US Navy 12-Pounder Boat Howitzer Number 134 in New Haven, Connecticut
US Navy 12-Pounder Boat Howitzer, Heavy, Number 134 is displayed in New Haven, Connecticut.
US Navy 12-Pounder Dahlgren Boat Howitzer (Heavy) Number 134 was carried aboard USS Lehigh. It is possible that Number 134 is the boat howitzer depicted in two photos taken aboard the monitor during the American Civil War.
Many thanks to James Murray for sharing these photos!
In one of the two photos, the boat howitzer's crew pose for the camera as if in mid drill. In the other, the howitzer sits alone on deck, but a sailor can be seen peering from the muzzle of the 15-Inch inside the turret.
Number 134 is one of very few cannons which can be linked to service aboard the US Navy's monitors. For this reason, it is, perhaps, just a bit more special than most.
Unfortunately, it looks like the tube was damaged at some point by a would-be metal thief who attempted to cut through the barrel to take it away for scrap - the tube bears a scar just forward of its base. I am glad it was not harmed further. This is a one-of-a-kind artifact.
It is displayed in New Haven, Connecticut as one of four boat howitzers which surround a monument.
Note, the relevant BuOrd registry just gives "Lehigh" as the only ship upon which Number 134 served. It does not give dates of service. (NARA RG 74 E 112 V1 Pp 18-19).
US Navy 12-Pounder Boat Howitzer (Possibly Number 134) aboard USS Lehigh on the James River
Do you see the sailor peering from the 15-inch gun inside the turret? Lehigh originally carried an 11-Inch Dahlgren as the second heavy gun. In 1863 this was replaced with a 150-Pounder.
USS Lehigh on the James River
