The 60-Pounder Breech Loader of USS Kearsarge
A US Navy 60-Pounder Breech Loader which served aboard USS Kearsarge from about 1880 to 1886 is displayed at Trophy Park at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia. This gun was originally manufactured as a muzzle loading 60-Pounder (5.3-Inch) Parrott Rifle, Registry Number 61, at West Point Foundry in 1865.
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 7-Inch Blakely of CSS Alabama
CSS Alabama carried two heavy pivot guns: a 68-Pounder Smoothbore and a 7-Inch (or 110-Pounder) Blakely Rifle as well as six 32-pounder broadside guns. The Blakely was recovered from her wreck in 1994 and is displayed at La Cité de la Mer Museum and Aquarium in Cherbourg, France. The cannon is displayed above the remains of its original wooden carriage and with other artifacts related to the ship.
The Guns of USS Kearsarge in 1894
When the USS Kearsarge grounded and sank on February 2nd, 1894 she was carrying two 8-Inch Muzzle Loading Rifles, four 9-Inch Dahlgrens, and one 5.3-Inch Breech Loading Rifle. This post looks at historic photos of USS Kearsarge, photos of preserved cannons similar to those lost aboard the ship, and photos that may show the current disposition of the cannons at Kearsarge’s wreck site.