The Naval Cannons of Exeter, New Hampshire

Aug 25

11-Inch Dahlgren Number 348 and 32-Pounder of 57 Hundredweight Number 231 displayed at Gilman Park in Exeter, New Hampshire.

Four US Navy cannons are displayed in Exeter, New Hampshire. Two of the cannons are displayed at Gilman Park an 11-Inch Dahlgren and a 32-Pounder of 57 Hundredweight. The two other cannon, two 32-Pounders of 4,500 pounds, are displayed in front of the American Independence Museum.

The 11-Inch Dahlgren was manufactured by Hinkley, Williams, and Company in 1863. This company, primarily known as a manufacturer of locomotives, cast one hundred 11-Inch Dahlgrens in 1853-1864, four of which survive. This example, Registry number 348, is marked as weighing 15,910 pounds. The appendix in The Big Guns states that this Dahlgren served aboard USS Wabash. Silverstone’s entry for USS Wabash does not list an 11-Inch Dahlgren in her armament for 1863 or 1865. If Wabash carried this Dahlgren, it may have been after the Civil War.

The 32-Pounder of 57 Hundredweight, Registry Number 587, was cast by West Point Foundry in 1850. It’s weight is marked 57-0-20 (6,404 pounds). According to a video posted by a local museum, originally there were two 32-Pounders at the park. In the early 1950s, an attempt by someone to “fire” one of the cannons resulted in the tube recoiling off of its pedestal. In October of 1969, the 32-Pounder burst while being “fired” - apparently fragments of the burst tube were reported as landing as far as a quarter mile away.. The YouTube video shows a photo of the burst cannon at 4:15 in the video.

The two cannons in Gilman Park were restored as a part of an Eagle Project in 2010. However, the display has been subject to extensive graffiti since then - though most of it just appears to be scratching through the paint to leave initials. When I arrived to photo the cannons, a teenage couple was sitting on top of the 32-Pounder paying very close attention to each other. I quietly turned around to walk around the rest of the park. After about 15 minutes, I returned to find them still together... I took another walk contemplating the absurdity of the situation. Finally, I returned and they had left and I could take my photos. Quite a few of the scratches on the barrel are pairs of initials, making me wonder if there isn't a tradition among the courting youth of Exeter to mark the barrels. (And it turns out that scratching initials onto a cannon’s barrel is not a new thing. A circa 1901 photo of the 11-Inch Dahlgren in Denver shows the same thing!)

The driving directions for Gilman Park may be found on the town webpage: https://www.exeternh.gov/recreation/gilman-park

The two US Navy Bureau of Ordnance 32-Pounders of 4,500 pounds may be found downtown in front of the American Independence Museum. Both were cast in 1865 by Seyfert, McManus, and Company. One is registry number 39, the other number 234.