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Two Dahlgren 12 Howitzers with Iron
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Pair of Two Incredibly Rare Dahlgren 12-Pounder Bronze Boat Howitzers with Iron Field Carriages - Serial no. 339 and 552, 12. Very few of these cannons are in private hands today, and they hardly ever come up for sale. Offered here is two examples. Most surviving examples reside at historic sites, battlefields, and museums. They were designed by Lt. John A. Dahlgren of the U.S. Navy following the Mexican-American War after investigating the potential use of the Army’s field howitzers by the Navy for mastheads, launches, and Marine landing parties. Previously a mix of weapons were used which were logistically an issue. These were used with a few versions of carriages designed by Dahlgren including this light cast iron carriage for use in the field and could be fitted with a naval carriage when used on frigate’s launches. These light carriages were designed to be able to be pulled by the gun’s crew after landing, and reports suggest the gun could be mounted in less than four minutes. There are also photographs from the period of them mounted
to their lightweight field carriages while onboard the ships, including
multiple images of the monitor U.S.S. Lehigh. The guns were
formidable and period reports claim an experienced crew could get off 10
shots in a minute. Another example of one of these Boat Howitzers with the iron field carriage can be seen on page 143 of “Field
Artillery Weapons of the Civil War” by Hazlett, Olmstead and Parks. Both of these howitzers likely had model, date, inspector, and weight
markings on top of the tube, but they are no longer visible due to age related wear.
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