This rare example of the 10-pounder Parrott rifle can be found on the west or left side of Hancock Avenue if traveling north, just past the Pennsylvania State Monument, located on the east or right side of he road. The Pleasanton Avenue intersection is just north of this position. The front inscription faces the east, so you would be facing the west to read it. Additionally, there are two 3-inch Parrott Rifles flanking the monument which point to the west as well. This location is a hot-bed of activity and one of the best examples of a hands-on history lesson of the Civil War one could hope to find. All along both sides of the road are these types of tablets, memorials, monuments, sculptures, and all manner of cannons, rifles and guns. Parking is available at enlarged shoulder cutouts on the right side of the road, directly across from the various monuments. Be sure to keep vehicles off the grass or you will be ticketed by park police. I visited this monument on Thursday, July 5, 2012 just before 6:00 P.M. I was at an elevation of 575 feet, ASL. I used a Canon PowerShot 14.1 Megapixel, SX210 IS digital camera for the photos.
The cannons are in terrific shape: their limbers, carriages, barrels and all other things weaponry are in terrific condition. These rifles are more rarer than the 3-inch ordnance rifles and the Napoleons which seems to be everywhere. The muzzle stamps are practically indistinguishable from one another. The Parrot is very similar to the 3-inch ordnance save for the band around the breech which makes it distinguish it self from the 3-inch ordnance. The other Parrott rifle is a reproduction that was produced for the Battlefield Commission in the 1890s.
The 9th Michigan Artillery served as a member of Robertson’s Brigade in the Pleasanton’s Corps, Army of the Potomac. The artillery unit was commanded by Captain Jabez J. Daniels (1830-1880), a merchant from Hudson, Michigan. Under his command, 119 men (and 6 Ordnance Rifles) were engaged at the Battle of Gettysburg and among them, 1 was killed and 4 were wounded.
My SOURCE for all things weapons at Gettysburg provided me additional information about this weapon which did not appear on the muzzle. I used red to designate that data. The rest is as it appears exactly on the muzzle, starting at the top or 12 o'clock position and moving clockwise.
No. 14 ......1863 ......W.P.F. ......3 IN. ......D.W.F. ......868 ......GRVS 3RH ...... FDY #160
No. 14 refers to the Army registration number, a way for the military to keep track of the guns. 1863 refers to the date of manufacture. W.P.F. refers to the foundry, West Point Foundry out of Cold Spring, NY. The foundry is on the National Register of Historic Places. 3 IN is designation of the rifle and refers to the size of the bore in inches. The 10-Pounder designation in the name refers to weight of the projectile which was more like 9.5 pounds. These weapons go by both names. D.W.F. are the initials of the inspector who gave the gun a once over before it was shipped out to the Federal army. The initials stand for Daniel Webster Flagler (June 20, 1835 – March 29, 1899). 868 refers to the weight of the firing tube, usually a kind of a fingerprint for these things as each one is unique to the rifle. GRVS 3RH, information provided by my source, refers to number of rifling grooves, left or right twist. In this case, 3 right hand twists were made to rifle this cannon. If you were to look at the close-ups of the muzzle stamps, the rifling grooves are easy to discern. Finally, FDY #160 is an internal control number specific to the foundry.
About the Foundry
The West Point Foundry was an early ironworks in Cold Spring, New York that operated from 1817 to 1911. Set up to remedy deficiencies in national armaments production after the War of 1812, it became most famous for its production of Parrott rifles and other munitions during the Civil War, although it also manufactured a variety of iron products for civilian use. The rise of steel making and declining demand for cast iron after the Civil War caused it to gradually sink into bankruptcy and cease operations in the early 20th Century.
