US Navy 12-Pounder Boat Howitzers, Small, Numbers 7 and 12 in Gladwin, Michigan

Aug 6

Two US Navy Boat Howitzers, Small, are displayed in Gladwin, Michigan. Number 7 is nearer the camera while number 12 is farther.

Two US Navy 12-Bounder Dahlgren Boat Howitzers, Small, are displayed in Gladwin, Michigan. The two howitzers are:

12-Pounder Dahlgren Boat Howitzer, Small, Number 7. Weight as manufactured in 1857: 304 pounds.
12-Pounder Dahlgren Boat Howitzer, Small, Number 12. Weight as manufactured in 1858: 302 pounds.

The 12-Pounder, Small, was the smallest and lightest of Dahlgren’s boat howitzers. The next size up, the 12-Pounder, Light, weighed around 430 pounds, and the 12-Pounder, Heavy, weighed around 770 pounds. The Small was also produced in the smallest numbers with only twenty-three produced.

Both have interesting histories:

Number 7 was assigned to the steamer USS Fulton which was at the Pensacola Navy Yard when Confederates seized the yard in January of 1861. Bureau of Ordnance records note that it was captured and eventually recovered. The circumstances of its recovery are not described, and I am afraid I know nothing of its potential Confederate service.

Number 12 is listed as serving upon USS Crusader and USS R R Cuyler in the “Old Book” (RG 74, E112, Vol. 2.) and USS Glasgow in the “New Book” (RG 74, E112, Vol. 1.)

Both were presented to the W.M. Noble Post of the G.A.R. in Gladwin, Michigan. I wonder if they were not kept by the G.A.R. indoors for much of their history. Number 7 has unusually sharp markings for a Boat Howitzer. In 1950 they were given to the city for display at a local cemetery. According to a sign mounted between them, they were stolen in 1988 but recovered “after a nationwide search.” They were placed in their current location by the courthouse following their recovery.