10-pounder Parrott rifled muzzleloader

The most common rifled field artillery piece in Civil War service generally, the 10-pdr. Parrott was made of cast iron with wrought iron breech reenforcement. It was an accurate and reliable weapon.

Confederate versions of the Parrott Rifles were built by the Noble Brothers Foundry and the Macon Arsenal in Georgia.

This Parrott design went through several improvements during the war and was changed in 1863 to a larger 3-inch bore and matching Parrott shell. By 1864 the 3-inch Parrott was standardized and most of these 2.9-inch guns were withdrawn from service.

There were about 69 10-pdr. Parrotts in Federal Service on the Campaign and 50 or more in Confederate batteries.

Find units equipped with these.

solid bolt, case, common shell, cannister

2.9 inches

1900 yards

74 inches

1799 pounds

Weight figure is for gun carriage (900 lb) + tube (899 lb).
Max range is for 1 lb black powder charge behind solid shot at 5deg elevation.

See more about this and other Civil War artillery at the comprehensive Civil War Artillery Page, by Chuck Ten Brink or the very nice Basic Facts page from Jack W. Melton, Jr. The NPS has a fine general introduction to Civil War artillery in a 3-page presentation.

Johnson & Anderson1