The US Army 42-Pounders of USS Cairo
The US Army 42-Pounders are displayed aboard USS Cairo in Vicksburg, Mississippi. One is a Pattern 1831 and two are Pattern 1845. All three were rifled for service during 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.
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.
42-Pounder, Banded and Rifled, in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
A US Army 42-Pounder, Pattern 1845, Seacoast Gun which was banded and rifled during the American Civil War is displayed in front of the Civil War Memorial in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. The 42-Pounder, which weighed about 8,500 pounds in its original, unbanded smoothbore state, was a popular cannon for conversion into a rifle by both North and South. As Olmstead et al. points out, of the 29 known survivors of the type, just over half have been rifled and/or banded.
This 42-Pounder was cast by West Point Foundry in 1859. It is registry number 126 (as seen on the muzzle face).
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 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.
Fort Fisher has Reopened!
Fort Fisher State Historic Site has reopened! The newly constructed visitors center and museum is magnificent. The fort itself has two newly reconstructed gun emplacements “armed” with replica banded and rifled 32-Pounders and two field pieces in front of the fort. It was a beautiful day for a visit. More posts will follow in the future which will try to tell something of the history of the fort and its people, but here are a few photos.
32-Pounder Rifle of CSS Teaser - Then and Now
A 32-Pounder of 57 Hundredweight which was banded and rifled by the Confederates is preserved as a trophy at the Washington Navy Yard. This cannon was captured aboard the converted tug boat CSS Teaser. The cannon was photographed after CSS Teaser's capture - allowing a "then and now" look at the cannon as well as the cannon's carriage, sights, and other accessories.
The Naval Guns of Old Fort Jackson
Old Fort Jackson near Savannah, Georgia displays several cannon which were manufactured for and used by the US Navy in the years before the American Civil War.
32-Pounder Rifle of CSS Georgia
A 32-Pounder of 57 Hundredweight, banded and rifled by the Confederates, is displayed at Old Fort Jackson near Savannah, Georgia. This cannon was raised from the wreck of CSS Georgia in 1984.
10-Inch Model 1844 Columbiad, Banded and Rifled, at Fort Sumter
A 10-Inch Columbiad Model 1844 which was banded and rifled by the Confederates is displayed at Fort Sumter.
8-Inch Columbiad, Model 1857, at Fort Moultrie
An 8-Inch Columbiad, Model of 1857, which was banded and rifled by the Confederates is displayed at Fort Moultrie near Charleston, South Carolina. This rare cannon is one of only two or three of the type still in existence.
10-Inch Columbiad, Model 1844, Banded and Rifled at Fort Moultrie
A 10-Inch Columbiad, Model 1844, which was rifled, banded, and equipped with a bronze trunnion band is preserved at Fort Moultrie near Charleston, South Carolina.
The Banded 12-Pounder at the Powder Magazine
Preserved outside the Powder Magazine Museum in Charleston, SC is a rifled and banded 12-pounder originally made by and for the British during the reign of George III!
Model 1845 42-Pounders at Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter displays two Model 1845 42-Pounder guns on casemate carriages on either side of the sallyport which visitors enter.
The 32-Pounders of Fort Fisher
Three United States Navy 32-Pounders are on display at Fort Fisher. These guns illustrate the kind of ordinance in naval use prior to the Civil War and the ways in which these guns were used by North and South during the war.
The Columbiads of Charleston
At Fort Sumter, Fort Moultrie, White Point Garden, and Magnolia Cemetery, the visitor to the Charleston area can see eighteen Columbiads used for the seacoast defense of Charleston before, during, and after the American Civil War.