US Army 100-Pounder Parrott Rifle of Fort Morgan
US Army 100-Pounder Parrott Rifle Number 90 is displayed at Fort Morgan
A US Army 100-Pounder (6.4-Inch) Parrott Rifle, Number 90, is displayed near the entrance to Fort Morgan in Alabama. It was cast by West Point Foundry in 1863. As manufactured it weighed 9,827 pounds. It is marked “100 Pdr” on the left trunnion and “RPP” on the right trunnion (for its designer, Robert Parker Parrott).
The 100-Pounder Parrott is a cast iron, rifled cannon with a wrought iron band reinforcing the breech. The type was called a 100-Pounder as it could fire projectiles of up to that weight, though 60 pounds to 80 pounds was more typical. It shared the same 6.4-Inch caliber with the old 32-Pounder Smoothbore. The 100-Pounder was used by both the US Army and US Navy during the American Civil War. They Navy and Army types differ only in their markings. The Army Parrott is marked on its muzzle. The Navy Parrott is marked on top of the breech band.
The Parrott represents those cannons brought by the US Army to Fort Morgan in the 1870s as the Army sought to rebuild and reestablish coast defenses in the South.
The 100-Pounder is displayed alongside a 7-Inch Brooke Rifle, S89. Although the Parrott (9,827 pounds) and Brooke (14,800 pounds) are in different weight classes, the display offers a rare opportunity to compare the two systems side by side. Both are cast iron rifles with wrought iron reinforces. The Parrott has a single, thick band made of wrought iron bars welded together. The Brooke has two thinner bands made of five (inner) and three (outer) rings.
