10 pdr. Parrott Rifle
Type: Rifled gun
Rarity: Common
Years of Manufacture: Between 1861 and 1865
Tube Composition: Cast Iron, Wrought Iron Breech Band
Bore Diameter: 2.9 inches (Model 1861); 3.0 inches (Model 1863)
Rifling Type (US): 3 grooves, right hand gain twist
Rifling Type (CS): 3 groves right hand twist, or 12 grooves left hand twist
Standard Powder Charge: 1 lb. Black Powder
Projectiles: 10 lb. solid bolt, case, common shell, cannister
Effective Range (at 5°): up to 1,900 yards (1.1 miles)
Projectile Flight Time (at 5°): about 8 seconds
Max Range (at 35°): 5,000 yards (2.8 miles)
Projectile Flight Time (at 35°): about 21 seconds
Tube Length: 78 inches (US); 81 inches (CS)
Tube Weight: 890 lbs. (US); 1,150 lbs. (CS)
Total Weight (Gun & Carriage): 1,800 lbs. (US); 2,060 lbs. (CS)
Carriage Type: No. 1 Field Carriage (900 lbs.), 57" wheels
Horses Required to Pull: 6
No. in North America: approx. 630
Cost in 1862 Dollars: $180 (US); $ 300 (CS)
Cost in 1865 Dollars: $187 (US); $3,000 (CS)
Invented By: Robert Parker Parrott in 1860
US Casting Foundry: West Point Foundry, Cold Springs, NY
CS Casting Foundry: Tredegar Iron Works, Richmond, VA
Special Notes: Easy to Manufacture, Inexpensive, Reliable, and Accurate to Shoot
One famous U.S. inventor was a former West Point graduate and ordnance officer named Robert Parker Parrott.
Robert Parker Parrott In 1836, Parrott resigned his rank of captain and went to work for the West Point Foundry at Cold Spring, New York. This foundry was a civilian operated business and Parrott, as a superintendent, was able to dedicate some forty years perfecting a rifled cannon and a companion projectile. By 1860, he had patented a new method of attaching the reinforcing band on the breech of a gun tube. Although he was not the first to attach a band to a tube, he was the first to use a method of rotating the tube while slipping the band on hot. This rotation, while cooling, caused the band to attach itself in place uniformly rather than in one or two places as was the common method, which allowed the band to sag in place. The 10-pounder Parrott was patented in 1861 and the 20- and 30-pounder guns followed in 1861. He quickly followed up these patents by producing 6.4-, 8-, and 10-inch caliber cannons early in the war. The Army referred to these as 100, 200, and 300-pounder Parrotts respectively. By the end of the conflict the Parrott gun was being used extensively in both armies
6-pdr. Gun
Type: Smoothbore gun
Rarity: Common to Uncommon
Years of Manufacture: 1841 to 1863
Tube Composition: Bronze or cast iron
Bore Diameter: 3.67 inches
Standard Powder Charge: 1.25 lbs.
Projectiles: Solid shot (6.1 lb), spherical case, common shell, and cannister
Effective Range (at 5°): up to 1,523 yards
Tube Length: 60 inches
Tube Weight: 884 lbs.
Carriage Type: No. 1 Field Carriage (900 lbs.), 57" wheels
Horses Required to Pull: 6
No. in North America: approx. 700
Special Notes: Workhorse of Mexican War, but considered obsolete by Civil War
Model 1841 6-pounder Gun
This popular workhorse of the Mexican War era was regarded as superseded by the Union artillery, but was still heavily employed by a Confederate army that could not afford to pass up any opportunities.
6 pdr. Wiard Rifle
Type: Rifled gun
Rarity: Rare
Years of Manufacture: Between 1861 and 1862
Tube Composition: Puddled wrought-iron (semi-steel)
Bore Diameter: 2.6 inches
Rifling Type: 8 grooves, left hand twist
Standard Powder Charge: 0.75 lbs. Black Powder
Projectiles: 6 lb. Hotchkiss bolt
Effective Range (at 35°): 7,000 yards
Tube Length: 53 inches
Tube Weight: 725 lbs.
Carriage Type: Wiard Field Carriage
No. in North America: about 60
Invented By: Norman Wiard
12 pdr. Howitzers
Type: Howitzer
Rarity: Uncommon to Rare
Years of Manufacture: 1841 to 1863
Tube Composition: Bronze
Bore Diameter: 4.62 inches
Standard Powder Charge: 1 lb.
Projectiles: 8.9 lb. round balls
Effective Range (at 5°): 1072 yards
Tube Length: 53 inches
Tube Weight: 788 lbs.
Carriage Type: No. 1 Field Carriage (900 lbs.), 57" wheels
Horses Required to Pull: 6
3-in. Ordnance Rifle
Also Known As: 3-Inch Wrought Iron Rifle
Type: Rifled gun
Rarity: Common
Years of Manufacture: 1861 to 1865
Tube Composition: Wrought iron
Bore Diameter: 3.0 inches
Rifling Type: 7 rifle grooves
Standard Powder Charge: 1 lb. Black Powder
Projectiles: 10 lb. Bolts, 8 to 9 lbs. Hotchkiss or Schenkel shells
Muzzle Velocity: 1,215 fps
Effective Range (at 5°): up to 1,850 yards
Tube Length: 73 inches
Tube Weight: 816 lbs.
Total Weight (Gun & Carriage): 1,720 lbs.
Carriage Type: No. 1 Field Carriage (900 lbs.), 57" wheels
Horses Required to Pull: 6
No. in North America: approx. 1000+
Cost in 1861 Dollars: $330 (US)
Cost in 1865 Dollars: $450 (US)
Invented By: John Griffen in 1855
US Casting Foundry: Phoenix Iron Company, Phoenixville PA
CS Casting Foundry: Tredegar Iron Works, Richmond VA (CS castings are called: 3-inch Iron Field Rifles)
Special Notes: Lightest and strongest rifled tube. Sometimes incorrectly referred to as a Rodman gun
12 Pdr. Blakely
Type: Rifled gun, 6 or 7 saw-tooth rifle grooves
Rarity: Very Rare
Years of Manufacture: 1860 - 1861
Tube Composition: Wrought Iron or Steel
Bore Diameter: 3.5 inches
Standard Powder Charge: 1.5 lbs.
Projectiles: 12 lb. bolt
Tube Length: 59 inches
Tube Weight: 800 lbs.
Effective Range (at 5°): 1,850 yards
Invented By: Royal Artillery Captain Alexander Theopilis Blakely
Casting Foundry: Fawcett, Preston & Co., Liverpool, England
Special Notes: At least seven different varieties of Blakelys have been discovered in the many battlefields an museums across the country.