US Navy 8-Inch Muzzle Loading Rifle in Lambertville, New Jersey — A US Navy 8-Inch Muzzle Loading Rifle is displayed at Mary E. Sheridan Park in Lambertville, New Jersey. (Photo by Rev. Tori Sumner - November 2024)

A US Navy 8-Inch Muzzle Loading Rifle which served in the 1870s and 1880s aboard the famous Civil War ship USS Richmond is displayed in front of a Civil War Memorial at Mary E. Sheridan Park in Lambertville, New Jersey. Another cannon (a slightly smaller 9-Inch Dahlgren) from the same ship is displayed just across the Delaware River in New Hope, Pennsylvania.

Note: This is a companion article to another post about USS Kearsarge in 1890 which carried identical cannons to the one preserved in Lambertville.

The Memorial: The monument was dedicated in 1870 to “The Soldiers from this place who fell in the War for the Union”. The monument was originally placed at Mount Hope Cemetery before being moved to its current location in York Street Park in 1900 - possibly to make way for the Taylor family mausoleum at the cemetery. The monument lists the names of 55 local mem who died during the war. The cannon was added to the park in 1908. (Historical Marker Database entry for the park.)

From the photos that I have been able to find of the monument, the names of the fallen United States Soldiers and Sailors include: Wesley Arnett, C. Aug. Angel, W.M. Eagan, Geo. C. Justice, Chas. L. Kneass, Josiah S. Studdiford, H. Martin Blue, Samuel Ashbrook, Albert Black, Abram Black, Chas. Brandt, Geo. P. Brewer, Jas. Bell, Isaac Cathrall, John Clary, W.M. Chidister, John Graig, Patrick Dever, John Ely, Wm. Fisher, Lorenzo D. Gibson, Jas. Gibson, Jacob M. Garis, John Gutchol, Wilson Horn, Elias Kramer, John Mahan, Cottlieb Mueller, Adam Mann, John Mann, Chas. Man, Alex H. Naylor, John O'Daniel, Jr., Anderson Piocock, Patrick Purcel, Geo. W. Phillips, Patrick Rogan, Michael Reagins, Hiram Rooks, Aug. Risler, Jos. B. Snook, Richard Sibbett, Jr., Geo. W. Taylor, Hugh S. Taylor, Palmer Thorn, Israel Trauger, Wm. H. Tracey, Elias Van Camp. (My apologies for any missing names or incorrectly transcribed names.)

The front of the 1870 monument to “The Soldiers from this place who fell in the War for the Union” in Mary E. Sheridan Park in Lambertville, New Jersey.

The Cannon: (Information taken from visible markings on the cannon and The Big Guns, by Olmstead, Stark, and Tucker. pg. 259.)

(As originally cast): 11-Inch Dahlgren Smoothbore manufactured in 1863 by Builders Foundry of Providence, Rhode Island. The cannon’s original US Navy Registry Number was 72. As manufactured it weighed 15,660 pounds.
(As modernized in 1877): 8-Inch “180-Pounder” Muzzle Loading Rifle converted from an 11-Inch Dahlgren in 1877 at the South Boston Foundry. It’s new Registry Number was 32. As remanufactured it weighed 17,250 pounds.

Dahlgren Cannons: US Navy Officer John A. Dahlgren developed a series of cast-iron smoothbore shell guns for the Navy during the 1850s. The distinctive “soda bottle” shape was designed following research that showed that the pressures when firing on the breech of the cannon were far greater than at the muzzle. The 11-Inch cannon was the largest of his original designs. It was designed to be carried in small numbers on the upper decks of larger warships. It was usually placed on a pivot mounting that allowed it to be fired to either side of the ship (and perhaps ahead or behind the ship). USS Monitor which fought CSS Virginia (the “Merrimac”) was armed with two 11-Inch Dahlgrens in her turret. USS Kearsarge which sank CSS Alabama was armed with two 11-Inch Dahlgrens on pivot mountings.

During the Civil War, 15-Inch Dahlgrens were produced for subsequent ironclad monitors. The 15-Inch shot (or shells) which are displayed in Mary E. Sheridan Park would have been produced for monitors.

