The last several artillery posts have focused on the gun in this wartime photo:
15-inch Rodman Prototype at Fort Monroe
The 15-inch prototype remained at Fort Monroe after trials ended, very successfully, in early 1861. Worth noting, the gun received its first nickname around that time – “The Floyd Gun” – after Secretary of War John B. Floyd, who’d been a supporter of the project. By April 1861 the Fort Monroe garrison mounted the big gun on a barbette carriage near the Old Point Comfort lighthouse. I’d speculate the carriage was either the same or a similar outfit to that used during the proofing in 1860. However, the gun didn’t sit there very long. In July 1861 the new 12-inch Rodman Rifle arrived for testing. Jumping the gun, so to speak, General Benjamin Butler ordered the untested rifle onto the 15-inch smoothbore mount.
After the USS Monitor-CSS Virginia duel, General John Wool ordered the 15-inch gun placed back in a barbette carriage into the fort’s defenses. The circular traces used by one of these two guns remains today, ironically, in Jefferson Davis Park on the fort’s wall.
Traces for Center Pivot Barbette Carrige in Jeff Davis Park
On April 15, 1862, both the 12-inch rifle and the 15-inch prototype gun fired in the direction of Sewell’s Point, more so to gain the range than against any particular target. But with this activity one can say the prototype “fired in anger.”
It was also around this time the gun received a new nickname. With Mr. Floyd’s resignation and subsequent commission as a Confederate general, the old name was just bad for public relations. So Secretary of War Edwin Stanton ordered the gun’s name changed to “The Lincoln Gun” and it remains so today.
If the wartime photo’s listing data from the National Archives is correct, the 15-inch prototype remained in place through 1864. We know it is indeed the prototype from the muzzle markings.
Close Up of Muzzle
At the top appears the registry number “1″ and at the bottom are the initials “T.J.R.” for Thomas J. Rodman.
The right side trunnion, although at an angle in the photo, clearly shows the foundry stamps.
Right Trunnion in Photo
The stamps read “F.P.F.” and “K.R. & Co.” These stand for “Fort Pitt Foundry”
and “Knap, Rudd and Company” respectively. That particular stamping set appeared only in 1860.
Today the Lincoln Gun rests only a few hundred yards from its wartime post, at the edge of Fort Monroe’s parade ground.
15-inch Rodman Prototype
My photo of the muzzle markings didn’t turn out right (for which I’ve kicked myself several times). So trust me that the “No. 1″ and “T.J.R.” remain on the muzzle. The right trunnion also still shows the manufacturer’s stamps.
Right Trunnion of Prototype Rodman
And the left trunnion provides the year of manufacture.
Left Trunnion of Prototype Rodman
Notice the trunnions are shorter than those of earlier Columbiads. Rodman designed the 15-inch gun to fit iron, not wooden, carriages. However the prototype’s trunnions are about a half-inch longer than those of production Rodmans.
The breech displays the weight, just as recorded by Rodman in May 1860.
Weight Stamp on Breech
Compare the ratchets in the breech face to the sockets on the 15-inch guns at Fort Foote, Maryland.
Breech Face of Production 15-inch Rodman
Less easily determined by the naked eye is the shift of the trunnion location. Production 15-inch guns had the trunnions just 1.25 inches to the rear, eliminating preponderance.
Rarely can we trace the story of a Civil War era gun with any degree of certainty. However in the case of the Lincoln Gun, we know every place the gun was from foundry to field site. We even have reasonably accurate records of every time the gun fired!
The Lincoln Gun – an artifact preserved in Fort Monroe National Monument with a story to tell!
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