The 8-Inch Columbiad, Pattern 1844, of Fort Sumter
8-Inch Columbiad, Pattern 1844, at 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.
Though it may look insignificant today, when it was originally cast in the 1840s or 1850s it was among the most powerful weapons in the US Army's inventory. Capable of firing explosive shells, no wooden ship could live long when in range of a battery of these cannons. With a weight of 9,200 pounds, the 8-Inch Columbiad was heavier and more capable than solid-shot firing 42-Pounders (7-inch bore, 8,500 pounds) and 32-Pounders (6.4-inch bore, 7,200 pounds) of a similar vintage, and it was significantly heavier and more capable than the 8-Inch Seacoast Howitzer that it replaced (5,800 pounds). In 1861, only the three 10-Inch Columbiads at Fort Sumter were even yet more powerful. In the Confederate batteries surrounding the fort, there was probably nothing more powerful than the 8-Inch Columbiads at Fort Moultrie.
Even by the "Attack of the Ironclads" on April 7th, 1863, the 8-Inch Columbiad (by then likely a mixture of old US Army types and newly manufactured examples from Tredegar and Bellona foundries in Richmond) was the most numerous single type of heavy cannon in action that day. (Nineteen 8-Inch Columbiads fired upon the ironclads. By comparison ten 10-Inch Columbiads were in action and only two 7-Inch Brooke Rifles were involved.) It is quite possible that this forlorn Columbiad was one of the eight of the type at Fort Sumter which took an active part in the battle that day with the US Navy. (Though it also may have been mounted on one of the unengaged faces of the fort.)
At some point the Columbiad was damaged and buried at the fort. This likely occurred during the great bombardments of Fort Sumter by US Army batteries on Morris Island in the summer and fall of 1863. The walls of the fort were reduced to giant heaps of rubble, and the damaged Columbiad, intentionally or not, likely was buried at the fort. According to Ryan's "The Historic Guns of Forts Sumter and Moultrie", the Columbiad never appeared on post-war lists of cannons at the fort, and it was unknown until excavated at the fort in 1959.
When you visit, it is worth taking a moment to ponder this not-actually-so-small cannon that represents the building, defiance, capture, defense, reduction, and excavations of Fort Sumter.
8-Inch Columbiad, Pattern 1844, between two 15-Inch Rodmans at Fort Sumter
Intact 8-Inch Columbiad, Pattern 1844, displayed in Medina, New York
1861 photo of the parapet of Fort Sumter shortly after capture. Two 8-Inch Columbiads are visible in the middle of the line of cannons pictured. Library of Congress - https://www.loc.gov/item/2015650219/
Caption of previous photo - Library of Congress
Sign at Fort Sumter beside the 8-Inch Columbiad stating that it was likely at the fort in 1861 and has been since then.
8-Inch Columbiad, Pattern 1844, at Fort Sumter
8-Inch Columbiad, Pattern 1844, at Fort Sumter
8-Inch Columbiad, Pattern 1844, at Fort Sumter
8-Inch Columbiad, Pattern 1844, at Fort Sumter