9-Inch Dahlgren aboard USS Miami in the Civil War — Matthew Brady photo of a US Navy 9-inch Dahlgren on a pivot mount with its crew (possibly aboard USS Miami). The “soda bottle” shape of the gun is easily visible in this photograph. US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo: https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/our-collections/photography/numerical-list-of-images/nhhc-series/nh-series/NH-61000/NH-61933.html

The “Dark Ages” Navy: The mission of the US Navy changed drastically after the American Civil War. During the war, the Navy had relied on regular use of steam power to maintain a close blockade of southern ports. The Navy had depended on its turreted ironclad “monitors” to attack Rebel forts and armored ships. Hundreds of ships had been bought or built during the war - many hurriedly out of unprepared “green” timber. After the war the Navy’s mission became “showing the flag” in ports around the world to promote and guard US diplomatic and commercial interests. With the war-built wooden ships literally rotting away and the armored monitors incapable of long-distance or deep water operations, the Navy depended into the 1880s and beyond on the wooden-hulled steam-and-sail ships that had been built in the 1850s. With very limited budgets authorized by Congress, few new ships were built. Captains were ordered to rely solely on sail whenever possible - to the point of being told they would be personally charged for the cost of coal burned unnecessarily. (see Canney, The Old Steam Navy, pg. 145-146.)

Cutaway drawing of 8-Inch MLR Dahlgren — Cutaway drawing on page 80 of *A Text Book of Naval Ordnance and Gunnery Prepared for the Use of Cadet Midshipmen of the United States Naval Academy* showing the construction of the 8-Inch Muzzle Loading Rifle

Cannon Conversions: The 9-Inch and 11-Inch smoothbores which had been revolutionary when designed by John Dahlgren in the 1850s and which had rendered good service in the Civil War were hopelessly obsolete by the late 1870s. Europe’s navies were building steel ships armed with a powerful new generation of steel and wrought-iron built-up rifled cannons.

Like the similar US Army program, the US Navy sent existing cast-iron 11-Inch Dahlgren cannons back to the foundry where their barrels were bored out to 13.5 inches. Separately, a new 8-Inch rifled inner barrel (called a “sleeve”) was made of wrought-iron bars machine hammered together. This sleeve fit into enlarged bore of the old cast-iron cannon. The result was a cannon that (it was hoped) combined the metallurgical strengths of both wrought-iron and cast-iron in a size and shape that was familiar to the sailors of the US Navy and fit upon existing ships and carriages. The program was also intended to be far less expensive than producing or purchasing wholly new modern cannons.

In theory, the newly converted rifled cannon would fire a slightly heavier projectile greater range, accuracy and power than the old smoothbore. (The old 11-Inch smoothbore fired a round shot weighing about 165 pounds or a shell weighing about 132 pounds. The new 8-Inch projectile was smaller in diameter but much longer and weighed up to 180 pounds.)

An 1877 article in Proceedings and 1880 text book for students at the Naval Academy offer much more detailed descriptions of the conversion process.

A US Navy 8-Inch Muzzle Loading Rifle is displayed at Mary E. Sheridan Park in Lambertville, New Jersey. (November 2024)

The Service History of the Lambertville 8-Inch Rifle: A plaque present at the park states that the cannon served aboard USS Richmond. Specifically it claims, “The 8 inch cannon was converted from an 11 inch cannon during the early part of the war and saw action aboard wooden first-class screw sloop, USS Richmond, in Battles of Vicksburg, Mobile, and New Orleans.” (Photo of the plaque and the text may be found on the Historical Marker Database.) A newspaper article written at the time of the cannon’s placement stated: “A large Civil War naval cannon, lent by the United States to Lambertville to decorate the site of the Civil War Monument in York Street Park was put in position this week. The gun saw action aboard the wooden first-class screw sloop USS Richmond in the Battles of Vicksburg, Mobile, and New Orleans. The barrel is 14 feet long; gun and carriage weigh 24,800 pounds.” (Lambertville Beacon, May 28, 1908 via the Lambertville Historical Society on Facebook.) These details have continued to be shared - including in a 2024 news article which includes a wonderful early 20th century view of the cannon in the park.

The details about the service of USS Richmond are quite correct. USS Richmond, along with her near sisters USS Hartford and USS Brooklyn, had one of the most eventful careers of the United States Navy during the American Civil War. Thirty-three of her crew members were awarded the Medal of Honor - more than any other ship in the US Navy.

It also seems very likely that this cannon was carried aboard USS Richmond. She is listed as carrying one 8-Inch Rifle, twelve 9-Inch smoothbores, one 60-Pounder BLR, and two 20-Pounder BLR in 1886 (Warships of the Civil War Navies, pg. 38 - also cited on Navsource.) USS Richmond was at Philadelphia from 1894-1903 before being moved to Norfolk in 1903. By the time she was in Norfolk she was “housed over” and in use only as a receiving ship (a floating barracks for recruits). It is likely that by 1903 Richmond’s cannons had been removed and stored at Philadelphia, and therefore they would have been available when Lambertville sought a cannon in 1908 as New Hope had sought one in 1907.

