Long Tom: The American Naval Pivot Gun in the War of 1812

Transcription

1 Long Tom: The American Naval Pivot Gun in the War of by Colan D. Ratliff Figure 1. Based on a verbal description, David J. Kennedy s 1840 watercolor depicts pirate Jean Lafitte s unnamed schooner sometime after the War of The large pivot gun can be seen between the masts. Note the smaller pivot gun forward at the bow. Historical Society of Pennsylvania. During the War of 1812 the pivot gun came of age. It became the weapon of choice and was used on United States Navy and privateer schooners, brigs and sloops before and throughout the war. There have been many books written about the exploits of American privateers, but relatively little is known about how they were armed. It is hoped that this article will shed a little more light on this overlooked subject. During the Revolution, Americans used small gunboats on the Great Lakes to support Army operations. Sunk in Lake Champlain during the Battle of Valcour Island in 1776, the fifty-four-foot, twentynine-ton American gunboat Philadelphia NAUTICAL RESEARCH JOURNAL 17

2 Figure 2. Clipper-Built Privateer Schooner from Pictorial Field-Book of the War of (Lossing 993) was recovered largely intact in 1935 and, today, much is known about its construction and armament. Designed around its weapons, the gunboat mounted a long 12- pounder forward-firing gun in the bow and two 9-pounders in broadside. It was flat bottomed and had a very simple square sail rig. The gunboat used oars (sweeps) to maneuver the ship in order to train the guns on the target. The 12-pounder was mounted on a longitudinally-movable carriage with a portion of lower part of the wooden carriage cut to fit into a slide. When the gun was fired the carriage recoiled, sliding along the two wooden rails fixed to the deck and parallel to its centerline. (Lundeberg) During the administration of President Thomas Jefferson ( ) it was believed that a sea-going Navy was too expensive, provocative, and unnecessary for an isolated agrarian nation. Some politicians thought that flotillas of small gunboats, most of which would be held moored in reserve or in ship houses, could economically defend the coast and littorals of the United States from pirates and foreign invaders. The fledgling United States Navy was tasked with designing and building, at a large number of private shipyards, several hundred gunboats of various models. (Smith) Sometimes referred to as Jeffs by their crews, the construction program began 18 Vol. 62, No 1 SPRING 2017

3 in (Mahan 196) It was at this time that the pivot gun came into general use in the United States Navy. It was envisioned that groups of these single-deck small gunboats, ranging in size from about fifty feet up to seventy feet, could successfully engage even large blue water naval vessels. This dream required the designers to install single, large-caliber guns on relatively small, shallow-draft boats. (Tucker 46) Mounting the gun tubes and their carriages, which together could weigh from three to five tons, caused stability problems. This instability, plus maintenance and manpower problems, made the Jeffs unpopular within the naval service. (Roosevelt ) Anticipating combat with relatively heavily armed naval or pirate ships, naval designers, constructors, and commanders wanted to use increasingly bigger guns, but struggled with their small hull designs to carry them. Mounted on truck carriages, the large guns were aligned on the centerline of Figure 3. U.S. Gunboat 156 showing a large 24-pounder pivot gun installed in the bow. Colan Ratliff, Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division (NSWCCD). NAUTICAL RESEARCH JOURNAL 19

4 Figure 4. Author sitting on his General Quarters station - the Marines forward portside 5- inch 38 gun mount. USS Wasp (CVS-18) Colan Ratliff. the deck at the bow and stern and could only fire directly ahead or astern. (Tucker 39, 45-46) It was a natural progression to keep the guns on the centerline of the hull but allow them to rotate, or pivot, to port and starboard. Several of the builders tried various ways of allowing the guns to pivot. It was thought that the best placement for a large caliber gun would be on a partially rotating carriage in the bow and clear of the ship s rigging. If the gunboat had a bowsprit, the pivoting bow gun could not fire straight ahead. The gun on some gunboats was installed in the bow and the back or the front of the slide was pinned in place. The unpinned end of the slide moved over a semicircular track made of metal or wood. (Chapelle Sailing Navy ) Using Gunboat 156 (Figure 3) as an example, we can see the problem faced by the designers. By mounting the 24-pounder 20 Vol. 62, No 1 SPRING 2017

