Armament Parrott Rifles

ARMAMENT

ROBERT PARROTT’S GUN

A FOUNDRY OWNER DESIGNED ONE OF THE CIVIL WAR’S MOST COMMON CANNONS

BIRD’S-EYE VIEW

Members of the 3rd Massachusetts Heavy Artillery at Fort Totten outside of Washington, D.C. Their massive 100-pounder Parrott cannon could fire a “Hollow Shot” nearly five miles, and the shell would stay in flight for an astonishing 36 seconds. THE ADVENT OF RIFLED BARRELS caused abrupt changes in the manufacture of cannons. In 1861, the U.S. Army needed rifled cannons and contracted with Robert Parrott to have his West Point Foundry in Cold Spring, N.Y., manufacture the unique cast-iron guns that carry his name. Parrott developed a process whereby a red-hot forged reinforcing band was forced onto the breech of a watercooled, previously cast barrel. The band reinforced the breech to withstand the pressure caused by firing rifled shells. It wasn’t foolproof, as Parrott Rifles were known to crack just in front of the band. Nonetheless, his design gave Mr. Lincoln’s armies and navy an adequate, quickly produced rifled cannon. Parrott’s foundry employed 1,400 workers during the war and cast about 2,000 Parrott Rifles of various calibers by 1865. The guns were proofed by firing across the Hudson River into the slopes of Storm King Mountain.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: WEST POINT MUSEUM; SUPERSTOCK/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO; HERITAGE AUCTIONS, DALLAS; PHOTO BY MELISSA A. WINN

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: WEST POINT MUSEUM; SUPERSTOCK/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO; HERITAGE AUCTIONS, DALLAS; PHOTO BY MELISSA A. WINN

CANNON MAN

Robert Parrott graduated from West Point in 1824, and served in the Army until 1836, when he left the service to become superintendent at the West Point Foundry. Today, a trail takes visitors through the ruins of the once-massive foundry complex along the Hudson River.

BORN IN FIRE

In this dramatic painting, foundry workers pour molten iron into a Parrott vertical cannon mold dug into the factory’s earthen floor. A tube, not yet fitted with its breech band, cools at right.

VARIETY PACK

Excavated shells fired by Parrott cannons. The iron guns ranged from 10-pounder fieldpieces to 200-pounder fortification behemoths. Parrotts fired solid bolts; exploding shells; case shot, a projectile filled with iron or lead balls as shrapnel; and canister.

IT’S SWELL

Parrott rifles are common scene-setters on battlefields. This one is located along the Union artillery line on Gettysburg’s Cemetery Ridge. Model 1861 Parrotts had a swell at the muzzle as seen here. The Model 1863 variant did not have the muzzle swell.