The Dahlgren Boat Howitzers of Webster, Massachusetts

Sep 5

Dahlgren 12-Pounder Boat Howitzer Number 189 (with Number 152 in the background) displayed outside the City Hall of Webster, Massachusetts.

Three US Navy Dahlgren Boat Howitzers are displayed at the City Hall of Webster, Massachusetts. Two are smoothbore 12-Pounder Boat Howitzers (4.62-Inch Bore) and one is a Rifled 12-Pounder Boat Howitzer (3.4-Inch Bore). The smoothbores are displayed outside near a monument erected in 1907 to the Civil War veterans of Webster “Who did their part to preserve the Union.” The rifled howitzer is displayed inside the building in the main entrance hall. All three seem to be preserved on their original carriages.

According to the information presented in the appendix of The Big Guns, the markings on the howitzers are:

The smoothbore howitzer:

Number 152: Inspected by John A Dahlgren. Manufactured 1862 at the Washington Navy Yard. Weight 751 pounds. Preponderance 66 pounds. BuOrd Records show that she served aboard the ironclad USS Galena and the tugboat USS Larkspur.
Number 189. Inspected by William Nicholson Jeffers. Manufactured in 1864 by the Washington Navy Yard. Weight 758 pounds. Preponderance 68 pounds.

The rifled howitzer:

Number 186. Inspected by John A Dahlgren. Manufactured in 1863 at the Washington Navy Yard. Weight 879 pounds. Preponderance 48 pounds. BuOrd Records show that it served aboard USS Philadelphia (NARA RG74 E111 V2 Pg. 284) during the Civil War and the monitor USS Sangamon (NARA RG74 E112 V1 Pp. 52-53). I cannot yet date the service aboard Sangamon which may have been during or after the war.

The rifled howitzer is displayed alongside a sign with a history of the howitzer that begins in 1861 and describes capture and recapture. The boat howitzer was manufactured in 1863. After reviewing BuOrd records, I don’t believe that any of the history on the sign is correct for Number 186.

A wonderful video displaying the use of Dahlgren Boat Howizters may be found posted by Youtube Channel Historic Forrest: 1850’s Dahlgren Boat Howitzer Firing and Barrel Shift Exercise

An excellent article on the monument itself may be found on the Massachusetts Civil War Monuments Project entry for Webster: https://macivilwarmonuments.com/2018/12/29/webster/