“One Went Over” – The Acquisition of a 100-pounder
Parrott Round at Henricus
By John Daniel Pagano
In the business and or noble profession of public history it
is often said that you can better understand the past by “hands on”
learning. This is especially true when a
work crew delivers to your historic site a 100 pounder Parrott round. You come
to realize the drill manual where two men hoisted this into the muzzle of a
rather huge cannon and why it took two men to ram it home.
A “Parrott” gun was a style of Civil War cannon used by the
Union armies and navies. This one, in particular, could shoot a “bolt” for
miles. Bolt was the term used in artillery for solid shot that looked like a
giant bullet, rather than having a fuse and an explosive powder charge that
would explode. This type of round, like a bullet, was intended to punch a hole
through something - fortifications - or in the case, the iron plating on
Confederate ironclads. It was designed for objects that soldiers or sailors
were behind. It took 10 pounds of gunpowder to fire that projectile something
close to 7000 yards. It was a beast.
The round is seen in the picture below, with and without our
lead Agricultural Specialist, Andrew Rowand, who is an experienced Civil War
artillery presenter.
One of the more interesting aspects to this discovery is to
know where and when the round came from, at least mostly sure about it.
On the night of January 23, 1865, the Confederate James
Squadron, consisting of several powerful built “ironclads,” attempted to
destroy or disrupt the Union supply base and headquarters at City Point. They ventured
from near Richmond in a hope to do as much damage as possible, if not force
Grant to abandon that base.
Unfortunately for those Confederate sailors, the Union Navy,
engineers of the Union Army, and members of the 1st CT Heavy
Artillery had set up a network of defenses around the historic loop at Farrar’s
Island and Dutch Gap that got the CS navy, literally hung up on obstructions
and a shallow tide. What ensued was one of the most impressive night and
daylight land and sea battles, in terms of gun fire, witnessed in Virginia
during the Civil War, the January 24, 1865 Battle of Trent’s Reach.
Colonel Henry Abbott’s 1st Connecticut Heavy
Artillery manned most of the big guns in the defenses at those points on the
James River. There were four 100 pounder guns within a two mile radius of Dutch
Gap, or what is today Henricus. Two of those were at Fort Brady – but both of
those guns were disabled by Confederate artillery fire the evening before. That
left one gun at Battery Sawyer and one gun at Battery Parsons.
Sawyer was at a distant range, somewhat short of two miles,
of where the Confederate ironclads were hung up. This battery served a variety
of functions in covering the work parties at Dutch Gap, and all approaches
along the James. Sawyer was commanded by 1st Lt. Mason, 1st
CT Heavy Artillery.
Parsons was a closer range, around ¾ of a mile. The battery
was designed to protect that approach of the river and counter the Confederate
fort known as “Battery Danztler.” Parsons was commanded by Yale graduate, 1st
Lt. Henry Andrews Pratt, 1st CT Heavy Artillery. Pratt was a school
teacher and administrator before the war.
He gave us a great account of the fighting and possibly the
exact round we found. Lieutenant Pratt wrote in this report, “"Of nine
solid shot, one did not take the grooves, one went over, seven struck the
ram." Our round looks like it has groove lines in it, and the round has no
discernable impact or ricochet marks, that this could be in fact, the “one went
over” bolt that Pratt was referring to.
The 1
st CT Heavy Artillery fired seventy-eight
(78) 100-pounder rounds at the CS squadron around Farrar’s Island. Thirty-seven
(37) struck, leaving 41 rounds. Keep in mind that half of those rounds were
fired through the night of January 23. During daylight, most rounds hit their
mark. Of those 78 rounds, however, only 24 were bolt. Of that amount, 9 came
from Battery Parsons, only 1 bolt overshot in the area where it was found. That
is most likely our round.
This image shows the 1st CT heavy Artillery at
Fort Brady with two of the four 100-pounder guns. They were certainly
impressive specimens of scientific achievement that war often initiates.
So what is the
significance of this find?
This is an almost perfectly preserved artillery projectile
that was used in a Civil War combined arms battle with army and navy forces. It
allows a person to inspect and assess the math and sciences of artillery
technology in the Civil War, plus the human factors of strength and ability to
load and fire this round. Most certainly does it bring an awareness to this
relatively little know navy battle on the James River. Sadly, it makes us judge
the scope of preservation failures, whereas only up to a few years ago, the
Union fortifications along the James River were there, but destroyed to house
construction.
Does Henricus
interpret the Civil War?
Yes, but mostly in signs and one or two special program
weekends. Looking ahead, some believe that Henricus Historical Park should
acquire and regularly demonstrate a full scale heavy artillery cannon to load
and fire over the bluff and along the James River. What kind of draw would it
bring to fire to siege or navy gun that could be heard as far away as Richmond!
What do you think?
Can we see the
location of the battle site where this was found?
Sure. We will not release where the projectile was found,
directly, we can encourage people to visit the fighting location. Where Battery
Parsons was located is seen today from our hiking trails. This area is near
where the “dog leg point” wayside and river view is today, a spur of our hiking
trails. If you go there, a new Battle of Trent’s Reach wayside marker was
placed to describe the battle. If you stand at the wayside interpretive sign,
look to your left and across the river, to a prominent set of knolls in the
distance. That is Parsons and the other batteries. Look to your right and in
the distance a few hundred yards were the Confederate ironclads.
Any questions?
If you have any questions or would like to inquire about
donating any Civil War artifacts appropriate to our story at Henricus, please
contact John Daniel Pagano, Interpretation Supervisor, at
paganoj@chesterfield.gov
Lastly, if you would wish to be a donor to help us increase
our Civil war interpretation, likewise, let us know. We would love to further
demonstrate Civil War heavy artillery!
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