.
The Cannons of Fort Macon
Fort Macon on Bogue Banks in North Carolina is a beautifully preserved and restored Third System fort which has been operated as a state park since 1924. Over the last decades the Friends of Fort Macon have raised money to rearm the fort and in so doing has made a very significant contribution to the historical interpretation of the fort. For those who are interested in American Seacoast Artillery, Fort Macon is a fascinating site to visit.
The 9-Inch Dahlgren of USS Minnesota and USS Richmond in New Hope, Pennsylvania
A 9-Inch Dahlgren which served aboard USS Minnesota and USS Richmond is preserved in New Hope, Pennsylvania.
The 9-Inch Dahlgren of USS Colorado on Staten Island
A US Navy 9-Inch Dahlgren Cannon is displayed at Historic Richmond Town on Staten Island in New York. This gun was manufactured at Tredegar Foundry in 1857 and saw service aboard USS Colorado.