10-pounder Parrott rifle

10-pounder Parrott rifle
10-pounder Parrott rifle at Little Round Top, Gettysburg National Military Park
Type	Rifled cannon
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	1861–1865
Used by	United States Confederate States
Wars	American Civil War
Production history
Designer	Robert Parker Parrott
Designed	1859–1860
Manufacturer	West Point Foundry
Unit cost	$180
Produced	1861–1865
No. built	United States: 2.9-inch: 228–255 United States: 3.0-inch: 279 Confederate States: 80+
Variants	United States: 2.9-inch (1861–1862) United States: 3.0-inch (1864–1865)
Specifications
Mass	890 lb (403.7 kg)
Length	74 in (1.88 m)
Crew	9
Shell weight	9.5 lb (4.3 kg) shell 1.0 lb (0.5 kg) charge
Caliber	2.9 in (74 mm) 3.0 in (76 mm)
Barrels	1
Action	Muzzle loading
Carriage	900 lb (408 kg)
Muzzle velocity	1,230 ft/s (375 m/s)
Effective firing range	1,850 yd (1,690 m) at 5°

The 10-pounder Parrott rifle, Model 1861 was a muzzle-loading rifled cannon made of cast iron that was adopted by the United States Army in 1861 and often used in field artillery units during the American Civil War. Like other Parrott rifles, the gun breech was reinforced by a distinctive band made of wrought iron. The 10-pounder Parrott rifle was capable of firing shell, shrapnel shell (case shot), canister shot, or solid shot. Midway through the war, the Federal government discontinued the 2.9 in (74 mm) version in favor of a 3.0 in (76 mm) version. Despite the reinforcing band, the guns occasionally burst without warning, which endangered the gun crews. The Confederate States of America manufactured a number of successful copies of the gun.