Armour and Artillery in New Hampshire

ne of the aims of this website is to locate, identify and document every historical piece of artillery and all armoured fighting vehicles preserved in New England.  Many contributors have assisted in the hunt for these tangible pieces of our military history and the list you see here is constantly being revised as new finds are discovered and the data is updated.  The photos have come from various contributors, but the author likes to "ground truth" the reports, so a good number of the photos are by the author unless otherwise credited.  Any errors found here are by the author.   It often happens that military monuments that are relatively mobile, have been moved for restoration or scrapped, sometimes they are repainted with different markings and serial numbers, or they are replaced with a different piece of kit.  For those reasons, any additions, deletions, corrections or amendments that you may be able to add to this list of Artillery and AFVs in New England would be most welcome and may be e-mailed to the author at hskaarup@rogers.com.  The primary aim is preserve our military history and to keep the record accurate.

Amherst

(Alex Ashlock Photo)

32-pounder 57-cwt gun, a.k.a. the long 32, with a Millar pattern breeching ring, mounted on a concrete cradle in the triangular-shaped town central green formed by Church Street, School Street, and Middle Street, No. 1 of 2.

32-pounder 57-cwt gun, a.k.a. the long 32, with a Millar pattern breeching ring, mounted on a concrete cradle in the triangular-shaped town central green formed by Church Street, School Street, and Middle Street, No. 2 of 2.

Antrim

(Library of Congress Photo)

100-pounder Parrot Rifle mounted on an iron barbette carriage at Fort Totten, part of the Defenses of Washington, D.C. (known as Washington City at the time), with the officers of Companies A and B, 3rd Massachusetts Heavy Artillery, and crew.

(Scott Barrow Photo)

(Allen Tanner Photos)

100-pounder Parrott rifle (Parrott, 6.4-inch, rifle, seacoast, Model 1861), weight 9,672-lbs, 9747, Serial No. 148, 1863, T.E. 6.4, W.P.F. on the muzzle, resting on concrete blocks in the Town Square, off Hwy 62, Route 31.

Designed by Robert Parker Parrott at the outbreak of the Civil War, the Parrott Rifle became one of the most used rifled artillery pieces during the war.  With shells that exploded on impact, rifled guns such as the Parrott Rifle spelled the end of masonry fortifications.

Bedford

(Heather Wilkinson Rojo Photo)

USN Mk. VI 1-pounder AA gun, converted c1916 from the Maxim-Nordenfelt Mk. I 1-pounder automatic gun, originally adopted to defend against fast motor torpedo boats.  This gun is located in a park on the corner of the Bedford Center Road and Meetinghouse Road.

Bristol

(Library of Congress Photo)

13-inch Model 1861 Seacoast Mortars,weighing more than 17,000-lbs, Battery No. 4, Yorktown, Virginia, May 1862.

(Library of Congress Photo)

13-inch Model 1861 Seacoast Mortars,weighing more than 17,000-lbs, Battery No. 4, facing the Confederate Lines in May 1862.  The Battery held ten of these 13-inch Mortars, manned by the First Connecticut and Second New York Artillery.

(Ken Gallagher Photo)

 (silverquill Photo)

13-inch Model 1861 Seacoast Mortar, Reg. No. 1036, Fdy No. 1036, 1862, weight 17,198-lbs, mounted on original carriage. Town Square.

(silverquill Photos)

This Civil War memorial includes a mortar that was used aboard the ship USS Orvetta.  There is a plaque on the face of the mortar that lists Civil War veterans from Bristol, and in the center a list of the bombardments in which the Orvetta engaged dating from 1862 to 1865.  This mortar stands in the Bristol Town Square, and is dedicated to the Nelson Post No. 40 GAR 1898.  In November 1897 this mortar was shipped to Bristol from the Charleston, SC Navy Yard.  The monument was dedicated on 4 November 1898.

