11-Inch Brooke Smoothbore at the National Civil War Naval Museum

Aug 21

11-Inch Double Banded Smoothbore S97 is displayed at the National Civil War Naval Museum in Columbus, Georgia

The largest and heaviest surviving cannon produced by the Confederacy is an 11-Inch Double Banded Smoothbore, S97, displayed at the National Civil War Naval Museum in Columbus, Georgia. S97 was cast at Selma, Alabama in 1864. As manufactured it weighed 23,593 pounds. It was cast on August 10th, 1864. On November 14th, 1864 it was shipped along with 10-Inch Brooke Number 87 (which it now sits beside) from Selma to Commodore Ingraham of the CSN Squadron at Charleston, South Carolina. However, S97 and S87 only made it as far as Columbus, Georgia due to transportation difficulties. The marble tablet on its mount indicates that it was mounted as a monument in 1898. (See The Big Guns, pg. 259).

All but three of the surviving cannons designed by John Mercer Brooke were cast as 6.4 and 7-Inch Rifles. After the war, Edward Porter Alexander wrote, “In addition to these rifles Captain [John Mercer] Brooke also furnished some heavily banded smooth-bores of ten and eleven inches calibre, to fire wrought iron balls with very high charges against the ironclads, which would doubtless have been extremely effective at short ranges” (Alexander, E.P. ‘“Confederate Artillery Service”). By the late summer of 1864 an ever increasing proportion of the ordnance produced by the Selma Naval Gun Foundry were 10-Inch and 11-Inch Double Banded Smoothbores.

If you look at Selma Records starting from August, 1864, three 6.4-Inch Rifles were cast (S92, S96, and S102), thirteen 7-Inch Brooke rifles were cast, (S93, S95, S98, S99, S100, S103, S104, S05, S111, S114, S115, S117, S120), three 10-Inch Brooke Smoothbores were cast (S94, S101, S110), eight 11-Inch Brooke Smoothbores were cast (S97, S107, S108, S112, S113, S116, S119, S121), and one 11-Inch Brooke Rifle (S125). Prior to August, the only 11-Inch cast by Selma was S80 which was cast in July, 1864 and sent to Wilmington, North Carolina. I suspect that the increasing proportion of 11-Inch Smoothbores reflects a desire to find a cannon capable of inflicting critical damage on a US Navy monitor with a small number of hits. (See Confederate Cannon Foundries by Daniel and Gunter)

11-Inch Brooke S97 is the only 11-Inch Brooke known to survive. A 10-Inch Brooke Smoothbore, S87, sits next to S97 in Columbus. A Tredegar-manufactured 10-Inch Brooke Smoothbore may be found at the Washington Navy Yard. Interestingly, all three surviving heavy Brooke Smoothbores were intended for the Confederate Navy at Charleston. The 10-Inch at the Washington Navy Yard was carried aboard (or at least intended for) CSS Columbia which was built at Charleston.