The 10-Inch Parrott of Fort Moultrie

Jun 25

10-Inch (300 Pounder) Parrott Rifle at Fort Moultrie near Charleston, South Carolina

This cannon has previously been covered as a part of Parrot Rifles of Forts Sumter and Moultrie.

Preserved at Fort Moultrie near Charleston, South Carolina is a 10-Inch Parrott Rifle (also called a “300-Pounder” based on the potential weight of its projectile though most projectiles were 250 pounds or less). Mike Ryan’s “The Historic Guns of Forts Sumter and Moultrie” states that the wartime service of this piece is unknown. It was cast in 1864 and was one of two 10-Inch Parrotts sent to Fort Moultrie as part of the efforts to rebuild and modernize the defenses of Charleston in the 1870s. Apparently the cannon was never mounted at the fort. According to Ryan both 10-Inch Parrotts were sold for scrap in 1900. One may have been removed from the island but this cannon was buried until it was found by utility workers digging for a water main in 1950.

Forty-two 10-Inch Parrotts were produced, but only eighteen were completed before the end of the war.

10-Inch Parrotts were used in action in the Charleston Area during the war. Ryan notes that Robert Parrott insisted that these cannon not be used at their maximum range due to his concern that they might burst if fired with maximum charges. They were instead used to attack Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie.

This cannon, Registry No. 5, was cast in 1864 at the West Point Foundry. It is marked as weighing 26,900 pounds. It is one of eleven 10-Inch Parrotts preserved in the US (plus two in Cuba) according to the registry found in “The Big Guns”. It may be found on “Cannon Row” at Fort Moultrie along with an impressive collection of other rare American Civil War ordnance.

Again, if you are in Charleston and a fan of 19th Century American ordnance, Fort Moultrie is well worth a visit. And as we approach the 248th anniversary of the June 28th, 1776 victory of the defenders of Fort Sullivan over the British fleet, Happy Carolina Day!