Parrott Rifles At Fort Fisher

From the Nov. 13, 2010, To the Sound of Guns Blog.

The USS Susquehanna  received two 8-inch Parrot guns mounted fore and aft.  Before Fort Fisher, it exchanged them for 6.4-inchers.  One burst in action.

The USS Colorado, Wabash and Minnesota, sister ships of the USS Merrimack (which became the CSS Virginia) all used 8-inch Parrotts during the war.  All three were at Fort Fisher (and any one of them mounted nearly as many guns as in the entire fort).

During the first attack, an 8-inch on the Colorado crashed after firing a Schenkel round.  Fortunately, the gunners had detected it early enough to prevent casualties, but this added even more to Admiral Porter's distrust of rifled guns.

The USS Pequoit fired 115 rounds from its 8-inch Parrot in the first battle.  The 6.4-inch gun on the USS Kansas burst during the first attack after firing 150 rounds.

Dixon wrote, "The bursting of the guns (six in all) disconcerted the crews of the vessels."  A total of 45 sailors were killed or wounded from this.  The admiral begged that the Navy not get anymore.

I Guess You'd Call This Friendly Fire of Sorts.  --Old B-Runner