The USS Orvetta was one of 21 schooners fitted out with mortars for a bomb flotilla organized by Comdr. David Dixon Porter to support Flag Officer David Farragut’s deep draft ships in their attack on New Orleans, Orvetta sailed down the Atlantic coast, across the Gulf of Mexico, and into the Mississippi through Pass a l'Outre below Fort St. Philip and Fort Jackson, 18 April 1862.  Orvetta and her sister schooners opened fire and maintained the barrage on the Confederate fortifications until the 24th when Farragut’s salt water ships passed the forts.  The next day New Orleans, Louisiana, surrendered.  The schooner subsequently supported operations in the Mississippi River, especially against Vicksburg and served in the Gulf of Mexico.  After the war she decommissioned at New York City 3 July 1865 and was sold at auction on 15 August 1865.  Her mortar is now a memorial in Bristol, New Hampshire.  (Wikipedia)

Chester, New Hampshire

(Allen Tanner Photos)

3-inch Rifle, 500 lbs, breech-loading Naval boat howitzer, cast by the Washington Navy Yard in 1886, (Serial No. 28), mounted on a wheeled wood gun carriage, No. 1 of 2.  Corner of Route 21 and Derry Road.

3-inch Rifle, 500 lbs, breech-loading Naval boat howitzer, cast by the Washington Navy Yard in 1886, (Serial No. 29, mounted on a wheeled wood gun carriage, No. 2 of  2.  Corner of Route 21 and Derry Road.

Chichester

M60A3 Main Battle Tank (Serial No. 1377M), American Legion Post 112, 44 Short Falls Rd.

Claremont

(Nelson Lawry Photo)

32-pounder M1864 (6.2-inch) Bureau of Ordnance Gun, 4,500 lbs, (Shell Gun), mounted on an iron display stand at Broad Street Park in the town center, No. 1 of 2.

32-pounder M1864 (6.2-inch) Bureau of Ordnance Gun, 4,500 lbs, (Shell Gun), mounted on an iron display stand at Broad Street Park in the town center, No. 2 of 2.

(Allen Tanner Photos)

German 7.5-cm Pak 40 Anti-tank gun, standing in a small park on the corner of North Street and Lincoln Heights.

Concord

(Richard Marsh Photo)

Cast-iron 3-pounder smoothbore muzzle-loading Gun, weight 11-1-26 (1,286 lbs), Serial No. (613) on the left trunnion, (L12) on the right trunnion, Z, King George III cypher, British broad arrow, c. late 1700’s, mounted on a wood reproduction gun carriage.  This gun was captured at the Battle of Bennington.

(Eugene Zelenko Photo)

75-mm M1987 Field Gun, located at the confluence of Loudon Road (State Route 9) and Blodgett Street, east of Concord near the NH National Guard reservation.  Similar to this 75-mm M1897 Field Gun in Benicia, California.  There were 480 American 75-mm field gun batteries (over 1,900 guns) on the battlefields of France in November 1918.

Dover

(Nelson Lawry Photos)

3-inch/23 cal US Naval deck gun, in front of the American Legion post on Central Avenue.

Two similar 3-inch/23cal pieces each on special dual-purpose mounts constituted the main armament of the two smallest USN Yangtze River gunboats, designed to patrol the very upper reaches of the Yangtze, USS Guam (later renamed USS Wake) and USS Tutuilla.  Most of the old four-stack flushdeck destroyers (DD) that served with the USN Asiatic Fleet carried a single 3-inch/23 cal deck gun as their largest AA defense.  After HMS Exeter and HMS Encounter were sunk in the Java Sea, USS Pope attempted to escape the overwhelming force of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), firing about 80 rounds from its 3-inch/23 at attacking float planes, with the gun seizing up after shooting about 80 rounds.   All three warships were sunk in the second battle of the Java Sea on 1 March 1942.  One such gun was the main armament of USS San Pablo in the 1966 Steve McQueen movie "The Sand Pebbles", and fired on the cross-river barrier of junks and sampans near the film’s end. The USN 3-inch/23 cal deck gun is not common, but two are preserved in New Hampshire, (the second example stands in Portsmouth).

(Nelson Lawry Photos)

British 24-pounder carronade with a Blomefield pattern breeching ring, (CARRON) on the left trunnion, (24P) on the right trunnion, captured by a Yankee privateer during the War of 1812, and jury-mounted on a USN 30-pounder Parrott naval gun carriage.

There are two small Parrott guns mounted on ornamental carriages, located in the Pine Hill Cemetery.

Exeter

(USN Photo)

XI-inch Dahlgren Shell Gun on board the USS Kearsarge during the Civil War era.

