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65-792: Brigadier General Alfred W. Ellet was the commanding officer of the United States Ram Fleet . The ram fleet had proven themselves a useful addition to the Mississippi River Squadron through their actions at the First Battle of Memphis and on the Yazoo River . However, the ram fleet was outside the Union Navy and Army command and reported directly to the Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton. Although they coordinated their activities with

130-638: A 'torpedo' or naval mine and began to sink rapidly. The Queen of the West was able to rescue part of the crew from the Cairo before it sank. In February 1863, the Queen of the West was run past the batteries of Vicksburg, Mississippi to support Admiral David Farragut south of the city. The Queen of the West severely damaged the CSS Vicksburg and captured four transport ships supplying Confederate forces. The Queen of

195-413: A 15-inch gun. However 15-inch guns had been successfully cast using the hollow casting technique developed by Thomas Jackson Rodman . In his method the gun was cast around a pipe. As the casting cooled, a smaller pipe was inserted into the first and water was pumped through the small pipe. At the same time hot coals were placed against the outside of the casting. This caused the casting to cool slowly from

260-477: A Dahlgren boat howitzer in fighting near Grand Prairie, Arkansas, on July 5, 1862. ( War Department 1885 , p. 109). While boat howitzers were never commonly used by either army, by the end of the war their use by land forces was very rare. Overall Charge (yards) Made Throughout the 18th and early 19th centuries, the primary ship-to-ship weapons were muzzle-loading smoothbore broadside guns firing solid iron shot short distances. This all changed when

325-719: A Marsilly carriage (see illustration). Smaller coastal blockade ships such as USS  Fort Henry and USS  Hunchback mounted IX-inch Dahlgrens on pivot mounts. IX-inch Dahlgrens were used on several river gunboats such as USS  Essex and USS  Benton . If mounted as either a pivot gun or a broadside gun the IX-inch Dahlgren had a crew of 16 and a powderman. X-inch Dahlgren shell gun (light) : 10 were cast at Seyfert, McManus & Co. and West Point foundries between 1855 and 1864. Pivot mounted on board ships such as USS  Cumberland , USS  Brooklyn and USS  Merrimack (pre- CSS  Virginia ) with

390-466: A crew of 10 and a powder-boy while the VIII-inch had a crew of 12 and a powder-boy. Some have argued that these guns are not Dahlgren designs, pointing out that while the guns generally resemble his designs, these guns used old-style breeching jaws instead of the breech loop found on other Dahlgrens and that there is no elevating screw running through the cascabel ( Ten Brink 2000 ). It is also asserted that

455-487: A crew of 20 and a powderman. X-inch Dahlgren shell gun (heavy) : 34 cast between 1862 and 1865. Designed from the beginning to fire shot against armored ships with heavier powder charges. Mounted on a pivot mount with a crew of 20 and a powderman. XI-inch Dahlgren shell gun : 465 were cast at Alger; Builders; Fort Pitt; Hinkley, Williams & Co.; Portland Locomotive Works; Seyfert, McManus & Co.; Trenton Iron Works; and West Point foundries between 1856 and 1864. This

520-489: A gun that should generally throw shells far and accurately, with the capacity to fire solid shot when needed. Also to compose the whole battery entirely of such guns. All of the Dahlgren shell guns were cast iron columbiads , with a distinctive soda bottle shape, and all but two had an elevating screw running through the cascabel. Although some Dahlgren shell guns were tested to failure, no Dahlgren shell gun burst during service,

585-418: A lighter 12-pounder (the "small") and a rifled 12-pounder heavy howitzer were introduced. All of the boat howitzers were very similar in design, cast in bronze, with a mounting lug or loop on the bottom of the barrel instead of trunnions , and an elevating screw running through the cascabel . Having the single mounting lug expedited moving the howitzer from the launch to field carriage and back. In naval service