5 gun on a bow pivot it could fire off either side of the vessel. Gunboat 156 was fiftysix feet on deck and had a sloop rig plus oars (sweeps). This combination allowed for greater flexibility with its 24-pounder than the Revolutionary War gunboat Philadelphia s had with its 12-pounder. The placement of the pivot in the bow limited these small vessels to favorable weather and calm, protected waters like rivers, harbors, and lakes. Gunboat 156 s four 12-pound carronades probably helped counter the weight of the long 24-pounder. If the vessel sailed in open ocean surely it risked capsizing or being driven under. By 1810 the design of the Jeffersonian gunboats favored a schooner rig and an 18- or 24-pounder pivot gun, now featuring a carriage capable of rotating 360 degrees. The gun was located amidships on the centerline of the deck between the two masts for improved maneuverability and stability. (Tucker 58-61) This arrangement for pivot guns became standard for privateers and letters of marque by the beginning of the War of Having built Jeffs for the Navy earlier, by 1812 some builders had gained enough knowledge to install big pivot guns on relatively small privateer schooners and brigs, although some of the vessels still suffered from stability problems. (Chapelle Baltimore Clipper 54) In Thirty Six Voyages to Various Parts of the World (1858), George Coggeshall described his reliance on his 18-pounder pivot gun during his cruise on the letter of marque schooner David Porter: I would here remark that small guns, six or nine pounders, are of little or no use on board of small vessels; for if the sea is rough, they cannot be used at all. I have found them of no service, but rather in the way. My only dependence was on my eighteen pounder, mounted amidships, on a pivot. This gun I could use in almost any weather. With it, and forty small-arms, I found no difficulty in capturing merchant ships. I selected ten of the largest and strongest men I had on board to work the Figure 5. American Pivot Gun from the War of Colan Ratliff, NSWCCD. NAUTICAL RESEARCH JOURNAL 21

6 Figure 6. American Pivot Gun from the War of Colan Ratliff, NSWCCD. centre gun. (Coggeshall 178) Coggeshall later remarks about commanding the letter of marque Leo which he fitted out as a privateer. I soon found that when the weather was good and the sea smooth, I could take merchantmen enough by boarding; but in rough weather the travelling twelve pounder was but a poor reliance, and not to be depended upon like the long centre gun (an 18-pounder pivot gun) like I had on board the David Porter. (Coggeshall 202) Coggeshall s travelling twelve pounder was mounted on a traditional four-wheeled carriage and, probably, it was very cumbersome to handle on a small schooner. One can only imagine the difficulty of moving an 18- or 24-pounder under similar restrictions. Moving a gun and its wheeled carriage that weighed perhaps over four tons from one side to the other on a small ship was problematic, and was not feasible for large caliber guns. The pivot gun seemed a good solution. Some period correspondence shows that designers experimented with various versions of the pivot arrangement. Apparently, metal rings and brass wheels may have been used, but no examples, records, or drawings have come to light so far showing that these improvements were used as early as the War of (Chapelle Sailing Navy ) Indeed, metal deck rings, metal wheels, and metal-reinforced carriages were used later. General Armstrong The American privateer General Armstrong was said to have carried a single massive 42-pounder pivot gun and six long 9-pounders. The Armstrong weighed in at 246 tons, and, although no dimensions have been found, the vessel probably was at least ninety-five feet long or more on the gun deck, making this one of the larger brigs or schooners of the day. (History of the Wonderful Battle 7-9) The gun tube actually was a French 36-pounder bored out to a 42-pounder and weighing about 7,450 pounds. To this would be added weight of the circular track, slide and carriage, totaling about 10, Vol. 62, No 1 SPRING 2017

