The 7-Inch Blakely Rifle of CSS Florida

Jan 30

Blakely 7-Inch Rifle Manufactured in 1861 by Fawcett, Preston, and Co. Liverpool - displayed at the Washington Navy Yard

The 7-Inch Blakely Rifle of CSS Florida at the Washington Navy Yard

A 7-Inch Blakely Rifle which was one of two carried aboard the Confederate Navy cruiser CSS Florida is displayed at the Washington Navy Yard. Built in Liverpool, England she captured thirty-seven prizes as a Confederate commerce raider between the time of her commissioning in August of 1862 and her capture by USS Wachusett in Brazilian territorial waters in October of 1864.

After Florida was captured, the ship was brought to Hampton Roads where she was sunk in a collision with a US Army transport. Some relics from the ship as well as a model are now displayed at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum - which is in the Nauticus Museum beside USS Wisconsin (BB64) and well worth a visit in its own right.

7-Inch Blakely at the Washington Navy Yard

Model of CSS Florida at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum

Blakely Projectiles and other artifacts recovered from CSS Florida at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum

Artifacts recovered from CSS Florida at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum

The 7.5-Inch Blakely at the Washington Navy Yard

There is also a 7.5-Inch Blakely Rifle at the Washington Navy Yard. This cannon was placed by the Confederates in a battery at Shipping Point on the Potomac River. It was captured after that fortification was abandoned in March of 1862.

This cannon resembles a British 42-Pounder of the period, but it has been given a rifled 7.5-Inch Bore (rather than the 7-Inch smoothbore of a 42-Pounder). The top of the tube is stamped Blakely’s Patent 1861.

This cannon matches the famous “Widow Blakely” of Vicksburg in its rifling and other details - though the “Widow Blakely” was shortened after a shell prematurely exploded near its muzzle.

See the Historical Marker Database Page on the Widow Blakely: https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=97124