The Cannons of the North Carolina State Capitol
Two US Army 8-Inch Siege Mortars, Pattern 1861, flank a monument to the US Presidents born in North Carolina: Andrew Jackson, James Polk, and Andrew Johnson. The monument sits on the grounds of the North Carolina State Capitol in Raleigh. Both mortars were manufactured by Cyrus Alger & Co. in 1863. Their registries numbers are 20 and 22. They weigh 1,028 pounds and 1,025 pounds respectively.
A number of statues and monuments dot the grounds of the historic North Carolina State Capitol (built 1833-1840) in Raleigh, North Carolina. This post looks at the cannons which flank those statues.
The monuments cannons covered in this post are:
The Statue of George Washington and the Edenton Cannons
The US Army 8-Inch Siege Mortars and the Statue of North Carolina Presidents
The 4-Inch Fawcett and Preston Rifle
The 32-Pounders of 57 Hundredweight now at Fort Fisher
The Statue of George Washington and the Edenton Cannons
18th Century Cannon and Statue of George Washington at the North Carolina State Capitol in Raleigh, North Carolina. The year 1748 can be read on the remaining trunnion.
Two 18th Century Cannons, purchased in Europe for the American War of Independence, but permanently disabled by the U.S. Navy during the American Civil War, flank a monument to George Washington at the State Capitol in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Both cannons were part of a large shipment of artillery purchased in Paris by the agents of the Continental Congress. The cannons purchased were originally manufactured in a number of different nations and represent several different calibers. Perhaps shipped from Cadiz, the cannons arrived at Edenton, North Carolina in 1778. Around half of the shipment was sent to Virginia, but the other half remained at Edenton. According to local legend, the cannons were dropped into the sound when the North Carolinians were unable to pay for their shipment, or they may have been thrown into the water to prevent capture by the British.
In any event, a December of 1785 Act of the General Assembly of North Carolina provided for their recovery from Albemarle Sound. A portion of the cannons remained at Edenton. In 1861-1862, the citizens of Edenton seem to have made some effort to place them to defend their city against attack from the sea. If such an effort was made, it was still incomplete in February of 1862.
On February 12th, 1862, Lieutenant A. Murray, U.S. Navy, made the following report:
"U.S.S. Louisiana,
Off Elizabeth City, N.C. February 12, 1862.
Sir: In obedience to your orders I proceeded with this vessel, accompanied by the Underwriter, Lieutenant Commanding Jeffers; the Commodore Perry, Lieutenant Commanding Flusser; and the Lockwood, Acting Master Graves, commanding, to the city of Edenton, west end of Albemarle Sound.
At 8:30 o'clock this morning we arrived off the entrance to the harbor, and, after a careful reconnaissance, we passed in, the Lockwood in the advance, to keep the larger vessels informed form time to time of the depth of the water in the channel or of the appearance of earthworks on the banks.
At 10 we had undisturbed possession of the town. Part of a flying artillery regiment, variously estimated from 100 to 300, fled precipitately without firing a shot; many of the inhabitants also left in consequence, I was told, of a vile rumor having been put in circulation by the panic-stricken enemy that our havoc was indiscriminate at Elizabeth.
I was happy in being enabled to stigmatize such a report as it deserved and to restore quiet to a very excited population.
There are no fortifications at or in the water approaches to Edenton.
Near Hornblow's Point trees have been felled, possible with a view to the construction of works.
Among the results of the expedition are the destruction of 8 cannon and 1 schooner (on the stocks) at Edenton.
We captured 2 schooners in the sound, one having 4,000 bushels of corn.
We also took 6 bales of cotton from custom-house wharf.
There were no public stores in the town; the custom house was empty.
We remained two hours abreast the town, and were visited by the authorities and others, many of whom professed sentiments of loyalty to the old Union.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
A. Murray,
Lieutenant, Commanding Second Column of Naval Division"
(Official Records - Navies. Ser. 1: Vol. 6. Pp. 637-638).
