2.9-inch (10-pounder) Army Parrott Rifle - Gettysburg, PA
N 39° 47.847 W 077° 15.347
18S E 306870 N 4407710
Next to the Carlton's Troup Artillery - CS Battery tablet are two cannon carriages, one empty, the other laden with this Civil War artifact.
Waymark Code: WMEAWN
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 04/29/2012
Views: 4
Unfortunately, the outer muzzle inscription that is supposed to identify this cannon is so worn away as to make it indistinguishable. For now, it will remain anonymous until someone updates their register base of canons at the battlefield. The only way I was able to identify it to specifically as a 10-pounder is it was mentioned on the marker. The design itself is so obviously a Parrott rifle.
The cannon is located on the right or west side of West Confederate Avenue if traveling south. The cannon is between two large patches of woods and south of the Confederate Avenue Observation Tower. There is ample parking there if you do not ind walking a few hundred feet. Parking is also available at intermittent cutouts along the shoulder of the road. Please take care to not park on the grass or you will be ticket by park police.
The Parrott rifle was a type of muzzle loading rifled artillery weapon used extensively in the American Civil War. 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