US Army 100-Pounder Parrott Rifles in Monson, Massachusetts
Two US Army 100-Pounder Parrott Rifles are displayed in Monson, Massachusetts.
These photos were originally posted to the Facebook Group “Big Cannon Project” by Tom Speight. They are reposted here with his permission.
The Historic Naval Cannons of Glen Island Park, New Rochelle, New York
Five historic cannons are displayed at Glen Island Park in New Rochelle, New York. Many thanks to friend of the page James Touza for sending these photos!
Glen Island Park, a park of Westchester, New York, was originally a resort developed by John H. Starin. The cannons and stone "castles" were part of the whimsical scenery of the resort.
US Navy 12-Pounder Boat Howitzer, Heavy, Number 155 in New Haven, Connecticut
US Navy 12-Pounder Boat Howitzer, Heavy, Number 155 of USS Sassacus is displayed in New Haven, Connecticut. It is one of four of the type displayed around a monument there. Many thanks to James Murray for taking these photos!
US Army 8-Inch Muzzle Loading Rifles at the Presidio, California
Two US Army 8-Inch Muzzle Loading Rifles are displayed in Pershing Square at the Presidio of San Francisco, California. The Presidio has multiple US Army seacoast defense fortifications - the best known being Fort Point underneath the Golden Gate Bridge. Many thanks to Rob from the YouTube Channel FirearmsAddict for these photos!
US Navy 9-Inch Dahlgren at NSWC Dahlgren
US Navy 9-Inch Dahglren Number 1006 is displayed at Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division. These photos were taken by Haze Grey History in 2023. Many thanks for the permission to share them here. Number 1006 served aboard USS Brooklyn in the 1870s.
US Navy 32-Pounders of 4,500 Pounds in Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania
Two US Navy 32-Pounders of 4,500 Pounds are displayed flanking a monument in front of the Wyoming County Courthouse in Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania. Many thanks to James Murray for these photos!
US Army 4.5-Inch Rifles and 8-Inch Mortars in Decatur, Illinois
The photos in this post were originally shared on Facebook to the group “Big Cannon Project by Krzysztof Kurylowicz. Many thanks to him for allowing their use here!
Two US Army 4.5-Inch Siege Rifles and two US Army 8-Inch Siege Mortars are displayed in front of a monument in Decatur, Illinois. The monument lists the names of all those from Macon County who fought for the Union during the Civil War.
US Army 4.5-Inch Siege Rifles at Chatham Manor
Two US Army 4.5-Inch Siege Rifles are displayed at Chatham Manor on the Rappahannock River across from Fredericksburg. According to Olmstead et al., the two are:
US Army 4.5-Inch Siege Rifle, Pattern 1861, Number 81 manufactured at Fort Pitt Foundry in 1863. Weight as Manufactured 3,616 pounds.
US Army 4.5-Inch Siege Rifle, Pattern 1861, Unknown Number (damaged at muzzle).
The display of these two 4.5-Inch Rifles recalls a war time photo of a battery of three of the type limbered but in position overlooking Fredericksburg.
US Navy 12-Pounder Boat Howitzers at Manassas National Battlefield
Two US Navy 12-Pounder Dahlgren Boat Howitzers, Heavy, are displayed at Manassas National Battlefield Park. The two howitzers are:
12-Pounder Boat Howitzer, Heavy, Number 45 manufactured by the Washington Navy Yard in 1856. Weight as manufactured was 757 pounds. Served aboard USS Lancaster.
12-Pounder Boat Howitzer, Heavy. Unknown. Nearly all markings have been polished off this howitzer, so nothing can be known of its place of manufacture, weight, or service.
US Navy 12-Pounder Dahlgren Boat Howitzer of USS Constitution in Downingtown, Pennsylvania
US Navy 12-Pounder Dahlgren Boat Howitzer, Heavy, Number 39 is displayed in Downingtown, Pennsylvania. Many thanks to friend of the page James Murray for taking these photos!
Number 39 was cast in 1855 at the Washington Navy Yard. As originally cast it weighed 761 pounds. According to US Navy Records, it served aboard USS St. Lawrence and in 1877 aboard USS Constitution.
