XI-Inch Dahlgren at Lake Bluff Park in St. Joseph, Michigan

Apr 17

Note: Most of the photos in this post were uploaded to Wikimedia Commons by user “Chris Light.” Thanks to him for documenting this beautifully preserved Dahlgren and sharing his photos on Wikimedia. His entire set may be found on Wikimedia Commons at this link. Photos are reproduced here in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en

An 11-Inch Dahlgren smoothbore is displayed at Lake Bluff Park in St. Joseph, Michigan. The gun is marked “No. 420” and “H.W. & Co.”. The gun was cast in 1864 and shows the reduced muzzle swell of these later-war Dahlgren guns.

XI-Inch Dahlgren No 420 at St. Joseph, Michigan. Photo by Chris Light, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The historical marker which accompanies the Dahlgren states:

“On July 5, 1897 with great pride and effort the A.W. Chapman Post of the Grand Army of the Republic dedicated this gun and grounds to the memories of those who fought in the Civil War in defense of the flag. This 11 inch bore Dahlgren was built in 1864 at Hinkley, Williams & Co., Boston, Massachusetts for service in the Civil War. Cast hollow and bored out on a lathe this gun has a finished weight of 15,890 lbs. Using 15 lbs. of gunpowder this smoothbore cannon can hurl a 130 lb. exploding shell or 200 lb. solid shot over 2 miles. Removed from the U.S.S. Marion in 1876 this cannon's previous service is uncertain.”

Information about the marker can be found here on the Historical Marker Database: https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=64869

The text of the sign suggests that this Dahlgren was also cast hollow according to Thomas Rodman’s methods. Warren Ripley’s “Artillery and Ammunition of the Civil War” notes that later 11-inch guns (along with all 15-inch Dahlgrens) were manufactured in this manner (Ripley, pg. 98).