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.
CS Army 30-Pounder “Parrott” Rifle at Fort Morgan
A 30-Pounder (4.2-Inch) Rifle manufactured by Tredegar (Richmond, Virginia) in 1862 is displayed at Fort Morgan. The rifle is resembles the US Army Parrott Rifle. The rifle’s breech was blown off at some point. The missing breech allows the bore to be seen from the breech - and it is roughly and inch off-center.
Like the US Army Parrott Rifle, this is a cast iron cannon with a wrought iron reinforcing band over the breach.
10-Inch Columbiad at South Fort in Vicksburg
A 10-Inch Confederate Columbiad is displayed at South Fort at Vicksburg National Military Park. This Columbiad was cast at Bellona Foundry near Richmond in 1863. It is marked as weighing 13,800 pounds. It is marked on its right trunnion “BF, JLA” for Bellona Foundry, Junius L. Archer (the proprietor).
The 6.4-Inch Brooke Rifle of Jackson, Alabama
A 6.4-Inch Brooke Rifle cast at Selma in 1864 is displayed at Jackson, Alabama. It was cast on August 9th, 1864 and delivered to Mobile on December 21st, 1864 (see Daniel & Gunter, pg. 83). According to the historical marker placed next to the cannon, S96 was mounted at Oven Bluff on the Tombigbee River.
The 7-Inch Brooke Rifle of Fort Morgan
7-Inch Double Banded Brooke Rifle "S89" is displayed at Fort Morgan, Alabama. Cast at Selma, Alabama in July of 1864, it was delivered to Mobile in January of 1865. A nearby interpretive sign explains that it was mounted in a fortification north of Mobile. It is stamped with its "as manufactured" weight of 14,800 pounds.
10-Inch Confederate Columbiad, Bellona Number 4, at Vicksburg
A 10-Inch Confederate Columbiad, Bellona Foundry Number 4, is displayed at “Cannon Row” near the Visitor’s Center at Vicksburg National Military Park. This Columbiad was cast by Bellona Foundry near Richmond, Virginia in 1862. It’s original weight was 13,800 pounds.
8-Inch Brooke Smoothbore, S-26, at Gainesville, Alabama
An 8-Inch Double Banded Brooke Smoothbore, S26, manufactured at the Selma Naval Gun Foundry in 1863-1864 may be found beside the Old Cemetery in Gainesville, Alabama. S26 was cast as a 6.4-Inch Brooke Rifle. According to Messers Olmstead, Stark, and Tucker, S26 was one of three blocks (raw castings) intended to be produced as 6.4-inch rifles which encountered difficulties during machining but were successfully salvaged as 8-inch smoothbores. S26 is the only survivor of the three Selma produced 8-Inch Brooke Smoothbores.
9-Inch “Confederate Dahlgren” at Vicksburg
A 9-Inch Naval Shell Gun cast at Bellona Foundry in 1862 is displayed behind the Mississippi Monument at Vicksburg. This shell gun generally follows the shape of US Navy 9-Inch Dahlgrens and may be called a “Confederate Dahlgren.”
The 6.4-Inch “Columbiad Rifle” of Fort Powell in Mobile
A 6.4-Inch Rifle which in all respects besides its smaller, rifled bore resembles and was made from a 10-Inch Confederate Columbiad may be found in downtown Mobile, Alabama. The cannon was salvaged from the site of Fort Powell which guarded the Mississippi Sound entrance to Mobile Bay.
The 8-Inch Columbiad, Pattern 1844, of Fort Sumter
The US Army 8-Inch Columbiad, Pattern 1844, looks almost insignificant at Fort Sumter as it rests between two gargantuan 50,000 pound 15-Inch Rodmans which were brought to the fort in the 1870s. The smaller Columbiad is missing a portion of its muzzle, its right trunnion, and much of its cascabel. It's not mounted on a carriage like the cannons in the casemates. An interpretive sign notes that several of the type were present at the fort in 1861 and that this cannon probably has remained there since then.