US Navy 8-Inch Bureau of Ordnance Shell Gun Number 26 at NSWC Dahlgren
A US Navy 8-Inch Bureau of Ordnance Shell Gun of 6,500 Pounds is displayed near Gate A at NSWC Dahlgren Division. These photos were taken by Haze Grey History in 2023. Many thanks for the permission to post them! The shell gun was cast by Fort Pitt Foundry in 1864. It is registry number 26 and weighed at manufacture 6,455 pounds. Bureau of Ordnance records show that it was one of ten guns of this type mounted aboard the cruiser USS Madawaska in July of 1866 (registry Numbers 26-35).
US Army 300-Pounder Parrott Rifle at Fort Jefferson
Ten of the largest Civil War era artillery pieces are displayed in the massive, remote, and beautiful Fort Jefferson on Garden Key in Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida. Many thanks to Mark Baker who shared these photos in comments and gave permission for their use.
The cut down Dahlgrens of Lee Hall
Two US Navy Dahlgren guns which were both eventually transferred to “Yards and Docks” are seen at Lee Hall in Newport News, Virginia. Photographs are by Haze Grey History - many thanks for the permission to use them! As is visible in the photos, a large portion of the chase of both guns has been removed. They are displayed beside a portable navy boiler.
The two guns are an 9-Inch Dahlgren cast in 1859 and a 8-Inch Bureau of Ordnance Shell Gun cast in 1867.
US Navy 20-Pounder Breech Loaders at Naval Weapons Station Yorktown
Two US Navy 20-Pounder Breech Loaders are displayed at Naval Weapons Station Yorktown. Photographs taken in May 2024 by Haze Grey History - many thanks for the permission to use them!
These two breech loaders were originally manufactured by West Point Foundry in 1862 as standard, muzzle-loading 20-Pounder Parrott Rifles for the US Navy. As the Navy model, they would have originally had a small ring cascabel to take a breeching rope.
A.B. Reading & Bro. 3-Inch Rifle at Petersburg
A 3-Inch Rifle produced by A.B. Reading & Bro. of Vicksburg in 1862 is displayed at Petersburg National Battlefield. Number 24 which was cast in 1862 was displayed at Battery 5 at the time of my most recent visit.
US Navy 12-Pounder Dahlgren Boat Howitzer at the Mariners’ Museum
A US Navy 12-Pounder Boat Howitzer, Heavy, is displayed at the Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, Virginia. It is mounted on a reproduction boat carriage. It may be registry number 386 which served upon USS Clematis in the Civil War and the monitor USS Manhattan in the 1870s and 1880s.
Two “State of Connecticut” marked 3.8-Inch James Rifles at Manassas
Two 3.8-Inch James Rifles marked “STATE OF CONN.” are part of a display on Matthews Hill at Manassas National Battlefield Park. Both were cast by Ames Manufacturing Company of Chicopee, Massachusetts in 1862. They are part of a display representing the 2nd Rhode Island Battery which took a position near this point on July 21st, 1861. The 2nd Rhode Island Battery was equipped with six James Rifles.
US Army 24-Pounder Field Howitzer at Petersburg
A US Army 24-Pounder, Pattern 1841, is displayed at Battery 5 near the Visitors Center at Petersburg National Battlefield. It was cast by Ames in Chicopee, Massachusetts in 1862. As manufactured it weighs 1,320 pounds. It is marked “State of Conn.” on top of the tube just forward of the vent.
The 24-Pounder Field Howitzer was the companion piece to the 12-Pounder Field Gun, Pattern 1841 in which two of the 24—pounder howitzers would support four 12-Pounder guns in a heavy field artillery battery.
The “Widow Blakely” at Vicksburg
The “Widow Blakely” is displayed at Vicksburg National Military Park. Originally the piece was a British 42-Pounder smoothbore gun manufactured in 1862 by the Low Moor Iron Company in Bradford, Yorkshire. It was reamed out to 7.5 inches, rifled, and banded by Blakely.
Many thanks to friend-of-the-page Jeff Brantly for sharing these photos!
According to the National Park Service, it is one of the few guns displayed at Vicksburg known with certainty to have been present at the siege. It appears to have been called the “Widow Blakely” because it was the only Blakely rifle present in Vicksburg’s defenses.
US Army 20-Inch Rodman at Fort Hancock
A US Army 20-Inch Rodman is displayed at Fort Hancock at Sandy Hook, New Jersey. This was the second 20-Inch Rodman cast - it bears the registry number “2” on the muzzle. It was cast at Fort Pitt Foundry in 1869 and weighed 115,100 pounds as cast.
Many thanks to William from South Jersey for taking the video from which these stills were taken!