US Navy Sailors aboard “Flagship Richmond” polish metalwork circa 1889-1890. This is one of a series of photos taken aboard Richmond - likely all on a Sunday 1889 or 1890. The photos are a fascinating glimpse into life aboard an old sailing ship of the US Navy at the end of the 19th Century. The cannon now in New Hope may well be one of the cannons seen in this photo, but the Lambertville cannon is likely blocked from view by the mast and smokestack. Library of Congress Photo: https://www.loc.gov/resource/det.4a14701/

What the cannon is not: The cannon now in Lambertville was not cast until 1863 and could not have been at the Battle of New Orleans (1862). Nor was USS Richmond listed as carrying an 11-Inch Dahlgren during the whole of the Civil War. USS Richmond did carry a large rifled cannon on a pivot mounting on her forecastle during the war, but that was a 100-Pounder Parrott Rifle. The Lambertville cannon was converted to a rifle in 1877 - a date which is stamped on the left trunnion of the cannon. No Civil War service is listed for this cannon nor any of the other Builders Foundry Dahlgrens converted into rifles in the appendix of The Big Guns.

The Lambertville cannon may have been mounted on a different vessel during the Civil War, or it may have remained in storage until taken to the South Boston Foundry in 1877. Sometime after 1877 it was very likely taken abord USS Richmond. When the people of Lambertville sought a cannon, they were offered a Civil War era cannon that had come from a ship with an illustrious wartime record. The assumption that the cannon was carried on Richmond during the war would be easy to make.

I don’t think anyone intentionally misrepresented the cannon. The records at the Navy Yard in Philadelphia may only have indicated from which ship this 45-year-old cannon had come. When you know what to look for and what it means, the “1877” conversion year stamped on the left trunnion stands out. However, it is one of several groups of letters and numbers on the cannon. And, again, it is a Civil War era cannon, but this specific cannon is not actually a witness to the battles of New Orleans, Vicksburg, or Mobile Bay.

What the cannon is: However, this cannon is likely the largest remaining artifact from USS Richmond. It is a cannon preserved upon an original US Navy carriage. (Most cannons from the era are not mounted on original carriages, if they are on carriages at all.) It is a cannon that represents both the ingenuity and limitations of American industry in the 1870s.

The cannon is a witness to the service of the US Navy during its “Dark Ages” period of the 1870s and 1880s when almost no new ships were being built. Until the steel-hulled ships of the “New Navy” began to appear first in the 1880s (but really only in numbers in the 1890s), it was the venerable old wooden sail-and-steam ships like USS Richmond which showed the flag of the US Navy upon the high seas.

A series of photos taken aboard USS Richmond around the year 1890 show a proud ship, well maintained by her crew. Her hand-worked Dahlgren cannons were only marginally less obsolete in terms of fighting value in a modern war than the many cutlasses still carried aboard, but she was a proud ship, and in 1889-1890 she served as the flagship of the US Navy’s South Atlantic Squadron.

The hazards of deploying these ancient wooden ships on foreign stations was shown in 1889 when three ships: USS Trenton, USS Nipsic, and USS Vandalia were all lost in a hurricane at Apia in Somoa. It was shown again when USS Kearsarge, famous victor over CSS Alabama, was lost after grounding on a reef in the Caribbean in 1894 - her engines too weak to pull her away. All of these ships were armed with this type of 8-Inch Rifle. It is worth noting that Kearsarge carried 8-Inch Rifles Number 30 and 31 when she was lost. Number 32 sits in a park in Lambertville. The cannon and carriage almost exactly match a photo of “Number 30” aboard Kearsarge taken in 1890.

While it may not have been caried by Richmond at New Orleans, Vicksburg, or Mobile Bay, the cannon has stood vigil over the monument in Lambertville since 1908. In its early years the dignified old veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic gathered in front of it as they commemorated their fallen comrades (Lambertville Historical Society Facebook post with a photo). While many communities did not erect a monument until the 1890s, Lambertville’s 1870 monument, like a similarly early monument in Claremont, New Hampshire, may bear witness to an unusually heavy burden of casualties endured by local families during the war. Whether or not this specific cannon saw significant Civil War service, it is connected with a ship and a people who absolutely did.

The cannon in Lambertville does not quite have the history claimed by the plaque in the park, but it is a witness to the ordinary bravery of young blue-jacket sailors and old salts who showed the flag for the United States in their beautiful old ship. It is a reminder of a time when the United States had limited international ambitions and was content to be represented by such modest ships as the nation sought to live peacefully in the world.