US Army 42-Pounders in Butler, Pennsylvania
Two US Army 42-Pounders are displayed flanking a monument in Butler, Pennsylvania
Two US Army 42-Pounders and an 8-Inch Siege Mortar are displayed around a monument in Butler, Pennsylvania. The three pieces are:
US Army 42-Pounder, Pattern 1845, Number 43 manufactured by West Point Foundry in 1856. As manufactured it weighed 8480 pounds.
US Army 42-Pounder, Pattern 1845, Number 101 manufactured by Tredegar Foundry in 1859. As manufactured it weighed 8,482 pounds.
US Army 8-Inch Siege Mortar Number 17 manufactured by Cyrus Alger & Co. in 1863. As manufactured it weighed 1,020 pounds.
The decorative pedestals show that the 42-Pounders were placed by the A.G. Reed Post 105, Grand Army of the Republic, in 1898.
Many thanks to friend-of-the-page James Murray for taking these photos!
The types:
The 42-Pounder is a 7-Inch smoothbore gun designed to fire an approximately 42-pound projectile with a 10.5 pound propellant charge. At 5 degrees elevation, it has a range of 1,955 yards (Benton - 1862 Ed., Pg. 519). The 42-Pounder was intended for use in seacoast fortifications defending against ships. By the time of the Civil War, production of the 42-pounder ceased as the 8-Inch Columbiad (and especially the US Army Rodman) was found to be a much more capable piece for a similar weight.
The 8-Inch Siege Mortar was able to fire its 46-pound shell in a high arc - dropping its shell inside fortifications. Range tables in Benton (1867 edition) show that at 45 degrees with a 1 pound, 12 ounce propellant charge, the shell would land 2,225 yards away.
The monument and 42-Pounders in Butler, Pennsylvania
