Petersburg in Grant County, West Virginia — The American South (Appalachia)
Parrott Rifle
Photographed By Shane Oliver, August 1, 2020
1. Parrott Rifle Marker
Inscription.
Parrott Rifle. . , Patented in 1861 by former Union officer Robert P. Parrott, the Parrott rifle was inexpensive to manufacture and accurate. The Parrott could hit a target at 2,500 yards, about twice the range of a smoothbore gun. They were so accurate that the Confederates produced their own version of the piece.
Parrott's cannons were easily identified by the reinforcing band around the breech, the point of greatest pressure during firing. The idea of banding was not new, but Parrott's innovation was to slowly rotate the gun tube throughout the fitting and cooling, so the metal would retain a consistent density and cool evenly. This made the guns much stronger at the breech to prevent the long-recognized problem of bursting. There were several other types of cannon with similar reinforcement, but the Parrott rifle was by far the most common.
The 10-pounder Parrott was an important artillery piece and the first workable rifled gun available to either side, but still proved to be a major disappointment. All Robert Parrott's improvements had really managed to do was to move the failure point forward, so they still burst unexpectedly and often. The end of the war brought the end of the Parrott for the gun was never used again.
Captain Robert Parker Parrott , Born in 1804, Robert P. Parrott graduated 3rd in his class from West Point Military Academy and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 3rd U.S. Artillery in 1824. He resigned from the army in 1836 to take over as superintendent of the West Point foundry in Cold Spring, NY. Parrott became lessee and operator of the foundry, and experimented with the manufacture of artillery. In 1867, he turned foundry operations over to others but he experimented with projectiles and fuzes until his death in 1877.
(captions) , The 10-pounder Parrott rifle (Model 1861, characterized by a muzzle swell) had a 2.9-inch bore, while the Model 1863 (no muzzle swell) had a 3-inch bore. The 10-pounder Parrott used shell, spherical case, and cannister. The 1863 version could fire ammunition for the Model 1861, but not vice-versa.
Robert Parrott Parker (1804-1877, USMA Class of 1824) by Thomas P. Rossiter, 1868, Oil on canvas, West Point Museum Art Collection, United States Military Academy, West Point, New York, WPM #7529
This land has been preserved by the Civil War Preservation Trust in partnership with the South Branch Valley Civil War Society, Inc, McNeill's Rangers, SCV Camp #582 and 7th West Virginia, SUV Camp #7
Patented in 1861 by former Union officer Robert P. Parrott, the Parrott rifle was inexpensive to manufacture and accurate. The Parrott could hit a target at 2,500 yards, about twice the range of a smoothbore gun. They were so accurate that the Confederates produced their own version of the piece.
Parrott's cannons were easily identified by the reinforcing band around the breech—the point of greatest pressure during firing. The idea of banding was not new, but Parrott's innovation was to slowly rotate the gun tube throughout the fitting and cooling, so the metal would retain a consistent density and cool evenly. This made the guns much stronger at the breech to prevent the long-recognized problem of bursting. There were several other types of cannon with similar reinforcement, but the Parrott rifle was by far the most common.
The 10-pounder Parrott was an important artillery piece and the first workable rifled gun available to either side, but still proved to be a major disappointment. All Robert Parrott's improvements had really managed to do was to move the failure point forward, so they still burst unexpectedly and often. The end of the war brought the end of the Parrott for the gun was never used again.
Captain Robert Parker Parrott
Born in 1804, Robert P. Parrott graduated 3rd in his class
Click or scan to see this page online
from West Point Military Academy and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 3rd U.S. Artillery in 1824. He resigned from the army in 1836 to take over as superintendent of the West Point foundry in Cold Spring, NY. Parrott became lessee and operator of the foundry, and experimented with the manufacture of artillery. In 1867, he turned foundry operations over to others but he experimented with projectiles and fuzes until his death in 1877.
(captions)
The 10-pounder Parrott rifle (Model 1861, characterized by a muzzle swell) had a 2.9-inch bore, while the Model 1863 (no muzzle swell) had a 3-inch bore. The 10-pounder Parrott used shell, spherical case, and cannister. The 1863 version could fire ammunition for the Model 1861, but not vice-versa.
Robert Parrott Parker (1804-1877, USMA Class of 1824) by Thomas P. Rossiter, 1868, Oil on canvas, West Point Museum Art Collection, United States Military Academy, West Point, New York, WPM #7529
This land has been preserved by the Civil War Preservation Trust in partnership with the South Branch Valley Civil War Society, Inc, McNeill's Rangers, SCV Camp #582 and 7th West Virginia, SUV Camp #7
Erected by Civil War Preservation Trust.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Forts and Castles • War, US Civil. A significant historical year for this entry is 1861.
Location.
Photographed By Shane Oliver, August 1, 2020
2. Fort Mulligan Parrott Rifle (Model 1861)
39° 0.068′ N, 79° 8.336′ W. Marker is in Petersburg, West Virginia, in Grant County. Marker can be reached from the intersection of North Fork Highway (West Virginia Route 55) and Hospital Drive, on the right when traveling east. Marker is located along the ½-mile walking trail around Fort Mulligan, a Civil War site preserved by the American Battlefield Trust. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 100 Hospital Dr, Petersburg WV 26847, United States of America. Touch for directions.
More about this marker. The bottom left of the marker contains a "Table of Fire Arms" describing the types of ammunition fired by the 10-pounder Parrott Rifle.
Also see . . .
Photographed By Shane Oliver, August 1, 2020
3. Fort Mulligan Parrott Rifle (Model 1861)
Note the "muzzle swell" characteristic of the Model 1861 Parrott Rifle, as described by the marker.
Fort Mulligan. American Battlefield Trust (Submitted on December 18, 2020.)
Credits. This page was last revised on January 2, 2021. It was originally submitted on December 17, 2020, by Shane Oliver of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 325 times since then and 36 times this year. Last updated on January 1, 2021, by Shane Oliver of Richmond, Virginia. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on December 17, 2020, by Shane Oliver of Richmond, Virginia. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
