The Dahlgren Boat Howitzers of the National Civil War Naval Museum

Aug 29

Two US Navy Boat Howitzers - a 12-Pounder Smoothbore and a 12-Pounder Rifle - are displayed near the entrance of the National Civil War Naval Museum in Columbus, Georgia

Two US Navy Dahlgren Boat Howitzers are on display near the entrance of the National Civil War Naval Museum in Columbus, Georgia. The two boat howitzers are:

12-Pounder Bronze Dahlgren Boat Howitzer, Heavy, Number 52 which was cast at US Navy Yard Washington in 1858. As manufactured it weighed 761 pounds. It was inspected by John A. Dahlgren. (It is displayed on a field carriage.)
12-Pounder (3.4-Inch) Bronze Dahlgren Rifle Number 256 which was cast at US Navy Yard Washington in 1863. As manufactured it weighed 873 pounds. It was inspected by John A. Dahlgren. (It is on the floor.)

Displaying two these similarly sized Boat Howitzers next to each other allows the visitor to see the difference between the 4.62-inch smooth bore and 3.4-inch rifle. The smoothbore also has a blade sight prominent on the muzzle while the rifle has mounting points for sights on the left side of the tube. The use of a loop for mounting upon carriages can clearly be seen on both.

John Dahlgren designed his boat howitzers to be mounted on either a field carriage as shown here or a slide which could be mounted on a ship’s boat or on the ship itself. A well trained crew could quickly switch the howitzer between its boat mounting and field carriage. Ashore the relatively light howitzer was intended to be moved as necessary by its own crew.

The boat howitzer was intended to provide light artillery support for landing parties of sailors and marines. Afloat, they proved to be a useful supplement to a ship’s armament, particularly on rivers and in confined waters where a ship might have to suppress the fire of enemy infantry ashore.

The smoothbore example has its brass firing hammer in place.

The smoothbore is also recorded to have served aboard USS E.B. Hale. The Official Records notes that a 12-Pounder Boat Howitzer was added to the converted merchant ship’s armament by June 18th, 1863. At this time USS E. B. Hale was part of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron and was used for operations on the inland waterways of the South Carolina coast.