The Dictator

[frontrank2]

The Dictator was a 13 inch mortar under command of Co. G of the 1st Connecticut Heavy Artillery. It was intended for seige and fortifications, not field work. It weighed 17,120 lbs. and was made portable for limited field use during the Seige of Petersburg by being mounted on a railroad car, specially strengthened with extra beams and iron rods to withstand the strain of firing. The mortar was placed on the car and run up the tracks from City Point along the City Point and Petersburg Railroad, to a point in the ravine in rear of what is now generally known as Battery No. 5, near the Jordan House, a side track from the main road being constructed especially for the purpose of moving the Dictator. It fired a shell weighing 218 lbs., with a charge of 20 lbs. of powder. At an angle of 45 degrees the range is set down in the Ordinance Manual at 4,325 yds. ( One shot is rumored to have reached Centre Hill, in Petersburg, at least 2.7, miles, or 4,752 yds. )

http://civilwarwiki.net/wiki/The_Dictator_Mortar

 

[rob63]

 

[bdtex]

View attachment 95020 View attachment 95021

The marker next to the gun says it was not militarily effective.

 

[Private Watkins]

It actually seems bigger to me in the period black & white photo, with the men standing around it, then it does in the modern photos with just the sign, floor-boards, vegetation, and fence around it for size & scale reference... just an illusion I'm sure.

 

[AndyHall]

Don't forget the Dictator's supporting role opposite Buster Keaton in one of the great CW films of all time, The General.

Skip to 20:25:

 

[rob63]

It actually seems bigger to me in the period black & white photo, with the men standing around it, then it does in the modern photos with just the sign, floor-boards, vegetation, and fence around it for size & scale reference... just an illusion I'm sure.

I have no idea if it is the original piece or how it compares in size to the original, but fwiw here is a photo of me standing next to it. I am 5'9".

 

[Frederick14Va]

Just a side note tid-bit....

The reported original "Monitor" that was used at Petersburg is claimed to be still existing and sits in front of the Connecticut State House... debates exist if this is actually the same gun or not.

The gun currently on display at Petersburg today is another original 13in Mortar of the same model and type. No bigger no smaller... Same type of Model 1861 13in Siege-Seacoast Mortar...

Despite an impressive collection of Civil War artillery, and some rather rare pieces... They did not have a 13in Mortar. It took many decades for Petersburg NPS to find and get ahold of one..... In the earlier years of the park they resorted to making a fake one out of plaster/concrete something, painted it to resemble one and had that sitting there on display for many years before they finally obtain a real one....

Ive been telling them for years they need to replicate the railroad car and put it on that... since that's what most people relate to the "Monitor" being used as....

 

[Private Watkins]

I have no idea if it is the original piece or how it compares in size to the original, but fwiw here is a photo of me standing next to it. I am 5'9".

View attachment 95053

That does make a difference... having a person in the photo as a reference point really shows what a monster of a beast that thing is...!

 

[cash]

The piece at Petersburg is not the actual Dictator but is a similar artillery piece.

 

[Spunk Puppy]

Don't forget the Dictator's supporting role opposite Buster Keaton in one of the great CW films of all time, The General.

Skip to 20:25:

Wow! What a great scene!! I'll have to watch that movie.

 

[7th Texas Mounted Rifles]

I prefer the period-correct moniker -the Petersburg Express would later become known as 'The Dictator' thanks to the June 14, 1900 issue of the Hartford Courant.

Fort Pitt was the sole manufacturer of the 13-inch mortars. After the actions at Petersburg, the mortar was moved to Fort Monroe and that is where the confusion began.

In 1892, plans were put into motion to commemorate the CHA, and Captain Frank Miller was dispatched to Fort Monroe to take possesion of the piece for use as a monument. When he got there, he could not determine between two mortars (foundry numbers 94 and 95) which one was the correct one. An unnamed sergeant with the ordnance department would later identify it as #95, due to a damaged lug (as later written about in the Hartford Courant, September 22, 1902.)

