Artillery-- Part 10: Talking Whitworths and Rodmans

Col. William Lamb at Fort Fisher had a battery of long-range Whitworth guns that could fire four to four-and-a-half miles out to see.  He had them hooked up to horses and were his "Flying battalion" and would go out to keep blockaders away from stranded blockade runners.

Heavy artillery  generally manned  coastal or river  fortifications and mounted  large immobile guns like Rodmans or the larger Parrott guns.  

During the war, many Union "Heavies" served in the Washington, D.C. defenses and there were a lot of forts around that city.

Some foot batteries were equipped with medium-sized  pieces known as siege guns like 30-pounder Parrotts.  They were mounted on heavy, but relatively  mobile siege carriages which allowed them to follow in the wake of armies and be emplaced in temporary positions whenever the troops were likely to remain in one place for a while.

The Saturday, April 30th discussion group topic will be about "Spies."  It is moved to this date because if the DuPage Civil War Show,

--Old Secesh

MCCWRT Artillery-- Part 7: Naming Those Cannons

These were mentioned at the McHenry County (Illinois) Civil War Round Table meeting on March 26, 2022, when the topic was Civil War Artillery.

**  The West Point Foundry, by the USMA was owned by Robert Parker Parrott.

**  The main Confederate foundry was Tredegar in Richmond.

**  The Lincoln Gun at Fort Monroe was a huge 15-inch Rodman cannon and designed to fire a huge projectile across Hampton Roads and the Chesapeake Bay to the Virginia shore. 

**  Fort Wool and Fort Monroe were across from each other in the Chesapeake Bay and so situated as to cause any enemy ship trying to pass them to come under direct fire from both forts.

**  Rodman guns were some of the Union's heaviest ordnance.

**  Whistlin' Dick was the name of cannon at Vicksburg

**  The Dictator was huge Union mortar.

--Old Secesh

Fort Warren in Boston Harbor-- Part 2: Held Confederate Officers and Others

From Wikipedia.

This is what I'd really rather be doing than spending so much time on the anti-Confederate attacks as I do.

If they would just stop, I could get back to what I'd rather be doing.

Fort Warren was built between 1833 and 1861 and completed just short before the beginning of the Civil War.  It was one of 42 Third System of U.S. fortifications and the fifth largest built.

It was supposed to hold 200 guns, but never had that many.  During the Civil War it had 15-inch and 10-inch Rodman smoothbore cannons.

It served as a prison for Confederate States Army, Navy, elected officials from Maryland and Northern political prisoners., which is why the United Daughters of the Confederacy erected the plaque.

--Old Secesh

New York City's Defenses During the War-- Part 1

From Wikipedia.

In my Not So Forgotten War of 1812 blog I have been writing about New York City's defensive fortifications during that war.  Two of them, however, have a Civil War connection.

These two fortifications were built to defend from an attack from the sea.

CASTLE WILLIAMS on Governors Island, called East Battery, was used as a center for new recruits in the early part of the war and then had a garrison for defense.  Later it was a a prison for captured Confederate enlisted soldiers.

FORT JAY (FORT COLUMBUS) was also located on Governors Island.  During the war, its armament was seriously upgraded to some of the largest caliber cannons in the North's arsenal, nearly 50 10-inch and 15-inch Rodman guns.

The North Barracks were used to house captured Confederate officers awaiting transfer to Camp Johnson in Ohio, Fort Delaware or Fort Warren in Boston Harbor.

--Old Secesh

Fort Pitt Foundry-- Part 1: Maker of the Union's Cannons

From the May 5, 2011, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:Fort Pitt Foundry."

This continues with the thread that started with John Peter of McHenry County, Illinois, and then went to the 88th Illinois, Francis T. Sherman, Alexander McClurg and now back to the Fort Pitt Foundry.

Fort Pitt Foundry was known as the manufacturer of cannons, and especially the really, really big ones,. including the behemoth 20-inch Rodman once cast there.