7 pounds. Howard Chapelle suggested that this gun was on a standard wheeled or traveling carriage. (Chapelle Sailing Navy 240) This would have been unlikely because moving this five-ton gun from one side of the deck to the other would have put excessive strain on the deck and, doubtless, have negatively affected the schooner s stability. Coggeshall remarked how useless his wheeled 12-pounder was in rough weather, and we can only imagine how a wheeled 42-pounder could have been managed. General Armstrong s unusually large gun was called Long Tom and the term became the contemporary nickname for all pivot guns during the war. A few years ago the author constructed a 1:48 scale model of an unnamed American letter of marque schooner to show how such ships were rigged and how they may have been armed. This model was based on a plan taken to France in 1814 by Captain Laplace of the French Navy. (Chapelle Search for Speed plates 70 & 71) Somewhat smaller than General Armstrong, the ship was ninety-four feet on deck and measured 207 tons. The model shows a 24-pounder pivot gun, which I added after some modifications to the deck arrangement. In the photograph of the model we can see the placement of the pivot gun on the deck s centerline and between the masts the best location considering the ship s centers of gravity and buoyancy. Still, the captain and crew had to take care when using the gun. This model demonstrates General Armstrong s most likely general appearance and probably how it carried the huge 42-pounder gun. Hamilton and Scourge Our reconstruction of the American naval pivot gun is based heavily on the USS Hamilton and USS Scourge submerged wreck photographs and survey drawings. Due to massive attachment since 1988 of Figure 7. Author s 1:16 scale reconstruction model of USS Hamilton s pivot gun based on wreck photos. Note the hatch below and its curvature. Office of the Curator of Ship Models Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division. Model number 2809, Curator of Ship Models, NSWCCD. Ethan Ratliff. NAUTICAL RESEARCH JOURNAL 23

8 Figure 8. Author s 1:48 scale model of an 1812-period letter of marque schooner showing the installation of a 24-pounder pivot gun. She carries an hermaphrodite rig. LtCol Alan Genteman USMC (Ret.). Image by Ethan Ratliff. zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) to the wreck, we had to rely on earlier survey photographs. It is with great admiration that we thank the Parks Canada Underwater Archaeology Service, Ontario Service Center for their help in shedding light on this very important weapon. To date, there has been found only one example of a naval pivot gun still extant from the War of 1812 period. It was mounted on the schooner, USS Hamilton, which sank in a squall on August 8, 1813 along with the schooner, USS Scourge. The gun lies 300 feet down off the mouth of the Niagara River near Port Dalhousie, Ontario on Lake Ontario. (Hamilton & Scourge) When the wreck first was photographed in 1982 the gun was as perfectly preserved as the day the schooner went down. Only the rigging had disappeared. Both schooners were merchantmen converted into gunboats for use on the lakes. In addition to a large pivot gun, Hamilton also mounted eight 12-pound carronades. The common problem with arming small merchantmen was that they were never designed to carry the guns with which they were mounted. Both schooners were overweight and, during the squall, were blown on their beam ends with their hatches open. After they sank, the schooners righted themselves and settled upright on the bottom with keels down and sails set. Most naval combat activities on Lake Ontario were in support of land oper- 24 Vol. 62, No 1 SPRING 2017

9 Figure 9. USS Hamilton underwater wreck photograph showing the back of the slide looking forward. The carriage and slide dovetail clearly can be seen. Middle transom is visible under the end of the carriage with its pivot pin. The pin appears to have been sheared off between deck and slide. Gun tube can be seen tilted down over the side with a barely visible main mast spanker boom resting on it. Cylinder shaped item is believed to be a canister shot resting against slide transom. City of Hamilton, Ontario. Image by Emory Kristof, National Geographic Magazine, ations. Nevertheless, both sides raced to build larger ships in order to have an edge in an anticipated decisive naval battle that never materialized. In August of 1813, off the Niagara River, both the British and American squadrons met in what might be the closest approximation of a fleet action on the lakes during the war. The American squadron, under Commodore Isaac Chauncey, generally was armed with larger caliber long guns, and many of the schooners in his fleet carried one or more large pivot guns. The British, under Commodore Sir James Lucas Yeo, favored carronades and smaller caliber long guns. The Americans had the advantage of firing at long range. Unable to return fire, the British were kept at bay. It was during this engagement that Hamilton and Scourge were lost. (Dudley Naval War , 538) The loss of Hamilton has opened a window into the appearance and construction of this important American weapon. The sinking of Hamilton and Scourge in 1813 was dramatically recorded in 1843 by James Fenimore Cooper in his important book, Ned Myers; or, Life before the Mast. The book was based on the recollections of Myers, who was one of the few survivors from Scourge. (Dudley Ned Myers ) Hamilton s Pivot Gun The author built a model to record his collective observations of the photographs of the wreck of Hamilton. From this model, I made technical drawings to show the rela- NAUTICAL RESEARCH JOURNAL 25

