US Navy 30-Pounder Parrotts of Waterville, Maine

May 9

Written By Santee1821 .

Three US Navy 30-Pounder Parrotts may be seen in Waterville, Maine. Photo by James Murray.

Many thanks to James Murray for taking and sharing these photos!

Three US Navy 30-Pounder Parrott Rifles may be seen in Waterville, Maine in Veterans Memorial Park.

US Navy 30-Pounder Number 146 which was manufactured by West Point Foundry in 1863. It weighed 3,508 pounds as manufactured. It is recorded as serving on USS Tuscarora - though perhaps not until 1868 according to the Bureau of Ordnance Register of Naval Guns.
US Navy 30-Pounder Number 193 which was manufactured by West Point Foundry in 1863. It weighed 3,470 pounds as manufactured. It is recorded as serving on USS Ethan Allen in the Bureau of Ordnance Register of Naval Guns.
US Navy 30-Pounder Number 366 which was manufactured by West Point Foundry in 1864. It weighed 3,470 pounds as manufactured. It is not known to have seen service afloat.

Two additional 30-Pounders, Number 145 and 185, are in nearby Winslow, Maine.

The 30-Pounder Parrott fired an approximately 30 pound projectile which could be solid shot or shell with 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.