In 1835, Captain Robert Parker Parrott, a West Point graduate, was appointed inspector of ordnance from the foundry. The next year, he resigned his commission and on October 31, 1836 was appointed superintendent of the foundry. It prospered under his tenure, and was the site of numerous experiments with artillery and projectiles, culminating in his invention of the Parrott rifle in 1860. During Parott's tenure, in 1843, the foundry also manufactured USS Spencer, a revenue cutter which was the first iron ship built in the U.S. The foundry's operations peaked during the Civil War due to military orders: it had a workforce of 1,400 people and produced 2,000 cannon and three million shells. Parrott also invented an incendiary shell which was used in an 8-inch Parrott rifle (the "Swamp Angel") to bombard Charleston. The importance of the foundry to the war effort can be measured by the fact that President Abraham Lincoln visited and inspected it in June 1862.
SOURCE
About the Inspector
Daniel Webster Flagler was a United States Army Brigadier General. He was prominent as the Army's Chief of Ordnance. Flagler was appointed to the United States Military Academy in 1856. He graduated fifth in the class of 1861 and was appointed a Second Lieutenant of Ordnance. Flagler was assigned to inspection duty at the West Point Foundry in October, 1863 and remained there until May, 1864. He was then transferred to the Army's Ordnance office in Washington, where he remained until June, 1865. A Captain at the end of the war, Flagler was a brevet Lieutenant Colonel, having received three honorary promotions—one for valor at New Bern, one for meritorious service at Fort Macon, and one for distinguished service to the Ordnance Department throughout the war. Recognized as an expert on developing and producing artillery and other weapons, Flagler continued his Ordnance service after the war, including assignments at the Watervliet, Augusta, Rock Island, Fort Monroe, Fort Union, San Antonio, Frankford, and Watertown arsenals. General Flagler died at the Hygeia Hotel, a resort where he had gone in an effort to recover his health after suffering from rheumatism and other ailments. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Section West E, Site 147. Daniel W. Flagler and his wife are memorialized on one side of the grave marker, and General Clement Flagler and his wife are memorialized on the other.[ SOURCE
About the Gun
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. SOURCE
I also remembered the Antietam Battlefield people placed a small identification marker sticking out of the ground next to one of their Parrotts which read:
10-POUNDER PARROT RIFLE
The cast iron rifle with its band of wrought iron reinforcing
the breech was a modern weapon of the day. It was effective at
moderately long range. The 20-pounder, similar except for size,
was the heaviest rifled cannon used at Antietam.
The most common rifled field artillery piece in Civil War service generally, the 10-pdr. Parrott was made of cast iron with wrought iron breech reenforcement. It was an accurate and reliable weapon. Confederate versions of the Parrott Rifles were built by the Noble Brothers Foundry and the Macon Arsenal in Georgia. This Parrott design went through several improvements during the war and was changed in 1863 to a larger 3-inch bore and matching Parrott shell. By 1864 the 3-inch Parrott was standardized and most of these 2.9-inch guns were withdrawn from service.
One of the pages of the Historical Marker Database also provided some interesting facts about this weapon and history about the rifle: This 3-inch Parrott Rifle was produced at West Point Foundry in 1864, well after the battle. At the battle, the Parrott Rifles on the field were actually 2.9-inch bore models, commonly called 10-pounder Parrotts. Problems arose with logistical support, since similar shells were made for the 3-inch Ordnance Rifles. The Army opted to replace all 2.9-inch weapons with the slightly larger bore, and West Point began producing "new" Parrott rifles with 3-inch bores. Note the registry number "11" on the bore of this gun. There is a duplicate "11" at Antietam.
The tablet indicates the position held by Daniel’s Battery on July 3, 1863 and reads as follows:
(Front):Ninth Mich. Bat'y. I. First Art'y.
1st Brig.
Horse Artil'y.
Cavalry Corps
(Back):Mustered in at Detroit, Mich.
Aug. 29, 1862.
Mustered out at Detroit, Mich
July 14, 1865.
This monument marks the position
held by the Ninth Mich. Battery,
from 12-30 p.m. July 3 until 7 a.m.
the following morning.
322 rounds of shot, shell
and canister expended.
Casualties
One man killed and four wounded.
Battery sustained a loss of 23 horses
killed in this engagement.
Army Potomac.
from Dec. 1862 to Oct. 1863.
Army Cumberland
From Nov. 1863 until close of service in 1865.