11-Inch Dahlgren in Miraflores, Peru
11-Inch Dahlgren in Miraflores, Peru - photo by Rob at Firearms Addict
Many thanks to Rob from the YouTube Channel Firearms Addict for sharing these photos!
An 11-Inch Dahlgren may be seen in Miraflores, Peru. It was one of several Dahlgrens bought by Peru in the years after the American Civil War. The Dahlgren’s chase was intentionally burst by the Chilean Army after they captured the piece during the War of the Pacific in 1881. In 2009, the long forgotten Dahlgren was rediscovered during the construction of a building. The Peruvian Navy restored the Dahlgren and replaced destroyed portion of the chase.
See an excellent post on the Facebook Group Big Cannon Project by Jose Antonio Bedoya Harth-terré who was involved in the recovery and restoration for more information on this Dahlgren.
The interpretive panel by the Dahlgren states that it was manufactured by Cyrus Alger and Company in 1867. If the date is correct, this date is considerably after the last 11-Inch Dahlgrens were produced by Alger for the US Navy in 1863.
As the panel says, original weight would have been around 16,000 pounds. Standard, cast-iron shot would have weighed around 168 pounds.
Dahlgren Gun - Very likely 11-Inch - shown in Peru following the Battle of Miraflores. The soldiers posing with the Dahlgren are Chilean. Via Wikimedia
11-Inch Dahlgren in Miraflores, Peru - photo by Rob at Firearms Addict
11-Inch Dahlgren in Miraflores, Peru - photo by Rob at Firearms Addict
Translation: Muzzle-loading naval cannon with a smooth bore, 11-inch caliber, and weighing 8 tons. It fired 175-pound (80 Kilogram) spherical projectiles. Manufactured in cast iron in the United States of America, in 1867, by the Cirius Alger Foundry Company.
It formed Battery No. 1 under the command of First Lieutenant Narciso Garcia y Garcia. It was positioned in the Miraflores line behind redoubts No. 1 and No. 2 for the defense of the city of Lima on January 15, 1881. It was restored and valued in the year 2009, after its discovery at the height of block 4 of what is today Schell Street, by the Naval Brigade "Combatientes del Pacífico" on behalf of the Municipality of Miraflores.
Again, many thanks to Rob. See his video below.
