Cannon Row

Cannon Row includes some of the largest and most unusual seacoast or siege Civil War artillery in the country, among them a 7-inch Triple-Banded Brooke, a 10-inch Parrott Rifle, an 8-inch Parrott Rifle, a 10-inch Confederate Columbiad, a modified 10-inch Columbiad, two 10-inch Rodmans, and a 13-inch Mortar. All were produced before or during the Civil War by the Union or the Confederacy. Some were used during the war near this site, while others were brought to Sullivan's Island afterward to rebuild Charleston Harbor's defenses. Together they reflect a new era in artillery, when advances in technology increased cannon power, range, and accuracy. Thomas Rodman's hollow-casting process allowed larger cannon and heavier powder charges, while Robert P. Parrott's rifled cannon offered greater range and accuracy. Because the Confederacy had few foundries, it often modified older smoothbore cannon by rifling and banding them. Banding strengthened a cannon's breech with heated wrought-iron bands that shrank tightly into place as they cooled, allowing greater powder charges, while rifling cut spiral grooves into the bore to spin projectiles for longer range and more accurate, destructive fire.

Sullivan's Island, South Carolina · United States