10 tionship and size of the parts of the gun and how they worked. The model was broken down in three groups: the ring, the slide, and the carriage supporting the gun tube. breeching rope, and a portion of a ship s deck to show a pivot gun as used aboard USS Hamilton during the War of Figure 10. Underwater photograph of the starboard side of the Hamilton s pivot gun showing the slide and carriage. The gun tube, tilted up and hanging over the portside of the wreck, can barely be seen in the upper right. The carriage has slid all the way forward on the slide and is held in place with the dovetail connection between them. The cap squares are still holding the trunnions in place. City of Hamilton, Ontario. Image by Emory Kristof, National Geographic Magazine, 1982 The gun tube and carriage was obtained from a very nice 1:16 scale kit marketed as representing a 24-pounder bow chaser on USS Constitution. The kit was manufactured by Exact Scale Products, Salt Lake City, Utah, and I had it in my unbuilt kit collection for many years. I do not believe this kit currently is available. All of the kit s supplied brass metal work, such as eye bolts, cap squares and through bolts, as well as the mahogany parts, were perfectly to scale and historically accurate. Using the kit s traditional truck carriage and gun barrel as a starting point, I added a slide, deck ring, Pivot Ring The pivot ring on Hamilton was a full circle and was installed amidships on top of the main hatch. The underside of the ring was fitted to the curvature of the deck hatch, which followed the crown of the deck. The top surface of the ring was flat and level, and the entire ring was solid made up of layered segments of wood. The relatively massive and sturdy ring would have distributed the weight of the gun mount over a good portion of the deck hatch. There appears to be no indication of 26 Vol. 62, No 1 SPRING 2017

11 Figure 11. Ceremonies of the Presentation of Long Tom; by Portugal, to the United States, 1893 The huge size of Long Tom underscores the advantages of using a pivot mount rather than a travelling mount. By 1893 the gun relic mistakenly had been mounted on a wheeled carriage (History of the Wonderful Battle 40-4) extra structural reinforcement (like stanchions) below the hatch to support the gun. The diameter of the ring appears to be the length of the gun tube itself. This proportional relationship may be coincidental, or may have been a rule of thumb applied to pivot guns at the time, and, as with most rules of thumb, probably there were variations. We believe that the barrellength to ring-diameter proportion was deliberate. In later years, when the United States Navy published ordnance manuals, a proportional size relationship was laid out for all guns and their respective carriages. Hamilton s pivot gun could fire only in a limited arc on the port or starboard sides between the masts. We do not know how easy it was to rotate the gun on the ring. The point of contact was the wooden slide (potentially bearing the weight of 4,500 pounds) in direct contact with the wooden circle. Could it have been pushed, or did it require the use of gun tackles to move it? Was the gun circle lubricated, or was some degree of friction desirable? On the wreck of Hamilton there do not appear to be any deck fittings that could have been used to rig tackle for rotating the gun. Two eyebolts are visible on the deck just forward of the hatch on which the pivot gun ring is installed. These eyebolts may have been the anchor points from which the muzzle of the gun was tied off when the gun was stowed. Some of the rigging tied around the muzzle of the gun can still be seen in the 1982 survey pictures. Gun Slide On top of the deck ring rested the slide. The slide was composed of two parallel timbers (slide rails) with three cross timbers (transoms) installed between them, tying the slide rails together. The distance between the slide rails was determined by the width between the left and right rim bases on the gun barrel. (See Gun Carriage below.) The center transom was re- NAUTICAL RESEARCH JOURNAL 27