650-433: A new generation of shell gun that would be capable of firing explosive shells at higher velocity and greater range. They would also have the capacity to effectively fire solid shot. The ability to fire solid shot would become increasingly important as armored warships appeared on the scene: Paixhans had so far satisfied naval men of the power of shell guns as to obtain their admission on shipboard; but by unduly developing

715-526: A notable distinction for the time. Dahlgren shell guns were capable of firing shot, shell, shrapnel, canister, and (with the exception of the XV-inch shell gun) grapeshot. Thirty-two-pounder gun of 27 cwt. M.1855 : Little is known about the 32 lb (14.5 kg) 27 cwt (1,225 kg) gun as few were believed to have been produced. The U.S. Navy had several different models of 32-pounders, which are hard to differentiate in records. Thirty-two-pounders were

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780-521: A severe loss at the Battle of Memphis with heavy casualties and the loss of seven of their eight ships. Ellet was wounded in the knee by a Confederate sharpshooter during the battle. His wound was the only serious casualty received on the Union side during the battle. Ellet refused to have his leg amputated and died 15 days from a blood infection due to the injury. Ellet's brother, Alfred W. Ellet took command of

845-546: A wound received during the First Battle of Memphis . Command of the unit went to Charles Ellet Jr.'s brother, Alfred W. Ellet . The unit became part of the Mississippi Marine Brigade led by Alfred W. Ellet and command of the Ram Fleet was given to his nephew Charles Rivers Ellet and then to his nephew John A. Ellet . The unit was subsequently transferred to Army command and disbanded in 1864. Charles Ellet Jr.

910-465: Is the only Dahlgren gun to have been designed both with and without a muzzle swell. The gun was typically mounted on a pivot or in a turret on a monitor. When mounted in a turret, the crew for an XI-inch Dahlgren was seven including powdermen. The crew for the gun when mounted on a pivot was 24 men and a powderman. XI-inch Dahlgrens were carried on Neosho , Marietta , Casco , Milwaukee , and (1 XI-inch and 1 XV-inch short) class monitors as well as

975-460: The American Civil War . Dahlgren's design philosophy evolved from an accidental explosion in 1849 of a 32 lb (14.5 kg) gun being tested for accuracy, killing a gunner. He believed a safer, more powerful naval cannon could be designed using more scientific design criteria. Dahlgren guns were designed with a smooth curved shape, equalizing strain and concentrating more weight of metal in

1040-418: The American Civil War . These guns would most likely have been intended for small riverine and estuarine gunboats, which the navy scrapped as quickly as possible after the war. The documentary evidence also supports a conclusion that these two guns should be considered to be Dahlgren designs. In Mrs. Dahlgren's petition to the national government for compensation for the use of Admiral Dahlgren's inventions, both

1105-634: The CSS General Van Dorn , CSS General Polk and CSS Livingston , when they saw the Union forces approaching. On July 15, the Queen of the West , USS  Carondelet , and USS  Tyler engaged the Confederate ironclad ram CSS  Arkansas in the Yazoo River . The Arkansas was heavily damaged but escaped into the Mississippi River and took refuge under the Confederate batteries at Vicksburg, Mississippi . On July 22, Queen of

1170-468: The French Navy adopted a design of Col. Henri-Joseph Paixhans for a shell gun ( canon-obusier ) of 22 cm (8.7-inch) capable of throwing a 59 lb (26.8 kg) shell in a reasonably flat trajectory ( Gardiner 1992 , p. 154) in 1842. The U.S. Navy shortly followed suit, adopting an 8 in (203 mm), 63 cwt (2,858 kg) Paixhans -style shell gun. Dahlgren was determined to design

1235-604: The Switzerland and his cousin, John A. Ellet, commanded the Lancaster . Both ships received heavy fire from the batteries and the Lancaster was run aground and sunk to avoid capture by the Confederate forces. The Switzerland was damaged but was repaired and continued duty south of Vicksburg on the Mississippi River. On 14 June, the unit joined Brigadier General Joseph A. Mower in the Battle of Richmond, Louisiana and skirmished with

