The 30-Pounder Parrott at UNCW
30-Pounder Parrott recovered from the wreck of USS Peterhoff on display on the campus of UNCW
Update: This 30-Pounder Parrott Rifle is no longer at UNCW but is awating conservation and will eventually be displayed again alongside other USS Peterholf cannons at Fort Fisher State Historic Site. See my December 2025 post.
What is that cannon on Hoggard Lawn at UNCW?
A 30-Pounder (4.2 Inch) Navy Parrott Rifle, US Navy Registry Number 97, may be seen on the lawn in front of Hoggard Hall at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. This cannon was recovered from the wreck of USS Peterhoff in 1974 - in part through the efforts of students participating in a UNCW field course in Marine and Historic Site Archeology.
As originally manufactured, 30-Pounder Parrott Number 97 weighed 3,550 pounds. The deterioration of the piece caused by a century underwater and the conservation techniques of the 1970s show the composition of the wrought iron band.
Plaque describing how the UNCW Parrott was recovered in part through the efforts of a UNCW field course in Marine and Historic Site Archeology.
The Russian Yacht Peterhoff as built
SS Peterhoff was built as a yacht for the Tzar of Russia in 1850. The ship ran aground on her delivery voyage. After salvage, the Peterhoff was taken into merchant service by British owners. In 1863 she was seized as a suspected blockade runner by the US Navy after leaving St. Thomas harbor in the Virgin Islands. Taken into US Navy service, the ship was commissioned as USS Peterhoff in 1864. On March 6th, 1864, after only a week on station as a part of the blockading US Navy squadron off Wilmington, the ship sank following a collision with USS Monticello. Fortunately, the entire crew of Peterhoff was able to evacuate the ship prior to its sinking.
32-Pounder recovered from USS Peterhoff in 1963 on display at Fort Fisher State Historic Site
The Parrott shows the effect of 110 years underwater and 50 years on a college campus. I was intrigued by the condition of the reinforcing band - the band shows what look like ridges.
Information about the recovery of the USS Peterhoff’s cannons can be found on the website of the North Carolina Office of State Archeology: https://archaeology.ncdcr.gov/blog/2021-06-19/submerged-nc-guns-peterhoff
(Please note: the map below places the pin on the rear of Hoggard Hall. The Parrott is located on near the marker labeled “Hoggard Lawn.”)