12 Figure 12. Battle between the Schooner Decatur and the Schooner Dominica on the 5th of August Decatur is tacking off the stern of Dominica and getting ready to board her from astern. Decatur s pivot gun, said to be an 18-pounder, can be seen on deck between her masts. (Coggeshall 174) inforced with two layers of wood and was located over the center of the circle. An iron pivot pin was inserted into a hole in this transom and dropped into a hole in the deck, aligning the slide with the deck, the center of the ring, and with the ring itself. The pin probably was strong enough to hold the slide in place but still allowed the slide to rotate on the ring. The pin could be extracted and the slide removed if needed. Hamilton s pivot pin was nearly sheared off when the schooner sank, but still it kept the slide in place. On the wreck it appears that the slide is the length of the gun tube plus 50 percent or 1½ times the length of the barrel. This may have been a rule of thumb too. The slide on Philadelphia has the same length-to-barrel proportions as Hamilton s. Eyebolts to secure the gun tackle are visible, installed at both ends of the slide. From these eyebolts the tackle ran to other eyebolts on the rear of the carriage, and it was used to move it into and out of battery on the slide. Four gun tackles may have been used, but we think two would have been sufficient to work the gun. The inside edges of the slide rails were cut with a dovetail-shaped rabbet to trap the carriage and hold it in place. This arrangement clearly can be seen on photographs of the Hamilton wreck. The strong interlocking design of the carriage and slide interface kept the carriage and gun from falling off the ship when it sank. Photographs show that the forward part of the slide had a stop built in to it to prevent the carriage from accidentally run- 28 Vol. 62, No 1 SPRING 2017

13 Figure 13. Dismantling, or American round and grape shot. (James plate 1) NAUTICAL RESEARCH JOURNAL 29

14 ning off forward. The forward part of the rail also had an extra set of eyebolts installed to anchor the breeching rope. The back part of the slide had no stop, so the only thing keeping the carriage from rungun was trained, the breeching rope was ready to use. Some researchers show the breeching rope attached to a ship s bulwarks or to the deck, but, in the case of Hamilton, no such fittings have been found. Figure 14. Contemporary model of an improved design for a 32-pounder pivot gun about Approximately 1:12 scale. Note the compressor clamp and the spare axle on the carriage. Model number 2168, Curator of Ship Models, NSWCCD. Image by Corporate Communication staff NSWCCD. ning off the slide backwards would have been the breeching rope. This may have been done to allow easy removal of the carriage from the slide, perhaps for stowing the gun below decks during extremely heavy weather. The wreck of Hamilton shows the remains of the breeching rope rigged to the forward part of the slide, so wherever the Gun Carriage Some of the details of Hamilton s pivot gun carriage are similar to those found on the Revolutionary War gunboat Philadelphia sunk in The late Howard Hoffman s superb plans of Philadelphia clearly show how the fixed 12- pounder bow gun carriage integrated with 30 Vol. 62, No 1 SPRING 2017

15 Figure 35. Figure 15. Recovered Continental gunboat Philadelphia (1776) currently displayed at the National Museum of American History, Washington DC. A stern view of the fixed slide with the carriage and gun tube mounted on it. The carriage s starboard cheek clearly is seen angled inward. Image by Paul F. Johnston, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. the slide. (Ellis 34) It relied only on the weight of the gun barrel and the carriage to stay in the rails. Perhaps it could have jumped out of the rails when the gun recoiled or in rough weather. But, by 1813, Hamilton s pivot gun had a dovetail rabbet cut into the rails. Coupled with complementing dovetailshaped shoes on the bottom of the gun carriage, they could keep the carriage in place even in the roughest of weather. Friction between the dovetailed carriage shoes and the slide probably helped absorb some of the gun s recoil. Builders most likely used a standard wheeled gun carriage and modified it to interlock with the pivot gun slide. For each caliber gun tube, the width of the trunnion, measured between the rim bases, determined the distance between the carriage sides (cheeks). The taper of the gun tube determined the angle of the cheeks. The NAUTICAL RESEARCH JOURNAL 31