XI-inch Dahlgren Shell Gun (the only one of its kind in New Hampshire), mounted on a concrete cradle, located in Gilman Park next to the river.  The XI inch Dahlgren shell gun was manufactured for the U.S. Navy.  It was named for Rear Admiral John Dahlgren. The XI-inch shell guns served with the Union Navy, fighting in every major engagement of the Civil War. An XI-inch shell gun aboard the USS Kearsarge sank the CSS Alabama in the Battle of Cherbourg, France in June of 1864.  465 XI-inch Dahlgren guns were cast at Alger; Builders; Fort Pitt; Hinkley, Williams & Co.; Portland Locomotive Works; Seyfert, McManus & Co.; Trenton Iron Works; and West Point foundries between 1856 and 1864. This is the only Dahlgren gun to have been designed both with and without a muzzle swell.  The gun was typically mounted on a pivot or in a turret on a monitor.  When mounted in a turret, the crew for an XI-inch Dahlgren was seven including powdermen.  The crew for the gun when mounted on a pivot was 24 men and a powderman. XI-inch Dahlgrens were carried on many US Navy ships.

32-pounder 57-cwt gun, a.k.a. the long 32, with a Millar pattern breeching ring, mounted on a concrete cradle.  This gun is also located in Gilman Park next to the river.  (A second 32-pounder 57-cwt, a.k.a. the long 32, was blown up years ago by vandals).  These two guns stand overlooking the confluence of the Exeter and Little Rivers.  (Past Exeter, the river becomes the Squamscott).

32-pounder M1864 (6.2-inch) Bureau of Ordnance Gun, 4,500 lbs, (Shell Gun), mounted on an ornament carriage, on the lawn of the American Independence Museum on Water Street, No. 1 of 2.

32-pounder M1864 (6.2-inch) Bureau of Ordnance Gun, 4,500 lbs, (Shell Gun), mounted on an ornament carriage, on the lawn of the American Independence Museum on Water Street, No. 2 of 2.

The 32-pounder M1864 is shorter than the long 32 and is different in four ways: (i) Although constructed in a manner identical to the famed Dahlgren shell gun, this cannon was the brainchild of the USN Bureau of Ordnance and thus is not legitimately termed a Dahlgren gun. (ii) It incorporated two obsolete features: an old-fashioned quoin in lieu of an elevating mechanism and the old pattern breeching jaws, with the pinched (narrowed) neck which was that part’s Achilles heel. (iii) That late in the war, it was too small and lacked sufficient range for ocean-going warships that fought hostile warships. (iv) Except for a handful produced during the very last part of the war, the remaining guns were completed after the war’s end (for a total of 379), whereupon they became obsolete.  The gun angered Admiral John Dahlgren, both for taking his design and construction, apparently without consulting him, and then using two obsolete features that would reflect badly on his design.  He was still angry about this gun three years after the war ended.   The 32-pounder 4500 lb SBML is therefore not a Dahlgren shell gun, but a Bureau of Ordnance Gun (technically, it was a shell gun, but that was not specified in its formal designation).  (Nelson Lawry)

(Roger W. Sinnott Photo)

5"/51 calibre Simm Naval Gun, 23,000-lbs.  These guns initially served as the secondary battery of United States Navy battleships built from 1907 through the 1920s, also serving on other vessels.  United States naval gun terminology indicates the gun fired a projectile 5 inches (127-mm) in diameter, and the barrel was 51 calibers long (barrel length is 5" × 51 = 255" or 6.4 meters).  This gun is located beside the Captain George Leonard Smith War Memorial.

Franklin

(Allen Tanner Photos)

German 7.5-cm Pak 40 Anti-tank gun, standing in a park on West Bow Street.

Greenland

(Allen Tanner Photos)

Replica cast-iron 3-pounder smoothbore muzzle-loading British Naval Gun, No. 1 of 2 in a town park.

(Allan Tanner Photo)

Replica cast-iron 3-pounder smoothbore muzzle-loading British Naval Gun, No. 2 of 2 in a town park.

(Allen Tanner Photos)

57-mm M1 anti-tank gun, corner of Route 33 and Portsmouth Ave.

Hampton

(Author Photo)

Ferret Scout Car, Hampton Motor Company, 611 Lafayette Rd.  Similar to this one with the Prince Edward Island Regiment Museum, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada.

(Allen Tanner Photos)

4-inch Slide Mk. VII Model 4 Naval Deck Gun, Serial No. 154, weight 1,312 lbs, 1907, US Naval Gun Factory, NY, standing near Pillsbury Road.

Hookset

(Allen Tanner Photos)

Cast-iron 3-pounder smoothbore muzzle-loading Gun, weight 11-1-26 (1,286 lbs), broad arrow over King George III cypher, M No. 611, mounted on a concrete stand.

