10-Inch Columbiads, Pattern 1844, in DuBois, Pennsylvania
Two US Army 10-Inch Columbiads, Pattern 1844, are displayed in Rumbarger Cemetery in DuBois, Pennsylvania
Two US Army 10-Inch Columbiads, Pattern 1844, are displayed in Rumbarger Cemetery in DuBois, Pennsylvania.
Many thanks to friend of the page, James Murray, for sharing another great set of photos!
These two Columbiads were cast at Fort Pitt Foundry in 1854. They are registry numbers 11 and 12 and weigh 15,335 pounds and 15,372 pounds respectively. The Annual Report of the Chief of Ordnance 1899 Appendix 3 Pg. 62 states that they were shipped from the Allegany Arsenal in 1897 to be presented to the Easton Post 229, Grand Army of the Republic. A monument dedicated in 1927 is between the two Columbiads. More on the monument may be seen at the Historical Marker Database: https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=265568
The 10-Inch Columbiad, Pattern 1844, was designed for use in seacoast fortifications, and at the time of its introduction, it was the largest and heaviest artillery piece in US Army service. It was designed to fire a 105-pound shell which could deliver devastating blows against wooden ships. Only around 150 were produced, and in 1861 it was still a relatively rare type. For instance, only three were to be found at Fort Sumter at the beginning of the war.
The Pattern 1844 would be superseded by the Rodman guns in US Army service, but given that ten of the fourteen known survivors of the type were donated from US Army inventories toward the end of the 19th Century, the Pattern 1844 seems to have been retained for service in the postwar years despite large numbers of more modern types.
Two US Army 10-Inch Columbiads, Pattern 1844, are displayed in Rumbarger Cemetery in DuBois, Pennsylvania
