US Navy 32-Pounder of 57 Hundredweight in Kenduskeag, Maine
US Navy 32-Pounder of 57 Hundredweight Number 502 in Kenduskeag, Maine
US Navy 32-Pounder of 57 Hundredweight Number 502 is displayed in a cemetery in Kenduskeag, Maine. Number 52 has sharper markings and a better coating than I have seen on most preserved naval guns of its era. (Many thanks to whoever is taking care of it!) Number 502 was cast by Cyrus Alger & Company in 1848. As manufactured it weighed 57-0-14 hundredweight (6,398 pounds). Bureau of Ordnance records show that Number 502 was sent to the navy yard at Boston. It remained in storage there until loaned to the Grand Army of the Republic post in Kenduskeag in 1905.
Many thanks to friend of the page Lee James Thieman for taking and sharing these photos!
The 32-Pounder of 57 Hundredweight was part of a series of 32-Pounders introduced by the Navy around 1846. The intention was to equip the fleet with uniform batteries of 32-Pounders. The 32-Pounder of 57cwt was intended for the gun decks of heavy frigates and ships of the line. Lighter weight 32-Pounders were cast for smaller ships and the spar decks of larger ships. While all fired the same projectiles, maximum propellant charges varied considerably. The 57 Hundredweight gun could use an up to 9-Pound propellant charge. While the intention had been to create uniform batteries, the 8-Inch shell guns which were initially intended to be a supplement to the heavy 32-Pounders were found to be much more effective and formed ever larger portions of ships’ batteries.
The 32-Pounder of 57 Hundredweight was perhaps the oldest gun the US Navy kept in inventory into the late 19th century. An 1875 note in Bureau of Ordnance records note that the chief of the Bureau ordered the guns kept as they were suitable candidates for modernization - one was even converted to a rifled breechloader. Guns which had never seen service afloat seem to have been preferred for retention as these mobilization assets. Therefore many of the more than 100 survivors of the type were never issued to a ship.
Plaque noting the dedication by the Daniel White Post 19, Grand Army of the Republic, in 1905
Trunnion Markings note that the gun was proofed and inspected by T. Aloysius Dornin
Trunnion markings showing the type (32-Pounder) and year of manufacture (1848).
The Manufacturer (Cyrus Alger and Company) and US Navy registry number (502) may be seen on the base ring at the breech.
The weight, 57-0-14 hundredweight (6,398 pounds), is also stamped on the base ring.
A US Navy anchor is stamped on top of the tube