Blakely and Ordinance Rifle at the old Beaufort Arsenal
A US Army 3-Inch Ordnance Rifle (left) and a 3.5-Inch Blakely Rifle are displayed at the Old Beaufort Arsenal in Beaufort, South Carolina. The two cannons are:
3.5-Inch Blakely marked "Blakely's Patent, No. 50, Fawcett, Preston, & Co., Liverpool, Makers, 1862. Ripley categorized this Blakely as a “Type 4”.
US Army 3-Inch Ordnance Rifle Number 265 manufactured in 1862 at the Phoenix Iron Company.
Brierfield Arsenal 6-Pounder at Petersburg
A 6-Pounder smoothbore manufactured by Brierfield Arsenal in Alabama (near Selma) in 1863 is displayed at Petersburg National Battlefield. This is the only surviving cannon produced by Brierfield. A large "C.S." is visible on top of the tube above the trunnions. The weight, 982 pounds, is stamped on the muzzle.
8-Inch Confederate Columbiad in Waterman, Illinois
An 8-Inch Confederate Columbiad is displayed in Johnson Grove Cemetery near Waterman, Illinois. It sits atop a pedestal bearing the inscriptions “Dedicated to the Soldiers of the Civil War” and “Erected 1905.”
The left trunnion bears the mark “1864” - probably for the date of acceptance into service. The Tredegar Foundry number on the muzzle - “1947” - actually corresponds to a casting date of October 27th, 1863 in the records of Tredegar Iron Works of Richmond, Virginia.
8-Inch Confederate Columbiads in St. Augustine, Florida
Two 8-Inch Confederate Columbiads cast by Bellona Foundry in 1861 are displayed in the Plaza de la Constitución in Saint Augustine, Florida. Bellona’s registry numbers “27” and “29” are stamped on the muzzle. Their weight as manufactured, 8,750 pounds, is stamped on the breech of each. The bronze plaques with each cannon claim that these cannons were present at Fort Marion (Castillo de San Marcos).
10-Inch Confederate Columbiad in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
A 10-Inch Confederate Columbiad manufactured in 1863 by Tredegar is displayed in front of the Horse Soldier in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. This cannon bears Tredegar’s registry number “1873” on its muzzle. This number corresponds to a 10-Inch Columbiad cast at Tredegar on July 30th, 1863.
Many thanks to friend-of-the-page and historian Tom Nank for taking these photos and sharing them with me.
3-Inch Quimby and Robinson Rifles at Petersburg
A Quimby and Robinson 3-Inch Bronze Rifle is seen at Battery 8 at Petersburg. Quimby and Robinson of Memphis, Tennessee delivered at least 77 field pieces and siege guns to the Confederacy between November 1861 and the fall of Memphis to the US Navy in June 1862. Four of these were 3-Inch Bronze Rifles. Two of these are displayed at Petersburg.
The 8-Inch Confederate Columbiad at Drewry’s Bluff
An 8-Inch Confederate Columbiad is displayed at Fort Darling at Drewry's Bluff on the James River near Richmond, Virginia. The Columbiad, Number 66, was cast at Bellona Foundry in 1862. The Columbiad, mounted on the commanding position overlooking the James, represents the battery which fought USS Galena and USS Monitor on May 15th, 1862.
12-Pounder Confederate Napoleon at the American Civil War Museum in Richmond
A 12-Pounder Confederate Napoleon is displayed in front of the American Civil War Museum in Richmond, Virginia. The “Confederate Napoleon”, a bronze smoothbore gun-howitzer, is designed to fire the same shot, shell, canister, and case as the US Army 12-Pounder Napoleon (Pattern 1857). However, given the pressures on Southern industry, most Confederate Napoleons lack the the visual refinements of the US Army model. The Confederate Napoleon typically does not have any muzzle swell. The tube likely was turned on a lathe only enough to function, so it will have a rough appearance. This particular example was cast at Tredegar Foundry - the site of the museum where it is presently displayed.
12-Pounder Confederate “Iron Napoleon” at Petersburg
12-Pounder Banded Smoothbore "Confederate Iron Napoleon" at Petersburg National Battlefield, Battery 5. Tredegar's foundry number 2243 is visible on the left trunnion. This piece was cast in January of 1865. As bronze became scare, the Confederacy turned to manufacturing the "Napoleon" in iron. Weight of the tube, 1,249 pounds, is similar to earlier bronze examples.
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.