12-Pounder Dahlgren Boat Howitzer, Small, at the National Museum of the Marine Corps
US Navy 12-Pounder Dahlgren Boat Howitzer, Small, at the National Museum of the Marine Corps
A US Navy 12-Pounder Dahlgren Boat Howitzer, Small, is displayed at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, Virginia. It was manufactured at the Washington Navy Yard in 1864. It is registry number 19, and as manufactured it weighs 305 pounds.
Number 19 is displayed on a landing carriage, and is part of an exhibit on Marine landing parties in the 19th Century. The rear adjustable sight seems to be in place.
According to Olmstead et al., it served aboard the monitor USS Sangamon. (Note, in NARA RG 74 E 112, this boat howitzer is listed as serving at the United States Naval Academy, but there is no reference to Sangamon. However, it is possible that it is mentioned in connection to Sangamon in RG E121, which I have not yet viewed.) USS Sangamon served on the James River at the very end of the war, and it is possible that Number 19 was brought aboard at that time. Given that it weighs less than the projectiles of Sangamon’s 15-Inch Dahlgren, it could also have been brought aboard at any point after the howitzer’s 1864 manufacture.
The “Small” is the lightest of Dahlgren’s boat howitzers. Number 19’s weight of 305 pounds is typical. The “Light” and “Heavy” 12-Pounder boat howitzers weighing around 430 and 750 pounds respectively. The “Small” was also manufactured in the smallest numbers - only 23 were manufactured vs 185 for the “Light” and 456 for the “Heavy.” By comparison the US Army’s 12-Pounder Mountain Howitzer typically weighs about 225 pounds.
The National Museum of the Marine Corps is located just off of I-95 in Quantico, Virginia. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the Marine Corps or military history in general.
US Navy 12-Pounder Dahlgren Boat Howitzer, Small, at the National Museum of the Marine Corps
US Navy 12-Pounder Dahlgren Boat Howitzer, Small, at the National Museum of the Marine Corps
The rear sight is visible in this photo
Number 19 is displayed on a landing carriage, and is part of an exhibit on Marine landing parties in the 19th Century. The other guns present are a 3-Inch Breechloader (500 pounds, bronze) of the 1870s and a Gatling Gun.
