The Manufacture of US Navy 8-Inch Muzzle Loading Rifles from 11-Inch Dahlgren Shell Guns
An excerpt from Augustus Paul Cooke's A Text Book of Naval Ordnance and Gunnery Prepared for the Use of Cadet Midshipmen of the United States Naval Academy describes the manufacture of 8-Inch Muzzle Loading Rifles from existing 11-Inch Dahlgren Smoothbore Shell Guns. The post includes cutaway illustrations from the book and photographs from preserved Dahlgren cannons.
Early US Navy 24-Pounder in Georgetown, South Carolina
An early US Navy 24-Pounder is displayed in Joseph Rainey Park in Georgetown, South Carolina. This cannon may have been authorized by the same act of Congress which authorized USS Constitution and the other “Six Frigates”.
The Citadel’s Cannons
Displayed on the campus of The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina are two 2.9-Inch Parrott Rifles, two Model 1841 6-Pounders, a 3.3-Inch Parrott Rifle, and a 7-Inch Brooke Rifle.
3.56-Inch Cameron Rifle at the Museum at Market Hall
A 3.56-Inch Cameron Rifle, which may have been used against gunboats of the US Navy operating along the South Carolina coast, is displayed in the Museum at Market Hall in Charleston, South Carolina.
USS Keokuk’s Dahlgren and the Rodman Carriage
The 11-Inch Dahlgren at White Point Garden near Charleston, South Carolina is mounted upon a carriage for a 10-Inch Rodman. One of the two Rodmans now on the ground at Fort Moultrie may have “donated” the carriage. Looking at the cannon and the carriage, one can see how they were used together.
10-Inch Model 1844 Columbiad, Banded and Rifled, at Fort Sumter
A 10-Inch Columbiad Model 1844 which was banded and rifled by the Confederates is displayed at Fort Sumter.
8-Inch Parrott Rifles of Forts Moultrie and Sumter
Two 8-Inch Parrott Rifles are preserved near Charleston, South Carolina. One may be found at Fort Moultrie and the other at Fort Sumter. Both were brought (along with several others of the type) in 1872 as part of modernizations to the forts. Both were buried around 1900 after they had become obsolete and it was easier to bury them than remove them.
10-Inch Confederate Columbiads at Fort Moultrie
Four 10-Inch Confederate Columbiads are on display at Fort Moultrie near Chareston, South Carolina. US Army 10-Inch Rodman guns are also present allowing the visitor to compare the two types.
8-Inch Columbiad, Model 1857, at Fort Moultrie
An 8-Inch Columbiad, Model of 1857, which was banded and rifled by the Confederates is displayed at Fort Moultrie near Charleston, South Carolina. This rare cannon is one of only two or three of the type still in existence.
10-Inch Columbiad, Model 1844, Banded and Rifled at Fort Moultrie
A 10-Inch Columbiad, Model 1844, which was rifled, banded, and equipped with a bronze trunnion band is preserved at Fort Moultrie near Charleston, South Carolina.
The 10-Inch Parrott of Fort Moultrie
Preserved at Fort Moultrie near Charleston, South Carolina is at 10-Inch Parrott Rifle.
Cannons of Fort Moultrie
Fort Moultre, on Sullivan’s Island near Charleson, South Carolina, displays two Model 1829 32-Pounders and a Model 1819 24-Pounder. Fort Moultrie, the site of a 1776 victory and much fighting during the Civil War, shows the entire history of American seacoast defense from 1776 to 1945.
The 15-Inch Rodmans of Forts Sumter and Moultrie
Four 15-Inch Rodman Columbiads (Pattern 1861) are preserved in the Charleston area at Forts Moultrie and Sumter
The Banded 12-Pounder at the Powder Magazine
Preserved outside the Powder Magazine Museum in Charleston, SC is a rifled and banded 12-pounder originally made by and for the British during the reign of George III!
Admiral Dahlgren, USS Harvest Moon, and the Columbiads of Winyah Bay
On February 28th, 1865, Admiral John Dahlgren visited a captured fort guarding Winyah Bay near Georgetown, SC. Principle among the cannons which he described were two 10-inch Columbiads. You may visit Battery White and two Columbiads which Admiral Dahlgren saw in 1865.
“The Battery” at White Point Gardens - Then and Now
Explore early 20th Century (1900-1910) and present day views of the American Civil War Cannons at White Point Gardens in Charleston.
The Mortars of Charleston
Six Civil War mortars are on display in the Charleston area: Four at White Point Garden, one at Fort Moultrie, and one at Fort Sumter.
Parrott Rifles of Forts Sumter and Moultrie
Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie near Charleston, South Carolina display fourteen Parrott Rifles. These cannon were manufactured during the Civil War for the United States Army and Navy. As the United States Army restored the fortifications of Charleston in the years following the Civil War, these cannons were mounted at the two forts. In the late 19th century they were intentionally buried - too obsolete and too corroded to worth removing.
What happened to USS Keokuk’s Other Dahlgren?
After the war, one of the Dahlgrens of USS Keokuk was left near Fort Moultrie and then around 1900 it was moved to White Point Garden. The Dahlgren which had been at White Point Garden was lost some time after the war. Whatever happened to it?
7-Inch Triple Banded Brooke Rifle
Part of the extraordinary collection of seacoast artillery preserved at Fort Moultrie is a Triple-Banded Brooke Rifle.