1300-468: The 10th Louisiana had come under attack from Confederate forces. The brigade arrived and pushed back the Confederate forces, suffering two casualties and one death. A ruling of the Judge-Advocate General, dated 11 June 1863, seems to make the brigade a "special contingent of the army and not the navy," but as late as 23 July 1863, Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant wrote: "They (the officers and men of

1365-552: The 20-pounder rifles (discussed below) Aside from use in naval service, boat howitzers saw service with the land forces as well. The boat howitzers were occasionally used in artillery batteries, but were more often used in infantry units, in a role that would later be called infantry support guns . At First Bull Run , Company I of the 71st New York Infantry Regiment brought two boat howitzers with them. The unit had trained on boat howitzers while deployed at Washington D.C., and when called to Bull Run, brought two of them along. When

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1430-675: The 32-pounder gun of 4,500 pounds and VIII-inch shell gun are specifically described as designs of Admiral Dahlgren ( Dahlgren 1872 , p. App. A). Also, in February 1867, Cyrus Alger & Co. paid a royalty on the Dahlgren patent for production of "ten eight-inch guns weighing 64,270, $ 642.70." ( Ripley 1984 , p. 103) There can be little doubt that both of these guns should be credited as Dahlgren designs. IX-inch Dahlgren shell gun : 1,185 guns were cast at Alger, Bellona, Fort Pitt, Seyfert, McManus & Co., Tredegar, and West Point foundries between 1855 and 1864. Fort Pitt Foundry also made 16 for

1495-690: The Confederate build up of ram ships. The Confederate forces captured the USS Merrimack at the Norfolk Navy Yard and converted her to a ram ship. Despite being bulky and slow-moving, the Union forces became convinced of the possibility of ram ships when the CSS Virginia sank the USS Cumberland and USS Congress at Hampton Roads. In March 1862, Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton appointed Ellet colonel of engineers and authorized him to form

1560-552: The Confederates, losing 3 wounded. On 19 June, Brigadier General Ellett ordered construction of a casemate on the Louisiana side of the Mississippi River opposite Vicksburg. The fortification was completed in four days and was protected with a thickness of railroad iron. A 20-pounder Parrott rifle was placed within and fired on the city the morning of 23 June. The Confederates responded firing 17 rounds from 5 different guns. The fort

1625-631: The Marine Brigade) are not subject to my orders." By order of the Secretary of War the army assumed full jurisdiction over the brigade in October 1863. The brigade was disestablished in August 1864, and its surviving ships were transferred to other duties. United States Ram Fleet The United States Ram Fleet was a Union Army unit of steam powered ram ships during the American Civil War . The unit

1690-514: The Mississippi Marine Brigade was placed under command of General Ulysses Grant . The ram fleet was disestablished in August 1864, and its surviving ships were transferred to other duties. The United States Ram Fleet included the following ships: Dahlgren gun Dahlgren guns were muzzle-loading naval gun designed by a United States Navy Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren (November 13, 1809 – July 12, 1870), mostly used in

1755-461: The Mississippi River Squadron led by Charles H. Davis , the reporting structure was problematic for Union Navy leaders. The brigade was never incorporated into the Union Navy, however, when David Dixon Porter took over command of the Mississippi River Squadron, he demanded and received full authority over the ram fleet. Porter needed an amphibious force to suppress enemy fire from the river shores that threatened his fleet. On 1 November 1862, Ellet

1820-535: The Navy 1866 , p. B/xvi) these newer guns could also fire shell. The 32-pounder gun of 27 cwt. had a crew of six and a powder-boy . Thirty-two-pounder gun of 4,500 pounds and VIII-inch Dahlgren shell gun : 383 of the 32-pounders ( Dahlgren 1872 , p. App.A) each weighing 4,500 lb (2,041 kg) and 355 of the 8 in (203 mm) Dahlgrens were cast by Alger Builders, Fort Pitt Foundry , and Seyfert, McManus & Co. between 1864 and 1867. The 32-pounder had

