US Navy 30-Pounder Parrott Rifle Number 240 of USS Hartford
US Navy 30-Pounder Number 240 of USS Hartford in Freeport, New York
US Navy 30-Pounder Parrott Rifle Number 240 was listed aboard USS Hartford in a June of 1864 report. Therefore, this Parrott which is displayed in Freeport, New York on Long Island is a veteran of the Battle of Mobile Bay. It was cast at West Point Foundry in 1863 and weighed 3,470 pounds.
Many thanks to my coworker who took a few minutes on her vacation to snap these photos!
At the time of the Battle of Mobile Bay, USS Hartford carried only one 30-Pounder. Number 240 was mounted on the poop deck overlooking the stern. It’s breech can be seen in an 1864 photo (see below).
The 30-Pounder Parrott had a 4.2-Inch Bore and fired an approximately 30 pound projectile which could be solid shot or shell. The 30-Pounder used a 3.25 pound propellant charge. In terms of weight of the gun, at 3,500 pounds it was similar to the very lightest 32-Pounders of the 1846 system (the 32-Pounders of 27cwt and 33cwt). Unlike those earlier 32-Pounders, it was in production during the war.
While the Parrott system has a poor reputation for endurance and safety in the present day, this reputation is entirely undeserved when it comes to the 30-Pounder. A January 1865 report lists only three US Navy 30-Pounders which failed in service - two while using experimental propellant and one after being struck on the muzzle by an enemy projectile. Additionally, only three Army 30-Pounders failed - one of those after firing 4,650 rounds (an extremely high total for the era). The 30-Pounder Parrott was a reliable, relatively light weight piece of ordnance which armed many ships of the US Navy and US Revenue Cutter Service during the American Civil War.
Photo taken aboard USS Hartford in 1864. Admiral David Farragut and Captain Percival Drayton stand beside the ship’s wheel. The breech of 30-Pounder Parrott may be see on the poop deck at the upper left of the photo.
