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Re: Best Civil War cannon
In Response To: Re: Best Civil War cannon ()

My thoughts on this one lead me to choose the 13" Seacoast Mortar, Model of 1861 as choice for the premier spot of field artillery pieces. Though it's not a cannon and it is hard to apply the appilation "field" to something that weighs 17,800 pounds and fires a round weighing 200 pounds, I'm choosing this one as the decisive weapon in this category for the time period in question.
Though localized issues were settled by the use of the 12 pounder Napoleans and 3 inch rifles, whole areas of contention fell to the 13 inch Seacoast Mortars. The conquest of the Mississippi basin as far north as Vicksburg was more the effect of Porter's Mortar Flotilla, comprised of twenty one schooners fitted with Mortars, than any other weapon in the Federal arsenal.
The army used the same weapon for siege work on land; Petersburg, Virginia receiving shells from the Seacoast Mortar dubbed the "Dictator" during the late 1864 bombardment of that city.
Areas of Florida were shelled by the Mortars late in the game, though nobody likes to speak of that one for some reason. An exploding canister was developed for the occasion.
One hundred and sixty two Model 1861 pattern Seacoast Mortars were cast and finished by the Fort Pitt Foundry in Pennsylvania. Ammunition, for the most part, was provided by Frankfort Arsenal.

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Best Civil War cannon
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