Parrott rifle encyclopedia topics

Parrott Rifle

The gun was invented by Robert Parker Parrott, a West Point graduate. He resigned from the service in 1836 and became the superintendent of the West Point Foundry in Cold Spring, New York. He created the first Parrott Rifle (and corresponding projectile) in 1860 and patented it in 1861. The first production Parrott gun tube (Serial Number 1) still exists, and is preserved on a reproduction gun carriage in the center square of Hanover, Pennsylvania, as part of a display commemorating the Battle of Hanover.

Parrotts were manufactured with a combination of cast and wrought iron. The cast iron made for an accurate gun, but was brittle enough to suffer fractures. Hence, a large wrought iron reinforcing band was overlaid on the breech to give it additional strength. There were prior cannons designed this way, but the method of welding this band was the innovation that allowed the Parrott to overcome the deficiencies of these earlier models. It was applied to the gun red-hot and then the gun was turned while pouring water down the muzzle, allowing the band to attach uniformly. By the end of the Civil War, both sides were using this type of gun extensively.

Parrott Rifles were manufactured in different sizes, from 10-pounders up to the rare 300-pounder. The 10- and 20-pounders were used by both armies in the field. The smaller size was much more prevalent; it came in two bore sizes: 2.9 inch (74 mm) and 3.0-in (76 mm). Confederate forces used both bore sizes during the war, which added to the complication of supplying the appropriate ammunition to its batteries. Until 1864, Union batteries used only the 2.9-in. The M1863, with a 3-in bore, had firing characteristics similar to the earlier model; it can be recognized by its straight barrel, without muzzle-swell. Its range was up to with a trained crew. Naval versions of the 20-, 30-, 60-, and 100-pound Parrotts were also used by the Union navy. The 100-pound naval Parrott could achiev a range of 6900 yards (6300 meters) at an elevation of 25 degrees, or fire an 80-pound shell 7810 yards (7140 m) at 30 degrees elevation.

Although accurate, as well as being cheaper and easier to make than most rifled artillery guns, the Parrott had a poor reputation for safety and they were shunned by many artillerists. At the end of 1862, Henry J. Hunt attempted to get the Parrott eliminated from the Army of the Potomac's inventory, preferring the 3-in Ordnance Rifle. In 1889, The New York Times called on the Ordinance Bureau of the War Department to discontinue use of the Parrott Gun altogether, following a series of mishaps at the West Point training grounds. During battles when the Parrott gun would burst, artillerists would chip out the jagged parts and continue firing. The 20-pounder was the largest field gun used during the war, with the barrel alone weighing over 1,800 pounds.

Several hundred Parrott gun tubes remain today, many adorning battlefield parks, county courthouses, museums, etc. The ones made by Parrott's foundry are identifiable by the letters WPF (West Point Foundry) found on the gun tube, along with the initials RPP for Robert P. Parrott. A list of many of the surviving tubes can be found at the National Register of Surviving Civil War Artillery

The 300-pound solution

By summer 1863, Major General William Sherman became frustrated by the heavily-fortified Confederate position at Fort Sumter, and brought to bear the Parrott, along with several smaller cannons. In all, two 80-pdr Whitworths, nine 100-pdr Parrotts, six 200-pdr Parrotts, and a 300-pdr Parrott were deployed. It was widely believed in the north that massive 10-in Parrott would finally break the previously impenetrable walls of the fort, which had become the symbol of stawart steadfastness for the Confederacy.

The Washington Republican described the technical accomplishments of the 10-in Parrott:

Swamp Angel

One of the most famous Parrott rifles is the Swamp Angel, an gun used by federal Brigadier General Quincy Adams Gillmore to bombard Charleston, South Carolina. It was manned by the 11th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment.

On August 21, 1863, Gillmore sent Confederate general P. G. T. Beauregard an ultimatum to abandon heavily-fortified positions at Morris Island and Fort Sumter or the city of Charleston would be shelled. When the positions had not been evacuated by the following day, Gillmore ordered a volley on the city. Between August 22 and August 23, the Swamp Angel fired on the city 32 times, many using incendiary shells which caused massive fires. The battle was made more famous by Herman Melville's poem "The Swamp Angel"

After the war, the Swamp Angel was moved to Trenton, New Jersey, where it rests as a memorial today at Cadwallader Park.

Brooke Rifle

A Confederate version of the Parrot, called the Brooke rifle, was designed by John Mercer Brooke. These were manufactured primarily at the Tredegar Iron Works (sometimes referred to as J.R. Anderson & Co, after owner Joseph Reid Anderson) in Richmond, Virginia and at Noble Brothers Foundry in Rome, Georgia. Because no southern foundries had the capacity to single-band wrap the rifles like the Parrott design, a series of smaller bands was used, usually thick and wide. Brookes manufactered at Noble bear the foundry imprint "NBF", those from Tredegar "TF" or, less commonly, "JRA&Co".

Parrott rifles by size

Parrott Guns by Size
Model	Length	Munition	Maximum range at elevation	Flight time	Crew size
2.9-in (10-lb) Army Parrott	73 in	shell	at 20 degrees	21 secs	6
3.0-in (10-lb) Army Parrott	74 in	shell	at 5 degrees	7 secs	6
3.67-in (20-lb) Army Parrott	79 in	shell	at 15 degrees	17 secs	7
3.67-in (20-lb) Naval Parrott	81 in	shell	at 15 degrees	17 secs	7
4.2-in (30-lb) Army Parrott	126 in	shell	at 25 degrees	27 secs	9
4.2-in (30-lb) Naval Parrott	102 in	shell	at 25 degrees	27 secs	9
5.3-in (60-lb) Naval Parrott	111 in	or shell	at 30 degrees	30 secs	14
5.3-in (60-lb) Naval Parrott (breechload)	111 in	50-lb or shell	at 30 degrees	30 secs	14
6.4-in (100-lb) Naval Parrott	138 in	or shell	at 30 degrees (80-lb)	32 secs	17
6.4-in (100-lb) Naval Parrott (breechload)	138 in	or shell	at 30 degrees (80-lb)	32 secs	17
8-in (150-lb) Naval Parrott	146 in	shell	at 35 degrees	?	?
8-in (200-lb) Army Parrott	146 in	shell	at 35 degrees	?	?
10-in (300-lb) Army Parrott	156 in	shell	at 30 degrees	?	?

References

External links

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The Parrott rifle was a type of muzzle loading rifled artillery weapon used extensively in the American Civil War.