The 32-Pounders of 57 Hundredweight of Stoneham, Massachusetts
The monument to Civil War soldiers and sailors in Lindenwood Cemetery in Stoneham, Massachusetts is surrounded by four US Navy 32-Pounders of 57 Hundredweight.
The 32-Pounder of 4,500 Pounds of San Luis Obispo
A US Navy Bureau of Ordnance 32-Pounder of 4,500 Pounds is displayed in the San Luis Cemetery in San Luis Obispo, California. This 32-Pounder was manufactured at Builders Foundry (Providence, Rhode Island) in 1866. According to the data in a 2000 edition of the registry, it weighed 4,530 pounds as manufactured in 1866. It is US Navy registry number 333. The 32-Pounder is mounted on an original iron Marsilly carriage.
The 32-Pounders of Old North Cemetery, Weymouth
Four US Navy 32-Pounders of 51 Hundredweight surround a Monument dedicated to the Soldiers and Sailors of Weymouth, Massachusetts who died during the American Civil War. The monument was dedicated in 1868 and lists each man by his unit and the circumstances of his death. The fearsome toll taken by disease during the war can clearly be seen etched in stone. The cannons were likely placed later in the 19th century.
US Navy Ordnance of the 1845/1846 System
In May of 1845, a board of US Navy Captains recommended a system of ordnance for the navy. Their report called for the Navy to standardize on the 32-Pounder. The deficiencies of this system would cause John Dahlgren to design a replacement - which became the Dahlgren guns with which the US Navy fought the American Civil War.
US Army 32-Pounder Seacoast Guns, Pattern 1845, in St. Augustine
Two US Army 32-Pounder Seacoast Guns, Pattern 1845, are displayed in Plaza de la Constitución in Saint Augustine, Florida. These cannon was cast at Tredegar in Richmond in 1846. They are registry numbers Number 5 on and 27 on their muzzles. Both of these cannons have been rifled. As manufactured they weighed 7, 215 pounds and 7,256 pounds.
US Navy 32-Pounders at Fort Pike
US Navy “Gradual Increase” 32-Pounders cast in 1820 and 1821 survive at Fort Pike near New Orleans, Louisiana. They were likely among the nearly 1,200 heavy guns seized at Norfolk in 1861. They are known to have served on USS Columbus.
32-Pounder of 57 Hundredweight at Vicksburg
A US Navy 32-Pounder of 57 Hundredweight is displayed on “Cannon Row” at Vicksburg. It’s form present state points to an active career. It was cast as USN Registry Number 647 by Bellona Foundry near Richmond in 1849. During the Civil War it was rifled and banded by the Confederates. It’s muzzle was damaged and then shortened.
US Navy 32-Pounder of 42 Hundredweight Number 244 at Vicksburg
A 32-Pounder of 42 Hundredweight, US Navy Registry Number 244, is displayed on “Cannon Row” at Vicksburg National Military Park. This cannon was manufactured at Fort Pitt Foundry in 1845. It is marked as weighing 42-2-20 (or 4,780 pounds). Six similar cannons can be seen mounted on USS Cairo, also at Vicksburg. Together, the seven examples at Vicksburg form a majority of the known examples of the type.
The 32-Pounders of 41 Hundredweight of USS Saratoga and CSS Chattahoochee
Two US Navy 32-Pounders of 41 Hundredweight are displayed at the National Civil War Naval Museum in Columbus, Georgia. These two chambered cannon were cast at Cyrus Alger and Company in 1842 for use aboard the sloop of war USS Saratoga. They were subsequently used aboard CSS Chattahoochee.
32-Pounder, Pattern 1829, at Fort Morgan
A US Army 32-Pounder, Pattern 1829, is displayed at Fort Morgan in Alabama. This cannon was cast at Fort Pitt Foundry in 1833. It is Fort Pitt registry number 116. It bears a test scar on its muzzle face. It is displayed at Fort Morgan in an emplacement overlooking Mobile Bay. It’s weight is 7,478 pounds.