1885-704: The Russian version of the Passaic , the Uragan class , were produced at the new Aleksandrovsk gun factory in Petrozavodsk in Russian Karelia . XV-inch Dahlgren shell gun (long or "Tecumseh" ) : 86 were cast by the Alger, Fort Pitt, and Seyfert, McManus & Co. foundries between 1864 and 1872 ( Ten Brink 2000 ). The new XV-inch gun was lengthened 16 inches so that the muzzle

1950-611: The United States Ram Fleet on the Mississippi River. The Union Navy's Mississippi River Squadron and the Confederate River Defense Fleet were battling for control of the Mississippi and Stanton was convinced by Ellet that the Union Navy efforts would benefit from the addition of ram ships. Ellet and the ram fleet were outside of Union Army or Navy command and reported directly to Stanton. Ellet purchased

2015-602: The West also conducted activities on the Atchafalaya River , destroying Confederate supplies and burning three plantations. She was captured by Confederate forces on the Red River near Fort DeRussy and entered into Confederate service as the CSS Queen of the West . On 26 March, the ram ships Switzerland and USS Lancaster were run past the batteries at Vicksburg to support Admiral Farragut. Charles Rivers Ellet commanded

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2080-539: The West and USS  Essex attacked Arkansas , despite the batteries at Vicksburg. The Queen of the West rammed the Arkansas but inflicted only minor damage and rejoined the Mississippi River Squadron ships above Vicksburg. The ram fleet ships also conducted activities in the Yazoo River clearing mines and engaging Confederate batteries. In November 1862, the Mississippi Marine Brigade , an amphibious raiding unit,

2145-672: The West rammed and sank the Confederate flagship CSS  Colonel Lovell . After the collision, the Queen of the West came under attack from the CSS Sumter and the CSS Beauregard . The attack sheared off one of the paddle wheels from the Queen of the West and forced her to ground on the riverbank. The Monarch rammed and sank the Beauregard and drove the CSS Little Rebel aground and captured her. The Confederate forces suffered

2210-613: The XV-inch Dahlgren was used instead. XV-inch Dahlgren shell gun (short or Passaic ) : 34 were cast by the Fort Pitt Foundry between 1862 and 1864 ( Ten Brink 2000 ). The first XV-inch guns' barrels were so short that the muzzle was inside the monitor's turret when the gun was discharged (although the Passaic class' turrets featured gunports drilled to fit the XI-inch Dahlgren in any case). The resulting blast and fumes in

2275-471: The army in 1861. The IX-inch Dahlgren was the most popular and versatile of Dahlgren shell guns made. The IX-inch guns served as broadside armament on larger ships such as USS  Susquehanna , which carried 12 IX-inch Dahlgren guns in broadside mounts in addition to her two pivot guns and USS  Powhatan which carried 10 IX-inch guns in broadside mounts in addition to her two XI-inch Dahlgren pivot guns. These broadside guns would normally be mounted on

2340-425: The army proved unsatisfactory. In 1849, then-lieutenant Dahlgren began to design a family of smoothbore muzzle-loading boat howitzers that could be mounted in ships' launches and cutters as well as onto field carriages. The first boat howitzers to be designed were a light 12 lb (5.4 kg) "12-pounder", a heavy 12-pounder (originally designated a "medium"), and a 24 lb (10.9 kg) "24-pounder". Later

2405-503: The boat howitzers had gun crews of 10 in the boat and 11 ashore. The field carriage was made of wrought iron. No limber was used in naval service, but two ammunition boxes (each containing nine rounds) could be lashed to the axle of the field carriage. Members of the gun crew also carried a single round in an ammunition pouch. The smoothbore boat howitzers fired shell , shrapnel , and canister . The rifled 12-pounder fired shot and shell. Percussion primers were used in naval service, but