(Allen Tanner Photos)

75-mm M1A1 Pack Howitzer (M116), on display at the Merrill-Follansbee American Legion Post.

Kensington

(USMC Archives Photo)

M76 Otter Amphibious cargo carrier used by the USMC.

(Robert Cassin Photo)

M76 Otter Amphibious cargo carrier.

Loudon

M60A3 Main Battle Tank (Serial No. 3676A), American Legion Post 88, 55 S Village Rd.

Lyndeborough

(naturebunny1 Photo)

(naturebunny1 Photo)

4.2-inch (30-pounder) Naval Parrot Rifle, 4,200 lbs, mounted on a concrete stand beside the war memorials on the South Lyndeborough village common.

The Hartshorn Memorial Cannon is a decommissioned American Civil War Naval Gun that forms the centerpiece of the South Lyndeborough Village Common.  The gun is named for John Alonzo Hartshorn, the town's second Civil War casualty and a former member of the town's Lafayette Artillery Company.  Prior to 1900, the Hartshorn Cannon saw service as a naval piece during the Civil War at Fort Constitution in New Castle, New Hampshire, and is believed to have remained there until substantial changes were made to the fort in the late 1890s.  The black thirty-pounder Parrot Rifle is approximately 102-inches (2,60-cm) long, weighs 3,495 pounds (1,585 kg), and was made at West Point Foundry in New York.  Currently it sits on a low granite base which probably dates from about 1902.  When in use, it was capable of firing 29-pound (13 kg) shells with a munition charge of 3.25 pounds (1.47 kg) a maximum distance of 6,700 yards (6,100 m), with a flight time of 27 seconds.  Typically, nine people were required to operate it.

The Hartshorn Cannon's use as a naval gun is suggested by an anchor insignia inscribed near the base of its barrel.  Inscribed on the gun is the letter-number combination "R.P.P. No. 140 3495 LBS," probably indicating the inventor (New Hampshire native Robert Parker Parrott), order of manufacture, and weight of the cannon.  Additionally, the year of manufacture (1862) and classification ("30 PDR") are indicated on one side of the gun, and the initial "P" is engraved on the other.  (S.A. Roper and S.C. Roper, Citizen Soldiers: New Hampshire's Lafayette Artillery Company, 1804-2004 (Portsmouth NH: Peter E. Randall, 2004)

Lafayette Artillery Company

The Lafayette Artillery Company was founded in Peterborough, New Hampshire, in 1804 as the Artillery Company of the 22nd Regiment.  It was part of the State of New Hampshire's artillery system, a forerunner to the National Guard.  The group has continued to operate continuously since its founding, and since 1833 it has been headquartered at Lyndeborough, New Hampshire.  Since the 1980s, it has been primarily an educational service organization, and participates in Civil War reenactments throughout the northeastern USA.  (Stephanie Abbot Roper and Scott C. Roper. 2004. Citizen Soldiers: New Hampshire's Lafayette Artillery Company, 1804–2004. Portsmouth, NH: Peter E. Randall, Publisher.)

Hampton

(Allan Tanner Photos)

4-inch Slide Mk. VII Model 4 Naval Deck Gun, Serial No. 158, weight 1,339 lbs, 1907, US Naval Gun Factory, NY, standing in front of American Legion Post 35.

Hampton Falls

(Weaponsman Photo)

32-pounder M1864 (6.2-inch) Bureau of Ordnance Gun, 4,500 lbs, (Shell Gun), C, A & Co, (Cyrus Alger), Serial No. 105, No. 1 of 4, mounted on an iron display stand.  On U.S. Route 1.

(Weaponsman Photo)

32-pounder M1864 (6.2-inch) Bureau of Ordnance Gun, 4,500 lbs, (Shell Gun), C, A & Co, Serial No. 156, No. 2 of 4, mounted on an iron display stand.  On U.S. Route 1.

(Weaponsman Photos)

32-pounder M1864 (6.2-inch) Bureau of Ordnance Gun, 4,500 lbs, (Shell Gun), C, A & Co, Serial No. 157, No. 3 of 4, mounted on an iron display stand.  On U.S. Route 1.

(Weaponsman Photo)

32-pounder M1864 (6.2-inch) Bureau of Ordnance Gun, 4,500 lbs, (Shell Gun), C, A & Co, Serial No. not visible, No. 4 of 4, mounted on an iron stand.  On U.S. Route 1.