US Navy 32-Pounder of 42 Hundredweight Number 230 of USS Cairo
A US Navy 32-Pounder of 42 Hundredweight, Number 230, is displayed aboard USS Cairo at Vicksburg National Military Park. This cannon was cast in 1845 at the Fort Pitt Foundry. It is marked as weighing 42-1-18 Hundredweight (4,750 pounds). It was recovered with the sunken USS Cairo in 1964.
The 32-Pounders at Fredericksburg National Cemetery
Four US Army 32-Pounders, Pattern 1829, surround a monument at Fredericksburg National Cemetery to the Division of General Andrew Humphreys, V Corps, Army of the Potomac. Humphrey’s division participated in the attack on Confederate positions on Marye's Heights on December 13th, 1862, suffering heavy casualties in the engagement.
The four cannons were emplaced at the cemetery in 1868.
USN BuOrd 32-Pounders of 4,500 Pounds in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
Two US Navy Bureau of Ordnance 32-Pounders of 4,500 Pounds are displayed in front of the courthouse in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. They are:
32-Pounder of 4,500 Pounds Number 10 cast by Seyfert, McManus, and Co. in Reading, Pennsylvania in 1865. As manufactured it weighed 4,601 pounds.
32-Pounder of 4,500 Pounds Number 13 cast by Seyfert, McManus, and Co. in Reading, Pennsylvania in 1865. As manufactured it weighed 4,564 pounds.
The Treadwell 32-Pounders at the Washington Navy Yard
Two experimental wrought-iron (possibly wrought-iron and steel) 32-Pounders designed by Daniel Treadwell and manufactured circa 1844 are displayed at the Washington Navy Yard. They cannons were light and could be very strong - though not every example's welds held up. For naval service, they were too light.
The 32-Pounder of 57 Hundredweight at Fort Branch
A rifled and banded 32-Pounder of 57 Hundredweight is displayed at Fort Branch near Hamilton, North Carolina. The fort, which overlooks the Roanoke River and was built to counter any attempt by US Navy gunboats to press up river, was evacuated in April of 1865. The seven cannons recovered there (plus a fragment of a burst gun), remains of original carriages, projectiles, and other artifacts represent a truly remarkable collection of artillery connected with a single site and displayed there.
The 32-Pounder of 32 Hundredweight at Petersburg
A 32-Pounder of 32 Hundredweight of the type manufactured for the US Navy beginning in 1846 for use as the main battery aboard smaller sloops is displayed at Petersburg National Battlefield. The 32-Pounder of 32 Hundredweight is a chambered cannon - meaning the chamber in the barrel where the propellant charge is placed is of smaller diameter than the 6.4-Inch diameter of the main portion of the barrel.
The Cannons at Fort Fisher
The Second Battle of Fort Fisher was fought from January 13th - 15th, 1865. This post gives an overview of the major types of heavy cannons present in the fort and aboard the fleet. The cannons pictured include Columbiads, Brooke Rifles, Dahlgren Cannons, and Parrott Rifles.
The 32-Pounders of 57 Hundredweight at Fort Fisher
Two US Navy 32-Pounders of 57 Hundredweight which were made in 1848 and 1852 at Tredegar, captured by the Confederates, banded and rifled, and mounted during the war at Fort Caswell are displayed at Fort Fisher. Three other replicas based on these cannons are mounted at the fort.
BuOrd 32-Pounders of 4,500 Pounds in Townsend, Massachusetts
Two US Navy Bureau of Ordnance 32-Pounders of 4,500 Pounds are displayed in front of Memorial Hall in Townsend, Massachusetts. Notably, one of the cannons still has a firing hammer attached on the lug at the breech.
Heavy Artillery of the Confederacy in the American Civil War
This post is an overview of the major types and systems of heavy naval and seacoast artillery operated by the Confederate Army and Confederate Navy during the American Civil War. The principle types used were: Pre-War US Army cannons and Columbiads, Pre-War US Navy cannons and Dahlgren guns, Confederate Columbiads, Brooke Rifles and Smoothbores, banded and rifled cannons, and British rifles.