2470-582: The estimate of the overall length of the X-inch (heavy) which is based on a bore length of 117.75 inches and the estimate of the weight of the XX-inch shell which is based on the weight of the shell for the Columbiad, Seacoast, 20-inch, Model 1864. Dahlgren also designed several rifled muzzle-loading cannon . Twenty-pounder rifle : an entirely bronze gun that was popular and was the only Dahlgren rifle (other than

2535-505: The explosive element, he had sacrificed accuracy and range.... The difference between the system of Paixhans and my own was simply that Paixhans guns were strictly shell guns, and were not designed for shot, nor for great penetration or accuracy at long ranges. They were, therefore, auxiliary to, or associates of, the shot-guns. This made a mixed armament, was objectionable as such, and never was adopted to any extent in France... My idea was, to have

2600-576: The gun breech where the greatest pressure of expanding propellant gases needed to be met to keep the gun from bursting. Because of their rounded contours, Dahlgren guns were nicknamed "soda bottles", a shape which became their most identifiable characteristic. During the Mexican–American War , the U.S. found itself lacking in light guns that could be fired from ships' boats and landed to be used as light artillery in support of landing parties ( Ripley 1984 , p. 87). Light artillery borrowed from

2665-552: The guns would have to be elevated by quoins . This is not accurate, particularly for the VIII-inch Dahlgren, as a new iron carriage with an elevating screw beneath the breech of the gun was developed for VIII-inch ( Department of the Navy 1866 , p. III/66) and other carriages with breech elevating screws were also used ( Department of the Navy 1866 , p. I/83). It is also argued that the bores were too small for their late introduction and very few saw service during or after

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2730-492: The howitzers could also use friction primers obtained from the army. The small and the light 12-pounder boat howitzers were not popular. The heavy 12-pounder howitzers were most popular at their intended jobs, while the 24-pounder boat howitzer were found to serve excellently as primary and secondary armaments on river gunboats and similar small vessels. Some 24-pounder boat howitzers were apparently rifled, but some contemporary accounts confuse rifled 24-pounder boat howitzers and

2795-965: The inside out. As the outer parts of the casting cooled, they compressed the already cooled inner parts, making a stronger gun. The Bureau of Ordnance ordered that the Dahlgren XV-inch and XX-inch shell guns be cast using the Rodman hollow casting method. This use of Rodman hollow casting with a Dahlgren designed gun led to friction between Dahlgren and the Bureau of Ordnance, as well as some confusion in nomenclature. (bore) Overall of gun of shot of shell charge (yards) 27 cwt. (6.2 inch) 6° elev. 4,500 lb. M.1864 (6.2 inch) 5° elev. 11° elev. 15° elev. 11° elev. (heavy) 15° elev. short "Passaic" 7° elev. long "Tecumseh" 7° elev. Estimated values are indicated by an asterisk. Estimates by ( Ripley 1984 , pp. 369–370), except for

2860-558: The nine fastest river steamboats available on the Ohio River and converted them to rams. Their hulls were reinforced, the forward ends filled with hard oak wood, the steam-engines secured and the pilot houses protected by thick wooden planks. Three longitudinal bulkheads were added and supported with iron bars. Central beams were installed from bow to stern and iron peaks were installed on the bows. They were originally not equipped with any guns. Ellet assigned family members as captains of

2925-455: The nine steam powered rams of the United States Ram Fleet. Other vessels were added to the ram fleet including the tugs Alf Cutting , Bell Darlington and Cleveland ; the hospital ship Woodford and the transports Autocrat , Baltic and Diana . On 12 December 1862, the Queen of the West was one of the ships that accompanied the USS Cairo up the Yazoo River. The Cairo was struck by

2990-418: The original USS  Monitor . USS  Kearsarge , USS  Powhatan , and many other conventional ships carried XI-inch Dahlgrens on pivot mounts. A few larger river gunboats, such as USS  Tuscumbia and USS  Indianola also carried XI-inch Dahlgrens. XIII-inch Dahlgren shell gun : The XIII-inch Dahlgren was originally intended for Passaic -class monitors but proved unsuccessful and

