Replica 6.4 inch Brooke Rifled Canon
Confederate Naval Canon from the CSS Albemarle
The Brooke Rifle is named after its developer, Commander John Mercer Brooke (CSA), who served as Chief, Dept. of Ordnance and Hydrography. While closely resembling the popular Parrott Gun used by the Union, the Brooke Rifle is considered to be the finest cannon of the war on either side. Being doubled banded, (reinforced at the breech with two bands of iron), made it much safer than the single banded Parrott Guns. The fact that the bore of the Brooke had rifling, or spiraled grooves in the barrel to spin the projectile, made it extremely accurate.
It was a breech loading gun that fired shells and solid shot that weighed close to 100 lbs. The CSS Albemarle’s original gun was produced in 1863 at Richmond’s Tredegar (sp) Iron Works and weighed 10,420 lbs. Iron cannon were much cheaper to use in construction than the bronze used in earlier cannon. However, as the war progressed, the quality of the iron declined. The later iron guns were prone to exploding when fired, often killing members of the gun crew.
Visit the Port O’ Plymouth Museum to see actual shells fired by the CSS Albemarle’s 6.4 inch Brooke Rifle. The two original Brooke Rifles from the CSS Albenmarle now guard HQ, CIC, US Atlantic Command, Norfolk Navy Base.
Marker is at the intersection of East Water Street and Madison Street, on the right when traveling west on East Water Street.
Courtesy hmdb.org