(Weaponsman Photo)

Cyrus Alger & Co.  Cyrus Alger furnished the government with shot and shell during the War of 1812.  In 1817 he started South Boston Iron company which at an early date was known locally as Alger’s Foundry and later became Cyrus Alger & Co.  The Massachusetts firm was a leading cannon manufacturer and when Cyrus died in 1856, leadership was assumed by his son, Francis, who piloted the company until his death in 1864.  During the war, both Army and Navy were supplied with large numbers of weapons.  The initials “S.B.F.” (South Boston Foundry) occasionally may be found on these guns, but the signature is traditionally “C.A. & Co., Boston, Mass.” or, rarely, “C. Alger & Co., Boston, Mass.”

Hopkinton

(Hal Jespersen Photos)

Cast-iron 10-pounder muzzleloading Parrott Rifle, unmounted, lying on concrete posts.  This gun is displayed at the William H. Long Memorial Building, designed by the Boston firm of Means & Gilbert, and given to the New Hampshire Antiquarian Society in 1890, still serving as its headquarters and museum in Hopkinton.  Similar to one shown in these photos.

Hudson

(Heather Wilson Rojo and Vincent Rojo, Nutfield Genealogy www.nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com)

32-pounder 57-cwt gun, a.k.a. the long 32, with a Millar pattern breeching ring, shown here mounted on a concrete cradle.  It is now mounted on a wooden replica naval carriage of the pre-Civil War years.  This 32-pounder stands in the Hudson Town Common, adjacent to Derry Road (state Route 102).  

(Google streetside image Photo)

32-pounder 57-cwt gun, a.k.a. the long 32, with a Millar pattern breeching ring, mounted on a wooden replica naval carriage of the pre-Civil War years.  It stands near an old cemetery at the junction of Center Street (state Route 111) and Kimball Hill Road.

Early 32-pounders are characterized by the early breeching jaws, which essentially replaced the old cascabel.  The last type of 32-pounder made, late in the Civil War and weighing 4,500 pounds, was not the long 32.  The long 32 guns, both 57-cwt and 62-cwt, were made well before the Civil War and saw use during the Mexican-American War.  They share the characteristics of late 18th century to mid-19th century cannon, e.g. strengthening rings, some muzzle ornamentation, etc.  Their carriages generally lack elevating mechanisms, but rather elevation depended upon the quoin, and they bear the old-fashioned breeching jaws.  Long 32s can be found in Amherst (two), a separated pair in Hudson, and three arrayed around the war memorial in Nashua.  The long 32 guns were too heavy to mount on the iron display stands and therefore were mounted on a wooden or concrete cradle, generally fashioned to look like a naval deck carriage.  (Nelson Lawry)

(Remember Hudson When Photo)

(Remember Hudson When Photo)

32-pounder 57-cwt gun, a.k.a. the long 32, with a Millar pattern breeching ring, mounted on a wood naval gun carriage, Hudson Town Common on Library Street.

32-pounder 57-cwt gun, a.k.a. the long 32, with a Millar pattern breeching ring, mounted on a concrete stand in front of the  Veterans of Foreign Wars Monument, Hudson Centre Common at the corner of Route 111 and Kimball Hill Road

These two  guns were brought from the New Hampshire Armory on Canal Street in Nashua to Hudson in May 1929 through the efforts of Harry Emerson.  They were cast in 1848 in a foundry near Boston and their serial numbers are within 2 digits of each other.

Keene

32-pounder M1864 (6.2-inch) Dahlgren Shell Gun, 4,500 lbs, mounted on an ornamental carriage in a small park in Central Square, No. 1 of 2.

32-pounder M1864 (6.2-inch) Dahlgren Shell Gun, 4,500 lbs, mounted on an ornamental carriage in a small park in Central Square, No. 2 of 2.

Laconia

(Allen Tanner Photos)

4.2-inch 30-pounder Parrot Rifle, R.P.P. No. 41, 5425 lbs (TBC), mounted on an iron carriage, No. 1 of 2 near the railway station.

(Allen Tanner Photos)

4.2-inch 30-pounder Parrot Rifle, R.P.P. No. 42, 5410 lbs, mounted on an iron carriage, No. 2 of 2 near the railway station.

Lancaster

(seacoast artillery Photos)

Bronze 6-pounder Model 1841 smoothbore muzzleloading field gun mounted on a wood carriage, 1837 on the right trunnion, Church of Lancaster.