3055-447: The other rams, including his brother Alfred W. Ellet , his nephew John A. Ellet , and his son Charles Rivers Ellet . On May 25, the Queen of the West and the ram fleet joined the Mississippi River Squadron, led by Charles H. Davis , on the Mississippi River north of Fort Pillow. Davis had little faith in the effectiveness of the rams but allowed the fleet to accompany his gunboats down

3120-547: The potential for fame. On 5 November, Ellet's nephew, Charles Rivers Ellet was promoted to the rank of colonel and became the third member of the Ellet family to lead the ram fleet. Ellet was only 19 years old, which made him one of the youngest colonels in the Union Army. Another nephew, John A. Ellet also served as Lieutenant Colonel in the brigade. The unit consisted of about 350 officers and men, including boat crews which used

3185-516: The primary armaments of older ships like USS  Cumberland (commissioned 1842, sunk by CSS  Virginia ) and USS  Congress (commissioned 1842, struck its colors to CSS Virginia ). Later ships were armed with mixtures of shell guns, most of which were designed by Dahlgren. The 32-pounders were still useful in providing primary or secondary armament to smaller ships and river gunboats. While earlier 32-pounders primarily fired solid shot, and these guns were called shot guns ( Department of

3250-532: The ram fleet ships participated in the Battle of Arkansas Post . In February 1863, the Queen of the West was run past the batteries of Vicksburg to support Admiral David Farragut south of the city. The Queen of the West severely damaged the CSS Vicksburg and captured four transport ships supplying Confederate forces. The Queen of the West also conducted activities on the Atchafalaya River , destroying Confederate supplies and burning three plantations. She

3315-552: The ram fleet. The ram fleet was never incorporated in the Union Navy, however, in the summer of 1862, when David Dixon Porter took over command of the Mississippi River Squadron, he demanded and received full authority over the ram fleet. On June 26, Alfred W. Ellet commanded the Monarch and Charles Rivers Ellet commanded the Lancaster during action on the Yazoo River near Liverpool, Mississippi to capture or destroy three Confederate gunboats. The Confederates burned their ships;

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3380-717: The regiment retreated they left the howitzers behind for the Confederate forces to capture. During the Antietam Campaign, Whiting's Battery (Company K, 9th NY Infantry [Hawkins' Zouaves] ), employed five Dahlgren boat howitzers (two rifled, two smoothbore, and one of indeterminate type). The howitzers fired on Confederate skirmishers at Snavely's Ford and suppressed them ( Johnson & Anderson , p. 78). The Confederate Grimes' (Portsmouth) Battery had two smoothbore Dahlgren boat howitzers, with which they fought near Piper's Stone Barn ( Johnson & Anderson , p. 78). The boat howitzers appeared to be popular—when Grimes' battery

3445-674: The river to Memphis. On June 6, Charles Ellet Jr. led four ram ships in the First Battle of Memphis; the USS Queen of the West , the USS Monarch , the USS Switzerland and the USS Lancaster . Ellet had not coordinated a plan of attack with Davis and when the flotilla approached Confederate forces, the Queen of the West and the Monarch steamed ahead of Davis' gunboats. The Queen of

3510-474: The turret would have made the gun impossible to work. The navy constructed smoke-boxes inside the turrets of the monitors equipped with the short XV-inch gun (see illustration), but the presence of the smoke-boxes slowed the rate of fire for the guns. When mounted in a turret, the crew for a XV-inch Dahlgren was 10 including powdermen. These were carried on Passaic (1 XI-inch and 1 XV-inch short) and early Canonicus -class monitors . 15-inch Dahlgren guns for

3575-692: Was a well-known civil engineer who built the first ever suspension bridge in the United States across the Schuykill River in Philadelphia and the Wheeling Suspension Bridge , the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time, across the Ohio River at Wheeling, West Virginia. When the Civil War broke out, Ellet advocated for the development of steam powered naval rams especially in light of

