US Navy 9-Inch Dahlgren 703 at Vicksburg
US Navy 9-Inch Dahlgren Number 703 was cast at Fort Pitt Foundry in 1863. It is displayed at Vicksburg National Military Park.
US Navy 9-Inch Dahlgren Number 703 was cast at Fort Pitt Foundry in 1863. It is currently displayed at Vicksburg National Military Park, but in 1864 it was one of twenty 9-Inch Dahlgrens sent to the Navy Yard at Sackets Harbor, New York. It weighs 9,265 pounds.
Why were twenty 9-Inch Dahlgrens sent to Lake Ontario in 1864? The only significant ship at Sackets Harbor was the old ship of the line USS New Orleans which had been built during the War of 1812 and was still maintained on the stocks in a ship house. In 1861 William Seward had floated the idea of launching the old ship and converting her into a steam frigate to defend the lakes in case of war with the British Empire. Was the delivery of these Dahlgrens related to that bright idea? Or was it simply to replace other cannons (32-Pounders and 8-Inch shell guns) taken from the Navy Yard in 1861? By 1864 there was a shortage of lighter cannons (which, as on the Atlantic, would be much more useful for arming purchased merchant steamers) but plenty of Dahlgrens (which usually could only be carried by purpose-built warships).
In any event, eleven of the Sackets Harbor Dahlgrens survive at various sites around the country. "Cannon Row" by the Vicksburg Visitors Center displays a very nice example.
See my previous post on the Sackets Harbor Dahlgrens for more information: https://www.santee1821.net/preserved-artillery/the-9-inch-dahlgren-of-sackets-harbor
Photo of 9-Inch Dahlgrens stored in a building at Sackets Harbor in the late 19th Century - photo from Sackets Harbor State Historic Site
USS New Orleans after the ship house around the ancient vessel collapsed circa 1880. Naval History and Heritage Command.