16 distance from the rim base to the outer end of the trunnions approximated the thickness of the cheeks. For the angled carriage to engage the slide rails, a shoe was installed on the bottom of each cheek. The outer sides of the shoes were cut with a dovetail-shaped rabbet complementing the parallel dovetail shape of the slide rails. Gun Barrel The most frequently used sizes for pivot guns during the 1812 period were 12-, 18-, 24-, and 32-pounders. Bigger was better. It is most likely the early builders relied on French and British gun design practices. It is interesting that various accounts state that Hamilton was armed with either a 32- or a 24- or an 18-pounder pivot. (Dictionary 224) In the wreck photographs we can see that Hamilton s pivot gun barrel externally appears to be an 18-pounder. If the bore and length could be measured on the wreck during a future survey it would settle this question. Does the bore match the external dimensions of the barrel, or has it been bored out larger? This may be the reason for Hamilton s gun being listed with various different bore sizes. Whether or not boring out of gun tubes was a common American practice will require more research. When Hamilton suddenly sank during the storm it appears that the guns were in their stowed positions. Today the pivot gun muzzle still has its stowed rigging attached. All of the wreck s guns have their lead vent covers (aprons) still in place. Aprons were sheet lead covers bent to conform to the diameter of the breech. They were lashed around the breech and protected the vent hole from becoming clogged when the gun was not in use. When the apron was removed, a gunlock would be installed to fire the gun. By 1790 gunlocks were in common use in the United States Navy. They gave the mount captain greater control of the timing of his shot. A good gun crew could disable a ship with a few well-placed shots Ammunition What was the purpose of the pivot gun and what was it expected to do? On privateers, generally, it was used to disable the rigging of ships they were chasing. Their goal was to capture the target, claim it as a prize, and then receive prize money when the vessel and its cargo were sold. In practice, American schooners took advantage of their pivot gun by sailing between the wind and their prey. The schooner then tacked across the stern of the target to bring the pivot gun to bear without the enemy being able to return fire, if armed. The privateer s gun crew would then fire at the rigging, using chain and bar shot to slow and disable the target. Surrender was the object. Then the schooner would close with the target and, if necessary, use the broadside carronades to clear the decks and, finally, board the target. British author William James s 1817 book, A Full and Correct Account of the Chief Naval Occurrences of the Late War between Great Britain and the United States of America (1817), discusses American pivot guns and, especially, the shot that they fired against British ships during the War of Besides the standard solid shot and grape used by the Royal Navy, American privateers used unconventional types of bar and chain projectiles. (Figure 16) Did the United States Navy use bar and chain shot as well? It would be interesting to see what types of shot are stowed below the gun deck of Hamilton. Initially we were skeptical about James s claim that Americans used unconventional projectiles during the war. Several of the shot he depicted seem to have, to say 32 Vol. 62, No 1 SPRING 2017

17 Figure 16. French Pattern Guns from Represents the range of gun barrel sizes for pivot guns used during the War of Although the larger guns had greater range, the schooners that mounted them probably used them to inflict greater damage at short range. Star and chain shot also were used at short range. Colan Ratliff, NSWCCD. NAUTICAL RESEARCH JOURNAL 33

18 the least, dubious ballistic qualities. However, further research showed that identical rounds had been recovered in the early 1980s from the wreck of the French frigate Machault, sunk during the Battle of Restigouche in The French artifacts confirm the existence of some of the unconventional shot depicted by James and support the notion that they were believed to be viable contraptions. (Bryce 55-58) Gun Crew and Operation Having personal experience in manning and operating a relatively modern ship s gun, the author can attest to the importance of crew training. Each man had a job and understood the sequence of firing the gun with a full crew, or with a crew reduced by casualties. Each man knew how to perform more than one job and, if a crewmate was injured, another could immediately assume his tasks. Coggeshall s account of using ten strong men to work his pivot is generally confirmed by manning requirements published in later United States Navy ordnance manuals. Hamilton s pivot gun crew had to be from ten to twelve men, based on the schooner s small crew size. Because of the small crew on Hamilton, it probably could only man the guns on one side or the other at any given time, nor is it likely that the pivot and broadside guns could be used simultaneously. Operation of a pivot gun, as installed on Hamilton, was very much different than using the broadside guns commonly used at the time. The captain had to place his ship in a position to fire the gun by sailing or the use of sweeps. He understood how the gun affected the stability of the ship while this was being done. The mount captain had to be sure his weapon was clear of the ship s rigging and crew. He had to be ready to fire when the target came into view and to anticipate when to pull the gunlock s lanyard. The way the pivot gun was installed on Hamilton was like that of a privateer, between the masts amidships, and was used as a standoff weapon to destroy the enemy s rigging and his ability to maneuver. The weapon could only fire off the port or starboard side as the ship was tacked or being oared. Then Hamilton could close with the enemy and use its carronades at short range and, perhaps, try to board the enemy. Hamilton was armed for just this sort of combat. Indeed, cutlasses mounted above each of the gun ports can attest to this. Paraphrasing George Coggeshall s words, he loved his pivot gun and its ability to stand off and fire at the enemy without them being able to fire back as he was tacking from port to starboard after them. The lineage of the naval pivot gun from 1812 to today is unmistakable. By the American Civil War, an armored shield had been erected around rotating twin guns mounted in parallel, creating the familiar form of the modern gun turret. Arguably, the classic gun turret reached its zenith during World War II and then seemed to recede with the introduction of missiles as ship armament. Nevertheless, rotating missile launchers still performed like robot pivot guns. Perhaps the ultimate monument to the old pivot gun is the United States Navy s 155mm/62 (6.1-inch) Advanced Gun System, two of which currently are mounted on the centerline of the forward deck of each 600-foot USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) class destroyer. Single barrels residing within box-like, stealthy, unmanned, rotating mounts, these automated weapons have a range of more than ninety-five statute miles. Each is capable of firing ten rounds a minute and striking with astounding accuracy. (Advanced Gun System) Much of our understanding about the working and handling of American 34 Vol. 62, No 1 SPRING 2017

