10-Inch Columbiad at South Fort in Vicksburg
10-Inch Confederate Columbiad, Bellona Number 13, is displayed at South Fort In Vicksburg
A 10-Inch Confederate Columbiad is displayed at South Fort at Vicksburg National Military Park. This Columbiad was cast at Bellona Foundry near Richmond in 1863. It is marked as weighing 13,800 pounds. It is marked on its right trunnion “BF, JLA” for Bellona Foundry, Junius L. Archer (the proprietor).
South Fort was part of the river defenses at Vicksburg. A marker at the fort states that a 10-Inch Columbiad was mounted at this site and served by Company C of the 1st Louisiana Heavy Artillery. The work displays both this Columbiad and a 12-Pounder Field Howitzer.
The Type:
The 10-Inch Columbiad was produced for the Confederacy by Tredegar Ironworks and Bellona Foundry (both near Richmond, Virginia). Though it resembles the US Army 1861 Rodman Gun, the Confederate Columbiad was cast solid unlike the US Army Rodman which was cast hollow and cooled from the inside by circulating water through the barrel. Nevertheless, the 10-Inch Confederate Columbiad proved to be a reliable and capable cannon in service. It fired an approximately 125-pound solid shot (it could also fire explosive shell or grapeshot). The 10-Inch Columbiad was one of the most capable heavy guns produced by the Confederacy. In operations off Charleston, South Carolina, shots from this type of Columbiad often caused significant damage to heavily armored monitors - usually through the cumulative damage of a number of hits. Against the less well armored river gunboats of the US Navy, the 10-Inch Columbiad would have been a formidable weapon. As many as four survive in the Vicksburg area. Another can be seen on “Cannon Row” near the visitors center.
The 12-Pounder Field Howitzer and 10-Inch Columbiad at South Fort, Vicksburg
