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 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.
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.