The cannons were destroyed by the US Navy by breaking or blowing off trunnions. I wonder if that action of US Bluejackets wasn’t of benefit for the health and safety of the good people of Edenton. Given that these seem to have been second-hand cannons in 1778 (like the 18-pounders which burst aboard John Paul Jones’s Bonhomme Richard), possibly submerged for a time, and then left untended for another four score years, I would doubt their integrity in 1862!
The cannons remained at Edenton until 1903 when the two were sent to Raleigh where they remain.
Several others remain in Edenton - three are mounted to "guard" the town's waterfront. Edenton is a charming town with many 18th and 19th Century building beautifully overlooking Albemarle Sound.
The US Army 8-Inch Siege Mortars and the Statue of Presidents
A monument to the US Presidents born in North Carolina: Andrew Jackson, James Polk, and Andrew Johnson. Two mortars, pictured below, flank this monument.
Two US Army 8-Inch Siege Mortars, Pattern 1861, flank a monument to the US Presidents born in North Carolina: Andrew Jackson, James Polk, and Andrew Johnson. The monument sits on the grounds of the North Carolina State Capitol in Raleigh. Both mortars were manufactured by Cyrus Alger & Co. in 1863. Their registries numbers are 20 and 22. They weigh 1,028 pounds and 1,025 pounds respectively.
Photos of the mortars:
The Statue of Ensign Worth Bagely, USN, and the 57mm Captured from Spain
A 57mm (6-Pounder) Quick Firing Gun manufactured by the Amstrong Steelworks in Pozzuoli, Naples, Italy in 1896 is displayed beside a statue of Ensign Worth Bagely at the North Carolina State Capitol in Raleigh, North Carolina
A 57mm (6-Pounder) Quick Firing Gun manufactured by the Amstrong Steelworks in Pozzuoli, Naples, Italy in 1896 and captured from Spain during the 1898 war is displayed beside a statue of Ensign Worth Bagely at the North Carolina State Capitol in Raleigh, North Carolina. A number of details on the 57mm including its sights and markings can be seen (photos in a gallery below).
The 1906 Biographical Dictionary of America has the following entry:
BAGLEY, Worth, naval officer, was born in Raleigh, N.C., April 6, 1874; son of Maj. William H. and Adelaide Anne (Worth) Bagley; grandson of Col. William H. Bagley; great-grandson of William Bagley, a soldier in the war of 1812, and great2-grandson of Thomas Bagley, who served in the Revolutionary war. His father served in the Confederate army, 1861-'65, and was clerk of the supreme court of North Carolina, and his mother was a daughter of Gov. Jonathan and Martitia (Daniel) Worth. He gained admission to the U.S. naval academy by competition in a large class, all his seniors. He was appointed in 1889, reappointed in 1891; was graduated in 1895 and joined the receiving ship Vermont. He was assigned successively to the Montgomery, July 23, 1895; Texas, Oct. 8, 1895; Maine, Jan. 20, 1895, and Texas, July 20, 1896; was promoted ensign July 1, 1897, and assigned to the Indiana. He was transferred to the U.S. battleship Maine Aug. 17, 1897, and thence to the torpedo-boat Winslow, as second in command, entering upon his duties Dec. 28, 1897. He was the first American naval officer killed in the Spanish-American war, meeting his death on board the Winslow, in the naval engagement in Cardenas Bay, Cuba, May 12, 1898.
Report of Lieutenant John B. Bernadou, Commanding USS Winslow, about the engagement at Cardenas Bay
Part of a Naval History and Heritage Command series on the Rescue of USS Winslow which may be found at: https://www.history.navy.mil/research/publications/documentary-histories/united-states-navy-s/rescuing-the-winslow.html
May 16, 1898.
May 11,
Sir:-
1. I respectfully submit the following report of the action off Cardenas, Cuba, as participated in by the U. S. Torpedo Boat Winslow; to supplement the summarized statement submitted by my on the 11th inst., the day of the fight.