In 1896, Miller brought #95 to Bridgeport, where it sat for a few years while the required funds were raised (~ $6,000) and the bickering about location was hashed out. It was finally dedicated in Hartford on September 25th, 1902... The anniversary of the regimental mustering out.

The 'original' Dictator on display at Petersburg was a concrete replica that was poured by the Department of the Interior in 1935... As seen pictured here:

(Concrete 'Dictator' with former Confederate Captain Carter Bishop, in 1935.)

It was destroyed in 1969 when an actual likeness was acquired by trade with Fort Sumter.

The Hartford 'Dictator' was in the news again in 1958 when a mortar located in New York was suggested as being the actual piece. This was ruled out when a reader (who had a grandfather in the 1st Connecticut) later came forward with photographs that matched the Hartford example in physical appearance, but without the clarity or benefit of settling the dispute via foundry marks.

The foundry marks came into play in the 1980's when historian John Morris used a since-surfaced sketch of the mortar as drawn by H.E. Valentine of the 7th New York Heavy Artillery during the siege. Valentine notes a weight of 17,186 while the Hartford Mortar bears a weight inscription of 17,197.

(Valentine's Sketch)

I've read that there are only 26 surviving pieces left of the 162 examples of 13" mortars that came out of the Fort Pitt Foundry.

Sounds like the Petersburg Express/The Dictator has been forever lost.

 

[Chattahooch33]

Here is myself with the mortar last year on the way to 150 Sayler's Creek.
I'm 6'4" for reference.

 

[redbob]

The Dictator was a 13 inch mortar under command of Co. G of the 1st Connecticut Heavy Artillery. It was intended for seige and fortifications, not field work. It weighed 17,120 lbs. and was made portable for limited field use during the Seige of Petersburg by being mounted on a railroad car, specially strengthened with extra beams and iron rods to withstand the strain of firing. The mortar was placed on the car and run up the tracks from City Point along the City Point and Petersburg Railroad, to a point in the ravine in rear of what is now generally known as Battery No. 5, near the Jordan House, a side track from the main road being constructed especially for the purpose of moving the Dictator. It fired a shell weighing 218 lbs., with a charge of 20 lbs. of powder. At an angle of 45 degrees the range is set down in the Ordinance Manual at 4,325 yds. ( One shot is rumored to have reached Centre Hill, in Petersburg, at least 2.7, miles, or 4,752 yds. )

http://civilwarwiki.net/wiki/The_Dictator_Mortar

View attachment 94998

I have this picture enlarged and colorized gracing one wall in my relic room and if I say so myself, it makes the room.

 

[bdtex]

I prefer the period-correct moniker -the Petersburg Express would later become known as 'The Dictator' thanks to the June 14, 1900 issue of the Hartford Courant.

Fort Pitt was the sole manufacturer of the 13-inch mortars. After the actions at Petersburg, the mortar was moved to Fort Monroe and that is where the confusion began.

In 1892, plans were put into motion to commemorate the CHA, and Captain Frank Miller was dispatched to Fort Monroe to take possesion of the piece for use as a monument. When he got there, he could not determine between two mortars (foundry numbers 94 and 95) which one was the correct one. An unnamed sergeant with the ordnance department would later identify it as #95, due to a damaged lug (as later written about in the Hartford Courant, September 22, 1902.)

In 1896, Miller brought #95 to Bridgeport, where it sat for a few years while the required funds were raised (~ $6,000) and the bickering about location was hashed out. It was finally dedicated in Hartford on September 25th, 1902... The anniversary of the regimental mustering out.

The 'original' Dictator on display at Petersburg was a concrete replica that was poured by the Department of the Interior in 1935... As seen pictured here:

View attachment 95210
(Concrete 'Dictator' with former Confederate Captain Carter Bishop, in 1935.)

It was destroyed in 1969 when an actual likeness was acquired by trade with Fort Sumter.

