US Army 30-Pounder Parrott Rifles in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania
Two US Army 30-Pounder Parrott Rifles flank a flagpole in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. Photo by James Murray
Two US Army 30-Pounder Parrott Rifles flank a flagpole in New Rosemont Cemetery in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. They are displayed upside down on their stone pedestals. Many thanks to friend-of the page James Murray for taking the photos of the Parrotts in Bloomsburg.
Markings on the muzzle are obscured by layers of old paint, but the two Parrotts are:
US Army 30-Pounder Parrott Number 210 manufactured at West Point Foundry in 1863. It’s weight as originally manufactured was 4,195 pounds.
US Army 30-Pounder Parrott Number 211 manufactured at West Point Foundry in 1863. It’s weight as originally manufactured was 4,210 pounds.
The 30-Pounder Parrott is a 4.2-Inch cast-iron rifled cannon with a wrought-iron reinforcing band around the breech. At around 126 inches long, it is about two feet longer than the otherwise identical type used by the US Navy. The 30-Pounder Parrott was typically used by the US Army for siege and garrison duties. As its name implies, it could fire projectiles of up to about 30 pounds. It was capable of (for the time) very long range, accurate fire. It did not suffer the same reliability problems which plagued the heavier Parrott Rifles.
An original US Army 30-Pounder Parrott Rifles is displayed on a replica carriage at Fort Pulaski. For more on Fort Pulaski’s Parrotts, see this post.