2. The Winslow arrived off Cardenas from Matanzas at 9 a. m. on the 11th, having left her station on the blockade to obtain an additional supply of coal, the amount of fuel in her bunkers being reduced to five 5 tons. The U. S. S. Machias and Wilmington were found at Piedras Cay. Upon making application to Captain Merry, the senior officer present, I was directed to apply to Captain Todd, commanding U. S. S. Wilmington for necessary supplies.
3. On boarding the U. S. S. Wilmington I was informed by her commanding officer of his intention to enter Cardenas harbor on the afternoon of that day. Of the three channels leading through the Cays, two were believed to be mined; there remained unexplored a third channel between Romero and Blanco Cays, over which the minimum depth of water as shown by the chart, was one and three-quarters fathoms. As the rise of tide at this place was about one and one-half feet and as the Wilmington drew scant ten feet, I was directed to receive on board a Cuban pilot, Santos, to take with me the Revenue Cutter Hudson, to sound this channel and, in company with the Hudson to sweep the channel for torpedoes. This work I completed by noon, except the sweeping of the channel, which could not be done on account of the grounding of the Hudson. That vessel touched lightly, but managed to work off without injury. The Winslow, therefore dragged the channel with grapnels and returned to the Wilmington, reporting to Captain Todd upon the practicability of the entrance.
4. The entrance was begun at 12:30, high tide, the Hudson on the starboard side and the Winslow on the portside of the Wilmington assisting in marking out shoal water. No vessels were in sight on entering Cardenas Bay save two square-rigged merchantmen with sails unbent, anchored directly off the town. As it was thought possible that gun boats might attempt to escape, the Hudson was sent along the western side and the Winslow along the eastern side of the bay to intercept them in event of such movement: not finding them the three vessels met off the town at a distance of about 3500 yards. When in this position the Winslow was signaled to approach the Wilmington within hail and I was directed by Captain Todd to go in and investigate a small gun boat then observed for the first time: --painted grey, with black smoke stack, apparently not under steam and moored to a wharf, to the left of which arouse a compact mass of buildings close to the water front. Torpedoes were set for surface runs, the fans upon the war-noses were run up, so as to provide for explosion at short range for use alongside of the gun boat, and all preparations were made for immediate action.
5. At a distance of about 1500 yards, at which time the Winslow was advancing at about 12 knots, which seems her maximum speed in quite shoal water, the first gun of the engagement was fired from the bow of the Spanish gun boat, marked by a clear puff of white smoke. This shot, which passed over the Winslow, was at once replied to by that ship and was the signal for the commencement from the beach of a rapidly sustained fire, characterized primarily by a total absence of smoke. At commencement of this firing I received a flesh wound in the left thigh. As the action advanced a cloud of haze collected on shore at the location of this battery and when closest I detected one or two gun flashes from among the buildings but at no time could I detect the exact position of the guns. My uncertainty as to the position of the enemy was attested to by the commanding officer of the Hudson and by officers commanding gun divisions on the Wilmington who enquired of me shortly after the action what I made out to be the enemy's exact position.
6. At this time the wind was blowing from the ships toward the shore. The first shot that pierced the Winslow rendered her steam and hand steering gear inoperative and damaged them beyond repair. Efforts to work the hand steering gear from aft were frustrated by the wrecking of that mechanism and the rupture of both wheel ropes; relieving tackles failed to operate the rudder. For a short time the vessel was held in her bows on position by use of her propellers. She then swung broad side to the enemy. A shot now pierced her engine room rendering one engine inoperative. I directed my attention to maintaining from her one-pound guns, to keeping the vessel constantly in movement, so as to reduce the chances of her being hit, to endeavoring to withdraw from close range and to keeping clear of the line of fire of the Wilmington and Hudson. The use of the remaining engine, however, had the effect of throwing her stern towards the enemy upon backing, while going ahead threw her bow in the same direction. Under the heavy fire of the Wilmington the fire of the enemy slackened. The Spanish gun boat was silenced and put out of action early in the engagement.
