RARE & HISTORIC U.S. NAVY LIGHT BRONZE 12-POUNDER DAHLGREN BOAT HOWITZER AND ORIGINAL CARRIAGE.

SN 53. This Howitzer is one of the most historically important and interesting cannon in this collection. It’s history is well documented by SN from records in the National Archives. This cannon is beautifully marked and dated on top of bbl “12PDR / BOAT HOWITZER / 1858 / F.K.M.” (Francis Key Murray was U.S. Naval inspector for only one year, 1858). Cannon marked at breech “US NAVY YARD WASHINGTON, 430 LBS, 26PRE” (26 refers to preponderance weight). John Dahlgren was always concerned with this measurement & all his guns are so marked. This term refers to how heavy the breech is when you lift it when pivoted at the center of the barrel’s trunnion loop. SN 53 also found on bbl. Muzzle is stamped with the initials “CM” inside diamond. Olmstead, Stark & Tucker 1997 THE BIG GUNS, CIVIL WAR SEIGE, SEACOAST & NAVAL CANNON pp. 109: “Nearly half the surviving boat howitzers made at the Washington Navy Yard, have one or two initials in sequence stamped on their lower muzzle faces. One series runs from 1855 to 1864; another starting anew, runs from 1864 to 1874….John L. Morris deduced that these might code each piece produced at the Yard, equivalent to familiar private foundry numbers. We broadly confirm this theory by a scan of 70 known stampings of varying legibility. Roughly one in three thus far recorded is enclosed within a crude diamond, of unknown significance if any, formed by four strikes of a small cold chisel.” The carriage is SN 16 and its weight is marked as 322 lbs. This rare, light howitzer served on three different vessels during the Civil War Era. From about 1858 to early 1861 the steamer WYANDOTTE carried the howitzer, before it was transferred to the steam sloop VANDALIA. The next ship on which it would see service was the steam sloop JUNIATA which captured 5 Confederate blockade runners and helped capture Ft. Fisher near Wilmington, NC. While this weapon was aboard, it no doubt saw action, very likely with one of the landing parties JUNIATA sent into the amphibious assault on the fort. Postwar the howitzer armed the steam tug PINTA until 1911, an unusually long career for any weapon, some 53 years. The piece is very interesting technically as well. The boat howitzers were invented by Admiral John Dahlgren, USN, in the late 1840s to provide a suitable artillery piece which could be carried by boat to shore, then be easily landed and ready for use. The boat howitzer had a special carriage so that it could be fired from the bow of a boat, then readily dismounted from that carriage and remounted on a steel carriage for use ashore. The steel carriage was carried in the stern of the boat. The howitzers were designed to be fired by means of a special bronze percussion lock which was integral to the piece. A third wheel at the rear of the carriage could be raised for firing or lowered for traveling. This example is particularly fine and among the best if not the finest known of only 20 surviving guns. Accompanying cannon is a very rare artillery-man’s pass box for this gun still retaining leather carrying strap. This light boat howitzer is one of only two or three surviving of the earliest pattern, with large blade front sight and central rear-sight hole. In about 1860 the design was changed and the large front sight was replaced by a very small front sight at center-side location, matched by an offset rear-sight hole, which most collectors agree bears no comparison, aesthetically, to Dahlgren’s handsome first pattern. There is a large file of documentation on this particular cannon and its use aboard the USS JUNIATA. PROVENANCE: James Hastings Collection. Springfield Arsenal, LLC Artillery Collection. CONDITION: Tube and carriage overall are in fine condition, wheels are accurate reproductions. Bore and vent are clean and smooth. All markings are all crisp and discernible as can be seen in photos. Percussion lock is orig but was replaced at some point in service as SN is 170 and inspection date is 1871. Pass box very good overall; strap is fragile but complete, “LT. 12 PDR” still discernible in white paint. Cannon and carriage are 94″ overall; tube is 51″ overall with bbl length of 44-1/2″. 4-54098 (50,000-60,000) – Lot 2038

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Auction: Firearms - March 2015

Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

Image	Lot	Price	Description
	2038	$92,000.00	RARE & HISTORIC U.S. NAVY LIGHT BRONZE 12-POUNDER DAHLGREN BOAT HOWITZER AND ORIGINAL CARRIAGE. SN 53. This Howitzer is one of the most historically important and interesting cannon in this collection. It’s history is well documented by SN from records in the National Archives. This cannon is beautifully marked and dated on top of bbl “12PDR / BOAT HOWITZER / 1858 / F.K.M.” (Francis Key Murray was U.S. Naval inspector for only one year, 1858). Cannon marked at breech “US NAVY YARD WASHINGTON, 430 LBS, 26PRE” (26 refers to preponderance weight). John Dahlgren was always concerned with this measurement & all his guns are so marked. This term refers to how heavy the breech is when you lift it when pivoted at the center of the barrel’s trunnion loop. SN 53 also found on bbl. Muzzle is stamped with the initials “CM” inside diamond. Olmstead, Stark & Tucker 1997 THE BIG GUNS, CIVIL WAR SEIGE, SEACOAST & NAVAL CANNON pp. 109: “Nearly half the surviving boat howitzers made at the Washington Navy Yard, have one or two initials in sequence stamped on their lower muzzle faces. One series runs from 1855 to 1864; another starting anew, runs from 1864 to 1874….John L. Morris deduced that these might code each piece produced at the Yard, equivalent to familiar private foundry numbers. We broadly confirm this theory by a scan of 70 known stampings of varying legibility. Roughly one in three thus far recorded is enclosed within a crude diamond, of unknown significance if any, formed by four strikes of a small cold chisel.” The carriage is SN 16 and its weight is marked as 322 lbs. This rare, light howitzer served on three different vessels during the Civil War Era. From about 1858 to early 1861 the steamer WYANDOTTE carried the howitzer, before it was transferred to the steam sloop VANDALIA. The next ship on which it would see service was the steam sloop JUNIATA which captured 5 Confederate blockade runners and helped capture Ft. Fisher near Wilmington, NC. While this weapon was aboard, it no doubt saw action, very likely with one of the landing parties JUNIATA sent into the amphibious assault on the fort. Postwar the howitzer armed the steam tug PINTA until 1911, an unusually long career for any weapon, some 53 years. The piece is very interesting technically as well. The boat howitzers were invented by Admiral John Dahlgren, USN, in the late 1840s to provide a suitable artillery piece which could be carried by boat to shore, then be easily landed and ready for use. The boat howitzer had a special carriage so that it could be fired from the bow of a boat, then readily dismounted from that carriage and remounted on a steel carriage for use ashore. The steel carriage was carried in the stern of the boat. The howitzers were designed to be fired by means of a special bronze percussion lock which was integral to the piece. A third wheel at the rear of the carriage could be raised for firing or lowered for traveling. This example is particularly fine and among the best if not the finest known of only 20 surviving guns. Accompanying cannon is a very rare artillery-man’s pass box for this gun still retaining leather carrying strap. This light boat howitzer is one of only two or three surviving of the earliest pattern, with large blade front sight and central rear-sight hole. In about 1860 the design was changed and the large front sight was replaced by a very small front sight at center-side location, matched by an offset rear-sight hole, which most collectors agree bears no comparison, aesthetically, to Dahlgren’s handsome first pattern. There is a large file of documentation on this particular cannon and its use aboard the USS JUNIATA. PROVENANCE: James Hastings Collection. Springfield Arsenal, LLC Artillery Collection. CONDITION: Tube and carriage overall are in fine condition, wheels are accurate reproductions. Bore and vent are clean and smooth. All markings are all crisp and discernible as can be seen in photos. Percussion lock is orig but was replaced at some point in service as SN is 170 and inspection date is 1871. Pass box very good overall; strap is fragile but complete, “LT. 12 PDR” still discernible in white paint. Cannon and carriage are 94″ overall; tube is 51″ overall with bbl length of 44-1/2″. 4-54098 (50,000-60,000) – Lot 2038 Click here to view provenance Auction: Firearms - March 2015 Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

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RARE & HISTORIC U.S. NAVY LIGHT BRONZE 12-POUNDER DAHLGREN BOAT HOWITZER AND ORIGINAL CARRIAGE.