- Joined
- Aug 25, 2012
While my wife shopped I went to a museum at a courthouse. This big boy was on the lawn. Anyone want to tell us what I saw?
While my wife shopped I went to a museum at a courthouse. This big boy was on the lawn. Anyone want to tell us what I saw?
View attachment 156747
The big one is most definitely a 6.4" or 100 pounder Parrot Rifle. All of the evidence is on the muzzle. W.P.F. stands for West Point Foundry, 9702 is the weight, No. 76 is the foundry registry number, 1862 is the year cast. I would be willing to wager that on the trunion face are the letters R.P.P for Robert Parker Parrot (3rd in the West Point class of 1824), the man who invented the gun and also served as the U.S. Army inspector at the West Point Foundry in Cold Spring, N.Y.
The bottom one is indeed an 8" siege howitzer which was cast in two very different shapes. This piece was inspected by Richard Mason Hill who was also an inspector at the West Point Foundry. He was 7th in the West Point class of 1861 (June).