7. The Winslow now being practically disabled I signaled to the Hudson to tow us out of action she very gallantly approached us and we succeeded in getting a line to her. Previous to this, the alternate rapid backing and steaming ahead of the Winslow had had the effect of working her out from under the enemy's batteries and in this way a distance of about 300 yards was gained. Finding that we were working out in this manner I directed Ensign Bagley5 to concentrate his attention upon the movement of the ship watching the vessel so as to keep her out of the Wilmington’s way and to direct the movements of the man at the reversing gear, mechanical communication from deck to engine room being impracticable. This necessitated Mr. Bagley making repeated short trips from the deck to the foot of the engine room ladder. While directing the vessels course and at the moment of being on deck he stood abreast the starboard gun close to a group of men who had been stationed below but who had been sent on deck from the disabled machinery. A shell hitting, I believe, a hose-reel, exploded instantly, killing Ensign Bagley and two others and mortally wounding two. This accident, which occurred at the close of the action, was virtually its end; the enemy fired a few more shots put was soon completely silence by heavy fire of the Wilmington. The conduct of Ensign Bagley and of the men with him as well that of the crew who survived the fight, is beyond commendation. After seeing the dead and wounded removed from the Winslow and conveyed on board the Wilmington, I turned over the command of the ship to Gunners Mate G. P. Brady,8 my own injury preventing me from performing active duty for the time being.
I have the honor to remain Sir,
Your obedient servant,
John B. Bernadou
Lieut. U. S. Navy.
USS Winslow - Naval History and Heritage Command Photo
Additional Photos of the 57mm Gun
The 4-Inch Fawcett and Preston Rifle
4-Inch Fawcett-Preston Rifle (or 4-Inch Blakely Rifle) Number 136 displayed in Raleigh, North Carolina outside the North Carolina Museum of History
Post about this cannon with more information and photos may be found here.
A 4-Inch (or 18-Pounder) Rifle manufactured by Fawcett, Preston, and Company in Liverpool in 1862 is displayed near the Old State Capital and outside the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh, North Carolina. This rifled cannon was paired with a 12-Pounder Whitworth Rifle to form a two gun battery which was used to defend the coast north of Fort Fisher near Wilmington, North Carolina. On August 18th, 1863, the battery engaged blockading warships of the US Navy which were trying to complete the destruction of the beached blockade runner S.S. Hebe. On August 23rd, the US Navy returned in force to interrupt the salvage operations around the battered Hebe. Once again this cannon and the Whitworth engaged the blockaders, but in this encounter the US Navy brought the overwhelming force of the heavy steam frigate USS Minnesota and its 46 Dahlgren and Parrott cannons.
The 32-Pounders of 57 Hundredweight of Fort Caswell now at Fort Fisher
Two US Navy 32-Pounders of 57 Hundredweight which were banded and rifled by the Confederates are displayed at Fort Fisher in North Carolina. For nearly 120 years, these two cannons were displayed on the grounds of the North Carolina State Capitol.
The post about these two cannons with many additional photos may be found here.
Two US Navy 32-Pounders of 57 Hundredweight are displayed at Fort Fisher in North Carolina. The cannons were originally manufactured by Tredegar - one in 1848 and the other in 1852 (Olmstead et. al pg. 213). They were among the nearly 1,200 heavy cannons captured by Virginia at the Gosport Navy Yard in April of 1861. Both were banded and rifled by the Confederates, and by the end of the war these two cannons were at Fort Caswell across the Cape Fear River from Fort Fisher. They seem to have remained at Fort Caswell until 1902 when they were moved to Raleigh, North Carolina to flank a monument there. In 2020 they were moved to Fort Fisher. Initially they were placed in front of the earthworks of the land face of the fort. In 2024 they were moved to the portico of the new Visitor’s Center at Fort Fisher State Historic Site.
2012 Photo of the two 32-Pounders now at Fort Fisher at the State Capitol in Raleigh. By Zsike - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21730123