19 Figure 17. USS Zumwalt (DDG-lOOO) during acceptance trials, April 21, The two structures on the forward deck are rotating gun turrets. Official U.S. Navy/Released N-YE pivot guns during the War of 1812 had been lost, and it is hoped that this article clarified its origins, development, and application. It is clear the pivot gun was as much a part of the naval history of the War of 1812 as were the gunboats, privateers and letters of marque schooners that carried them, and the history those ships created. The views, opinions, and comments in this article are the author s and not necessarily those of the Naval Surface Warfare Center and the Department of the Navy. Bibliography Advanced Gun System. Accessed November 2, Gun System Bryce, Douglas. Weaponry from the Marchault, An 18 th -Century Frigate. Ottawa: National Historic Parks and Sites, branch, Parks Canada, Chapelle, Howard I. Baltimore Clipper, Its Origin and Development. First edition. NAUTICAL RESEARCH JOURNAL 35

20 Salem, MA: Marine Research Society, History of the American Sailing Navy. First edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Search for Speed Under Sail, First edition. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Coggeshall, George. Thirty-Six Voyages (to) Various Parts of the World, Made Between the Years 1799 and rd edition. New York: The Author, Cooper, James Fenimore. Ned Myers: or A Life Before the Mast. Mohawk edition. New York: G. P. Putnam s Sons, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Volume 3. H amilton. Washington DC: Office of the Chief of Naval operations, Naval History Division, Dudley, William S., James Fenimore Cooper s Ned Myers: A Life Before the Mast. The American Neptune 57:4 (Fall 1997), (ed.), Naval War of A Documentary History. Volume Washington DC: Department of the Navy, Naval Historical Center, Ellis, Harold W. (ed.), Smithsonian Collection of Warship Plans. Naval History Section, Division of Armed Forces History. Philadelphia. 4 th revised edition. Washington DC: National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, Hamilton & Scourge National Historic Site. Accessed November 2, History of the Wonderful Battle of the Brigof War General Armstrong with a British Squadron, at Fayal, Boston: L. Barta & Co. Printers, James, William. A Full and Correct Account of the Occurrences of the Late War Between Great Britain and the United States of America, London: Printed for T. Egerton, Whitehall, Lossing, Benson J. Pictorial Field-Book of the War of New York: Harper & Brother, Lundeberg, Philip K., Continental Gunboat Philadelphia and the Northern Campaign of Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution, Mahan, A. T., Sea Power in Its Relations to the War of Volume 1. Boston: Little Brown and Company, Roosevelt, Theodore. Naval War of th edition. New York: G. P. Putnam s Sons, Smith, Gene A. For the Purposes of Defense. The Politics of the Jeffersonian Gunboat Program. Newark DE: University of Delaware Press, Tucker, Spencer C. Jeffersonian Gunboat Navy. Columbia SC: University of South Carolina Press, The author would like to thank Dana Wegner, Curator of Ship Models, Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock; Historical Society of Pennsylvania; Lt.Col. Alan Genteman USMC (Ret.); Ethan B. Ratliff; Paul F. Johnston, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution; Michael McAllister, B.A. M.A., Acting Curator, Hamilton Museum of Steam & Technology, Coordinator Hamilton & Scourge Historic Site. 36 Vol. 62, No 1 SPRING 2017