3640-518: Was accomplished especially by stopping work at the foundry and machine shop. On 25–30 June, a detachment of the brigade on the steamer John Rains, formed a part of an expedition to Greenville, Mississippi under the command of Lt. Col. Samuel J. Nasmith of the 25th Wisconsin Infantry . On 30 June, the brigade saw action at the Goodrich's Landing . Two African-American Union regiments, the 1st Arkansas and

3705-489: Was captured by Confederate forces on the Red River near Fort DeRussy and entered into Confederate service as the CSS Queen of the West . The Mississippi Marine Brigade also saw action at the Battle of Richmond, Louisiana and the Battle of Goodrich's Landing . Due to poor health, Charles Rivers Ellet tendered his resignation on August 14, 1863, and command of the ram fleet went to his cousin John A. Ellet . In August 1863,

3770-431: Was charged with creating and commanding the Mississippi Marine Brigade. The unit consisted of artillery, cavalry and infantry with the ram fleet used for transportation. The brigade was not able to recruit from existing Army or Navy units and instead recruited convalescing soldiers from hospitals who wished to return to service. Ellet promised recruits bonuses, the opportunity to serve aboard clean vessels with good food and

3835-508: Was flush with the outside of the turret when fired, eliminating the need for the smoke-box, Carried on later Canonicus -class monitors. XX-inch Dahlgren shell gun : four were cast by the Fort Pitt Foundry between 1864 and 1867 as part of the original planned armament for USS  Puritan . Three of these, named ' Satan ', ' Lucifer ' and ' Moloch ' were accepted by the U.S. Navy, but saw no service. The fourth gun, named ' Beelzebub '

3900-539: Was forced to turn in one of its guns, it chose to turn in a three-inch ordnance rifle rather than one of its boat howitzers ( Johnson & Anderson , p. 24). The 1st New York Marine Artillery Regiment ("Howard's Artillery, Naval Brigade") also armed themselves with boat howitzers, using them for their designed use of amphibious expeditions. The unit participated in 16 raids along the North Carolina coast employing their boat howitzers. The New York Marine Artillery

3965-460: Was further strengthened by adding another thickness of railroad iron. Fire from the Parrott gun in the fort was maintained until the end of the siege with a total of 98 rounds being expended. The fort was repeatedly struck but without material damage and without loss of life. The brigade also placed a brass Dahlgren gun in the casemate near the 20-pounder Parrott. Considerable damage to the Confederates

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4030-487: Was independent of the Union Army and Navy and reported directly to the Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton . The ram fleet operated in coordination with the Mississippi River Squadron during the Union brown-water navy battle against the Confederate River Defense Fleet for control of the Mississippi River and its tributaries. The unit was created and led by Colonel Charles Ellet Jr. until his death due to

4095-452: Was issued twelve 12-pounder rifled boat howitzers made by Norman Wiard out of semi-steel , a low-carbon iron alloy. Other than the material used, the Wiard boat howitzers were identical to the Dahlgren 12-pounder rifled boat howitzers. The Wiard howitzers were not made in large numbers ( Ripley 1984 , p. 168). Boat howitzers were used in the western theaters also. The Indiana Brigade used

4160-481: Was organized by Alfred W. Ellet and the ram fleet was incorporated as a part of the brigade. On November 5, Charles Rivers Ellet was promoted to the rank of colonel and became the third member of the Ellet family to lead the ram fleet. Ellet was only 19 years old which made him one of the youngest colonels in the Union Army. Under the two Ellet's leadership, the rams figured prominently in actions around and below Vicksburg, Mississippi , into 1863. In January 1863,

4225-467: Was sold to Peru, where it became part of the defenses of Callao . The navy's demand for 15-inch guns to defeat the new Confederate ironclads placed Dahlgren in a dilemma. All of his earlier shell guns had been cast solid, then had the bore drilled out—the traditional way to make artillery. Dahlgren's efforts with the XIII-inch shell gun were unsatisfactory and it was not clear that he could solid cast

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