The Hartford 'Dictator' was in the news again in 1958 when a mortar located in New York was suggested as being the actual piece. This was ruled out when a reader (who had a grandfather in the 1st Connecticut) later came forward with photographs that matched the Hartford example in physical appearance, but without the clarity or benefit of settling the dispute via foundry marks.

The foundry marks came into play in the 1980's when historian John Morris used a since-surfaced sketch of the mortar as drawn by H.E. Valentine of the 7th New York Heavy Artillery during the siege. Valentine notes a weight of 17,186 while the Hartford Mortar bears a weight inscription of 17,197.

View attachment 95211
(Valentine's Sketch)

I've read that there are only 26 surviving pieces left of the 162 examples of 13" mortars that came out of the Fort Pitt Foundry.

Sounds like the Petersburg Express/The Dictator has been forever lost.

Good stuff. Until my visit in January,I didn't know the one at Petersburg was a replica. That sorta sux.

 

[Frederick14Va]

Good stuff. Until my visit in January,I didn't know the one at Petersburg was a replica. That sorta sux.

The Mortar currently present at Petersburg NPS is an original 13in Mortar... not a reproduction or replica..... its the same model and type as the notable Dictator... just not the same gun tube

 

[rob63]

FWIW, here is what the FAQ from the NPS website has to say about the fate of the original "Dictator."

 

[bdtex]

The Mortar currently present at Petersburg NPS is an original 13in Mortar... not a reproduction or replica..... its the same model and type as the notable Dictator... just not the same gun tube

Hey thanks. That sorta unsux. I guess I misread or misunderstood what it says on the marker. I remember thinking how expensive it must've been just to make the "replica".

 

[rob63]

Ok, so here is something else to ponder. I got to thinking about the fact that the original photos show the gun being fired from a railroad platform, but there does not seem to be a railroad bed in the modern photos of the position. Here is a view of the modern position from Google Earth.

The railroad line that is visible running mostly N-S is the Petersburg-City Point RR. The bare spot in the middle is Battery #5. According to Alexander Gardner's description, there was a spur line built for firing the gun at this spot.

There is a line clearly visible in the satellite photo that could be the remains of the spur line. All of which supports the current location as being correct.

I also found different references to the gun being fired from Grant's Military RR. One being this website that gives a description from a stenograph and the other a photo description on Wikipedia. The problem with these references is that the Military Railroad did not run through the place where the current gun is located, it ran further east. This map shows where it was located.

There is an NPS map that also shows this same Military RR location, also showing it running to the east of the Petersburg and City Point RR. Interestingly, this map also shows a spur line near the location of the current gun position, except that it runs to the west of the current site, not through it.

The original Military RR line also no longer exists, it has been destroyed by Fort Lee.

The question I have is does anyone know of any first hand accounts from participants in the siege that nail the location down one way or the other? I'm not claiming the current spot is incorrect. I assume it was placed there for a good reason and, in fact, I think the line in the satellite imagery is the spur line. I'm just curious at this point. It also makes no sense to me that they would have used the Military RR for the mortar since it was being used for supplies. A separate spur line for the gun makes more sense to me. The other question though, is why is there currently a dugout pit for the gun where there should be a railroad bed? I'm sure there are logical answers, but it is curious. It makes me want to return just to see the lay of the land again. The first time I was there I didn't know enough to look at it very closely. The railroad bed might be obvious if you are looking for it.

 

[Carronade]

What were its targets, and did it do any significant damage?

 

[rob63]

I may have already answered my own question. I found this view that shows the pathway behind the current gun position. This seems possible to be the original railroad bed.

I also found this view of the sign that is with the gun. It shows another interesting view of it if you zoom in on it. It doesn't really look like it is on a railroad track in this view, it looks more like a platform to me. Perhaps a higher res version of this photo would reveal that what I am seeing as an independent platform is actually the same railroad platform, but with ramps leading up to it so that it is not quite as obvious in this view what it really is.