The cut down Dahlgrens of Lee Hall
Two US Navy Dahlgren guns which were both eventually transferred to “Yards and Docks” are seen at Lee Hall in Newport News, Virginia. Photo by Haze Grey History
Two US Navy Dahlgren guns which were both eventually transferred to “Yards and Docks” are seen at Lee Hall in Newport News, Virginia. Photographs are by Haze Grey History - many thanks for the permission to use them! As is visible in the photos, a large portion of the chase of both guns has been removed. They are displayed beside a portable navy boiler.
The two guns are an 9-Inch Dahlgren cast in 1859 and a 8-Inch Bureau of Ordnance Shell Gun cast in 1867. The 9-Inch Dahlgren is upside down hiding its registry number, though comparing visible markings to the information in Bureau of Ordnance Records identifies this as Registry Number 252. Therefore the two guns are:
US Navy 9-Inch Dahlgren Number 252 cast by Cyrus Alger & Co. in 1859. Weight as manufactured was 9,080 pounds.
US Navy 8-Inch Bureau of Ordnance Shell Gun Number 340 cast by Builders Foundry in 1867. Weight as manufactured was 6,455 pounds.
US Navy 9-Inch Dahlgren Number 252 was cast by Cyrus Alger & Co. in 1859. It was mounted aboard USS Colorado circa 1860 to replace one of the Dahlgrens which had been removed from the steam frigate to arm USS Brooklyn. It was aboard Colorado during the bombardments of Fort Fisher in December 1864 and January 1865. In 1867 it was removed from Colorado. Number 252 had her trunnions reduced to 4 inches in length for use upon and iron carriage, and it was placed aboard USS Canandaigua in 1872 and served aboard that vessel until 1877. It saw no further service afloat and was transferred to “Yards and Docks” at Norfolk in May of 1893.
US Navy 8-Inch Bureau of Ordnance Shell Gun Number 340 was cast by Builders Foundry in Providence, Rhode Island in 1867. In 1870 it was placed aboard USS Jamestown, and old sailing sloop used as a training vessel, upon which it seems to have served through 1892. It was transferred to Yards and Docks in 1898. Another 8-Inch Shell Gun from USS Jamestown is displayed in the area at Historic Endview Plantation.
USS Jamestown - Library of Congress Photo: https://www.loc.gov/item/2016798837/
Armament Page of USS Jamestown in 1880.
