USS Constitution’s Armament: The Civil War and Beyond

USS Constitution undergoing repairs in 1858. This is the earliest known photo of the famous frigate. Via Wikimedia.

USS Constitution carries a battery of 24-Pounders and 32-Pounder carronades manufactured for the ship during her 1920s refit. Her battery has evolved considerably over time. The USS Constitution Museum has written excellent articles on her early and existing batteries (linked below), but the cannons she carried in her training roles during the late 19th Century are also of interest.

“Constitution’s Guns: A Snapshot”

“Constitution’s Modern Armament”

During the American Civil War, she carried six 32-Pounders of 42 Hundredweight and ten 32-Pounders of 33 Hundredweight. In 1845, the US Navy had standardized on the 32-Pounder. Every cannon would fire the same 32-Pound projectile. Smaller ships would carry lighter 32-Pounders as light as 27 Hundredweight which would use lighter propellant charges. The heaviest frigates and ships of the line would carry the heaviest 32-Pounders weighing 57 and 62 Hundredweight each. Constitution's sixteen cannons were of two of the lighter models - which makes sense for an older ship whose role was to train Midshipmen. These two models of cannon did see extensive service in the Civil War, though. They were often used to arm the converted merchantman ill suited to heavier cannon.

Photos - Left: US Navy 32-Pounder of 42-Hundredweight on USS Cairo at Vicksburg, Right: US Navy 32-Pounder of 33 Hundredweight at Petersburg

In 1878 USS Constitution was sent to France to carry items to the Paris Exposition that year. She was armed with only two cannons: 8-Inch Shellguns of 6,500 pounds. Her two were US Navy registry numbers 196 and 197. This was a type of cannon developed in 1864 for the US Navy which had determined that it was running short of smaller and lighter cannons needed on many ships. The two which Constitution carried at this time are not known to exist anymore, however 8-Inch Shellgun Number 97 can be seen mounted on an original carriage in Burlington, Vermont.

US Navy 8-Inch Shellgun of 6,500 Pounds in Burlington, Vermont. More about this cannon here.

In 1880, USS Constitution took on a new role as a training ship for apprentices. Her logbook lists her main battery as eighteen 32-Pounders, Smooth Bore 1842. The trouble is that there is not a "Model 1842" 32-Pounder. However, the combined weight of all eighteen cannons - 116,110 pounds - is spot on for what eighteen 32-Pounders of 57 Hundredweight of 1845 would weigh. (Each cannon usually weighed a bit more than than the 6,384 pounds that 57 Hundredweight would imply.) This cannon was probably selected for Constitution because it was the most "old fashioned" cannon still in the Navy's inventory. Nearly 50 of this type of cannon exist as monuments around New England, and it is entirely possible that among them are cannons which served on Constitution.

Photos: US Navy 32-Pounder of 57 Hundredweight in Hudson, New Hampshire. More about this cannon here. Armaments Page from USS Constitution in 1880

Photos: 12-Pounder Dahlgren Boat Howitzer in Hanover, Massachusetts and a 20-Pounder Dahlgren Rifle at the Washington Navy Yard

Constitution's training role would only last a couple of years. She would be housed over and used as a receiving ship. In 1907 a new battery was manufactured at Boston for her. These cannons were display only. In the 1920s yet another battery, a bit more accurate than the 1907 battery, was created for her. It is the 1920s battery that visitors see today - having been on the ship for nearly a century and therefore the longest serving battery USS Constitution has had.

Two of USS Constitution’s 1907 display-only cannons at the University of Maine

USS Constitution's 1907 Battery, Library of Congress Photo

The 1920s Cannons currently aboard USS Constitution. More photos here: https://www.santee1821.net/preserved-artillery/uss-constitution