The 32-Pounders of 51 Hundredweight of Lowell, Massachusetts
Four US Navy 32-Pounders of 51 Hundredweight surround a flagpole and a section of veteran’s graves in Lowell, Massachusetts. Many thanks to friend of the page James Murray for venturing out into the snow taking and sharing these photos!
US Army 24-Pounder, Pattern 1819, Rifled at Vicksburg
A US Army 24-Pounder, Pattern 1819, is displayed at Fort Hill in Vicksburg. It was cast at West Point Foundry in 1837. At some point it was rifled with 18 grooves, likely for service during the American Civil War. As originally manufactured it weighed 5,480 pounds.
US Navy 30-Pounder Parrott Number 307
US Navy 30-Pounder Parrott Rifle Number 307 is displayed at Trophy Park at Norfolk Naval Shipyard. It was manufactured at West Point Foundry in 1864 and weighs 3,500 pounds. According to the research of Wayne Stark, Number 307 did not see any shipboard service in the US Navy, however it was loaned to the Treasury Department from 1864 to 1876. Given that a stereotypical armament for US Revenue Cutter Service cutters during this period was a single 30-Pounder Parrott and two to four boat howitzers, Number 307 may have seen service aboard a Revenue Cutter.
US Army 8-Inch Rodman in Bath, Maine
Displayed beside a monument outside the Sagadahoc County Superior Courthouse in Bath, Maine is an 8-inch Rodman (Model 1861 Columbiad) cast in 1865 by Seyfert, McManus, and Co. in Reading, Pennsylvania for the United States Army. Many thanks to Friend of the Page James Murray for taking and sharing these photos!
US 13-Inch Mortar in Lowell, Massachusetts
A US Navy 13-Inch Mortar, Pattern 1861, is displayed in Lowell, Massachusetts. Many thanks to friend-of-the-page James Murray for taking and sending these photos! As manufactured at Fort Pitt Foundry in 1862, the mortar weighed 17,280 pounds. It is marked with Foundry Number 1172. It bears the initials “J.M.B.” of US Navy Ordnance Officer John M. Berrien.
US Army 8-Inch Muzzle Loading Rifle in Cairo, Illinois
A US Army 8-Inch Rifle, Registry Number 34, is displayed in Cairo, Illinois. The cannon was originally cast at Fort Pitt Foundry in 1862 as a 10-Inch Rodman smoothbore, Registry Number 45. In 1884 it was converted into an 8-Inch Muzzle Loading Rifle using the breech insertion conversion. Its new registry number is 34. As converted it weighed 15,915 pounds.
US Navy 9-Inch Dahlgren Number 887 of USS Enterprise
US Navy 9-Inch Dahlgren Number 887 is displayed at Trophy Park at Norfolk Naval Shipyard. It was cast at Cyrus Alger and Company in 1864. As manufactured it weighed 9,329 pounds. It served aboard USS Tennessee and USS Enterprise.
US Navy 20-Pounder Number 115 of USS Sumpter
A US Navy 20-Pounder, Registry Number 115, is displayed in Trophy Park at Norfolk Naval Shipyard. It was manufactured at West Point Foundry in 1862 and weighs 1,795 pounds. According to the research of Wayne Stark, Number 115 was carried aboard USS Sumpter which was accidentally sunk in a collision with the transport steamer General Meigs on June 24th, 1863.
US Navy 9-Inch Dahlgren Number 852 of USS Minnesota
One of five US Navy 9-Inch Dahlgrens on display at the National Civil War Naval Museum in Columbus, Georgia is Number 852. Records show that it served aboard the frigate USS Minnesota from at least 1875.
US Navy 32-Pounders of 42 Hundredweight Numbers 276, 226, and 280 of USS Cairo
US Navy 32-Pounders of 42 Hundredweight Numbers 276 and 226 are the number 3 and 4 guns on the starboard broadside of USS Cairo. Number 280 is the starboard gun on the stern.
USS Navy 100-Pounder Parrott Rifle of USS Franklin
US Navy 100-Pounder Parrott Rifle, Number 165, is displayed in Trophy Park at Norfolk Naval Shipyard. Manufactured at West Point Foundry in 1863, Number 165 weighs 9,727 pounds. According to the research of Wayne Stark, Number 165 served aboard USS Franklin - likely from the time of her commissioning until at least 1872.
US Army 10-Inch Rodmans in Sullivan, Ohio
Two US Army 10-Inch Rodmans, Pattern 1861 are displayed in Sullivan, Ohio. Both were cast at Fort Pitt Foundry in 1865. They were placed as a monument to the "Dead Heroes of Sullivan Township” in 1906.
US Navy 9-Inch Dahlgren Number 242 at Trophy Park
US Navy 9-Inch Dahlgren Number 242 was manufactured by Cyrus Alger & Company in 1859. As manufactured it weighed 9,045 pounds. It served aboard USS Richmond from her commissioning until 1865. During this time it was fired 250 times. USS Richmond, of course, saw a very active career including at New Orleans, Vicksburg, and Mobile Bay. After 1872, it was mounted aboard USS Sabine.
The 32-Pounder of USS St. Lawrence
US Navy 32-Pounder of 57 Hundredweight, Number 384, is displayed at Trophy Park at Norfolk Naval Shipyard. Number 384 was manufactured at Tredegar Foundry in Richmond, Virginia in 1848. According to the research of Wayne Stark, Number 384 was carried aboard the sailing frigate USS St. Lawrence.
The Rifled Boat Howitzers of Norfolk Naval Shipyard
Two US Navy 12-Pounder (3.4-Inch) Rifled Dahlgren Boat Howitzers are displayed near the 4th Street Entrance at Norfolk Naval Shipyard: Numbers 314 and 403. Two other rifled boat howitzers are nearby: Numbers 249 and 298.
US Navy 32-Pounder of 57 Hundredweight of USS Congress
US Navy 32-Pounder of 57 Hundredweight, Number 125, was carried aboard USS Congress - when she was sunk after surrendering to the ironclad CSS Virginia during the Battle of Hampton Roads in March 1862.
White Point Garden on New Years Day
White Point Garden (a.k.a. “The Battery”) in Charleston, South Carolina has a remarkable collection of heavy Civil War artillery. The city recently completed a multi-year construction project - giving an unfettered view of the guns for the first time in two years. I photographed the park on the morning of New Years Day, 2026.
US Navy 9-Inch Dahlgren Number 34 of USS Wabash
US Navy 9-Inch Dahlgren Number 34 is one of five 9-Inch Dahlgrens displayed at the National Civil War Naval Museum in Columbus, Georgia. It was cast at Tredegar Foundry in Richmond, Virginia in 1855. Records indicate that it served aboard USS Wabash.
US Navy 32-Pounder of 42 Hundredweight Number 283
A US Navy 32-Pounder of 42 Hundredweight, Number 283, is displayed aboard USS Cairo at Vicksburg National Military Park. This cannon was cast in 1845 at the West Point Foundry. It is marked as weighing 42-1-11 Hundredweight (4,743 pounds). It was recovered in 1963 as preparatory work to recover the sunken USS Cairo in 1964.
8-Inch Rifle Number 50 of USS Lancaster
US Navy 8-Inch Muzzle Loading Rifle Number 50 of USS Lancaster at Patriots Point Soccer Stadium in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. This is one of four 8-Inch Rifles which were carried aboard USS Lancaster in the 1880s which are displayed at the stadium. Previously these 8-Inch MLR were displayed beside the aircraft carrier Yorktown. Before that they were at the Charleston Navy Yard.