The Breechloading Rifle of Columbus
This little breechloading rifle was manufactured in 1863 by engineer W.J. McAllister using the wheel shaft of the sunken riverboat John C. Calhoun at the Columbus Naval Ironworks Company. Warren Ripley measured the bore at 2.75 inches. Ripley also gives the length overall as 61.25 inches, though he states that this doesn’t include the breechblock link (pg. 181).
11-Inch Brooke Smoothbore at the National Civil War Naval Museum
The largest and heaviest surviving cannon produced by the Confederacy is an 11-Inch Double Banded Smoothbore S97 displayed at the National Civil War Naval Museum in Columbus, Georgia. S97 was cast at Selma, Alabama in 1864. As manufactured it weighed 23,593 pounds. It was cast on August 10th, 1864. It was intended to be sent to Charleston.
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.
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.
The 24-Pounder Howitzer of CSS Georgia
An iron 24-Pounder Howitzer cast in 1862 by A. N. Miller in Savannah, Georgia is displayed at Old Fort Jackson near Savannah. The tube was recovered from the wreck of CSS Georgia in 1984 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It weighs roughly 1,500 pounds and is displayed upon a naval carriage. It is the only example of its type known to exist.
4.62-Inch Gorgas Rifle at Stony Creek, Virginia
A 4.62-Inch Siege Rifle cast by Bellona Foundry (near Richmond) in 1862 may be found in Stony Creek, Virginia. Weight of 5,360 pounds is stamped on the breech. The right trunnion reads "BF / JLA" (Bellona Foundry / Junius L. Archer).
Olmstead et al. identifies this cannon as a "Gorgas Rifle", a type manufactured by both Tredegar and Bellona. This example is the only known survivor of the type. As noted in "The Big Guns", this rifle is nearly identical to the 4.62-Inch "Gibbon and Andrews" rifle found at Fort Branch except for the latter rifle being banded and therefore eight hundred pounds heavier.
The 4.62-Inch Gibbon and Andrews Rifle of Fort Branch
The only (known) surviving 4.62-Inch Gibbon and Andrews Rifle is part of the remarkable collection of original artillery at Fort Branch near Hamilton, North Carolina. This Confederate siege rifle was recovered from the Roanoke River at Fort Branch in 1977 having been submerged since the fort was destroyed and abandoned in April of 1865. It was recovered still mounted on the remains of its siege and garrison carriage which is also on display in the Fort’s museum.
Early 8-Inch Confederate Columbiad at Fort Pulaski
An early 8-Inch Confederate Columbiad is displayed on the parapet of Fort Pulaski near Savannah, Georgia. While it resembles the US Army “New Columbiad” of 1857/1858, it is the only known example of its specific type to survive.
3.56-Inch Cameron Rifle at the Museum at Market Hall
A 3.56-Inch Cameron Rifle, which may have been used against gunboats of the US Navy operating along the South Carolina coast, is displayed in the Museum at Market Hall in Charleston, South Carolina.
7-Inch Triple Banded Brooke Rifle
Part of the extraordinary collection of seacoast artillery preserved at Fort Moultrie is a Triple-Banded Brooke Rifle.