The foundry provided weapons for U.S. troops in three wars: War of 1812, Mexican War and Civil War.  It was established by Joseph McClurg in 1804 at the corner of Fifth Aveue and Smithfield Street and later moved to the Strip District at 12th and Etna, just across the street from what is now the Heinz History Center.

Of course, wars create a huge demand for cannons, and the Civil War, being the biggest war the young country was yet in, meant that a lot were needed.

--Old Secesh

The Threads of the Last Several Weeks: Camp Douglas and John Peter

As is the usual case, I start off at this point and end up way over there on things.  It's like getting on You Tube and listening to old music.  No telling where or how many hours later I will be.

I started on an article that compared Chicago's Camp Douglas with the Confederacy's Andersonville which led to Confederates buried in Illinois, both those who died in prisons in the state and those who died after the war while living in Illinois.  There was one in McHenry County and two in Lake County.

Then, I came across the name of John Peter, a noted businessman in Algonquin, Illinois, here in McHenry County.  he was in the 88th Illinois (2nd Chicago Board of Trade Regiment).  That led to research on its commander, Col. Francis T. Sherman and a Captain Alexander C. McClurg.  McClurg was a military advisor to several Union generals and later an important publisher in Chicago with his McClurg Building still standing.

His father and grandfather started and worked at the famed Fort Pitt Foundry in Pittsburgh, which supplied about 60% of the Union's artillery and also built the huge 20-inch Rodman guns.  I'll be writing about this early next month.

--Old Secesh

The McClurgs and the Fort Pitt Foundry

From Wikipedia.

The Fort Pitt Foundry in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was founded in 1804 by Joseph McClurg and was an early producer of cannons for the U.S. military.  They manufactured the cannonballs used by Oliver Hazard Perry in the famed Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812.

Joseph McClurg was Alexander C. McClurg of the 88th Illinois.

The foundry was best-known for its manufacture of large cannons.  And one of the largest of those was a 20-inch Rodman gun.

The foundry closed after the Civil War

One of Joseph McClurg's sons was Joseph Washing McClurg who became governor of Missouri after the war.  Another son was Alexander "Alex" McClurg, Sr., the father of Alexander C. McClurg.

--Old Secesh

Yes, It Was Probably That Rodman Who Inspected the Napoleons at Camp Bragg

Thomas Jackson Rodman, the man who inspected the Napoleons at Oshkosh's Camp Bragg Memorial Park, was the famed ordnance man and inventor of the Rodman guns.

From 7 February 1862 to 7 April 1864, the Revere Copper Co. in Boston built 433 bronze Napoleons. Some 245 are known to still survive today. Rodman probably did not work for the Revere Company, but inspected submissions for the federal government.

I have been writing about the Revere Company also casting the ship's bell for the USS Constitution in my War of 1812 blog this past week. That bell was destroyed in the battle with the HMS Guerriere.

So, Now You Know. --Old Secesh

Pittsburgh's Role in the War

Aug. 4, 2011, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette "Let's Learn From the Past: The Civil War in Pittsburgh" by Lisa  Dundon.

No battles were fought in Pittsburgh, but it did serve as the "Arsenal of the Union."  It was also a major transportation hub with its three rivers and railroad lines.

The Allegheny Arsenal in Lawrenceville produced a vast array of leather goods and millions of cartridges for Union guns.  They built the first lead bullet-making machine and the arsenal superintendent, Thomas Jackson Rodman invented a new casting technique that allowed for the creation of the world' largest cannons (named Rodman Guns), including one that fire a massive 20-inch shell.

The Fort Pitt Foundry produced nearly 1,200 guns (I'm supposing cannons) which accounted for nearly 60% of the Union's guns.

A total of some 26,000 men served in the military from Pittsburgh and Allegheny County.  Several thousand of whom were killed in battle, mortally wounded or died of disease.

In 1864, a Sanitary Fair was held to raise money to benefit the wounded.

Now, You Know.  --Old Secesh