Deck Guns

[Zack]

Several photos of Union monitors show little field guns that could be used on deck.

How were these stored when not in use?
Are there any records of them actually being used?

Credit to @toot for making me wonder these things.

USS Lehigh:

 

[Ironclader]

Those are the standard naval boat howitzers with carriage. As I recall, they were 12-pound Dahlgren smoothbores, but Parrott rifles were also carried. There's a contemporary manual online that probably covers breaking down the carriage, and mounting the gun on its boat slide. I'll look for it...

 

[Ironclader]

Check out the thorough discussion of the howitzer and its carriages at the link below, under section:

"The Best Boat Gun in the World" - The 12-pound Dahlgren Boat Howitzer

https://www.history.navy.mil/resear...perating-ashore-artillerymen-roth.html#bestqy

 

[Rhea Cole]

On Monitors the deck gun was a signal or saluting gun. Needless to say, firing a salute with the main guns with blanks would consume a vast volume of powder, not to mention great physical effort. Tin Clads carried 12 pound howitzers on deck to lob shells at attackers on riverbanks. The flat trajectory of the main armament was often ineffective when attackers were masked by high ground or trees.

 

[Ironclader]

"Form of Exercise and Manoeuver for the Boat-Howitzers of the U.S. Navy"
by Dahlgren, John Adolphus Bernard, 1809-1870; Hart, A., 19th cent
Publication date 1852

Online at:
https://archive.org/details/formofexercisema00dahlrich

List of parts is attached.