Lincoln

(Nelson Lawry Photos)

(Allen Tanner Photos)

3-inch Rifle, 500 lbs, breech-loading Naval boat howitzer, mounted on an iron gun carriage at Clark's Trading Post.  This 3-inch Rifle replaced the Dahlgren Boat Howitzers which could not provide the fire power of these powerful breech-loading bag guns.  It was likely built at the Washington Navy Yard, possibly a year or two or three before the establishment there of the Naval Gun Factory.  It has a bronze breech and appears to be very well taken care of.

The late 1870s/1880s 3-inch BL howitzers (landing guns) occupy a special place in the history of US naval ordnance.  In the post-Civil War years, it was clear the US needed a New Navy, which it would get in the late 1880s, and it was also clear that the new ordnance had to be rifled, breechloading, and made of steel.  The start was logically to be made with small guns and then move to large shipboard guns.  In order to accomplish that end, the navy had to nurture an American steel-making industry, then barely beyond its infancy.  Therefore, these 3-inch BL howitzers had perforce to assume a heavy burden.  As the navy worked up to that goal, it decided upon two different weights, a light (350 pound; 45-inch barrel) and a heavy (500 pound; 55 3/4-inch barrel) howitzer, likely from the example of the previous war generation of Dahlgren bronze MLSB landing howitzers.

Uncertain if steel of sufficient quality and quantity could be obtained for the new BLR howitzers, the navy decided to build some out of bronze and test the general design, particularly the breech mechanisms (it was recognized that rifling in bronze wore all too quickly, but the navy had an ample supply of the metal so went ahead with these guinea pigs).  After thirteen bronze lights and three bronze heavies had been built, the chief of ordnance pulled the plug and ordered that only steel howitzers would be built thereafter.  In that absolute decision, he even pronounced as unnecessary any competitive trials between guns composed of each different metal.  Totals of 40 steel lights (all landing guns) and 33 steel heavies (seeing use variously with the Treasury Dept’s revenue cutters, the navy, and the army militia) were built.  The only unfortunate aspect was the navy’s loss of nerve, or, guarding its pursestrings, negated the original intention to fire fixed rounds like Hotchkiss guns did, and for their entire service life the howitzers used bagged propellant.  Future problems with venting could have been obviated with the intended fixed rounds (many guns had their original axial priming replaced by the centuries-old radial priming).  (Nelson Lawry)

The essential identifying numerics appear in three places on these BL landing howitzers: on the top of the barrel between the trunnions, on the face of the right trunnion, and high on the right carriage cheek behind the trunnion. The data array atop the barrel is shown for a close sister (No. 19) of the heavy BL howitzer at Clark’s Trading Post.  The “500 LBS” is a general type identifier based on the weight in bronze (its steel counterpart is always lighter).  [The auction house impress (James Julia) is also seen in this image.]  The data array atop the barrel of the light howitzer accordingly displays “350 LBS”.  Upon examination of the top of the Clark barrel, nothing could be seen through the paint until a flashlight was shone upon the area and the data, including serial No. 17, were barely discerned, but no photos were possible.  The worn and pitted face of the right trunnion is marked 461 LBS, the gun’s actual weight in steel, and its year of manufacture 1883.  After determining this empirical data, Nelson Lowry consulted the naval gun registers at the National Archives, and confirmed both that precise gun weight and year of manufacture for gun No. 17.  High on the right cheek are the carriage serial, No. 16, and its weight, 540 LBS.  Gun Nos. 17 and 19 are close sisters and both saw use with the army militia.  All of these howitzers fired elongated shrapnel and shell appropriate to rifled guns, so the pile of spherical cannon balls near the Clark gun is an unfortunate deception for the eyes of otherwise uncaring tourists.  (Nelson Lawry)

Londonderry

Cast-iron smoothbore muzzle-loading cannon on the Town Common.

Madbury

(Allen Tanner Photos)

3-inch Model 1861 Ordnance Rifle, converted to a breechloading 3.2-inch rifle, mounted on a stationary (cage or crinoline) mount, TTSL Serial No. 76, P.I. Co., 1861, 811 lbs on the muzzle, standing near Madbury Road.

Manchester, Weston Observatory

(silverquill Photo)

The Weston Observatory was built in 1887 as an observation tower for the citizens of Manchester, New Hampshire. The 66-foot-tall tower is built of granite and brick-arched window wells are a solid four feet deep.  Constructed in 1896-97, the building is named for former Manchester mayor, James A. Weston, who left the city $5,000 to build an observatory for "the advancement of science, for educational purposes, and for the use, enjoyment, benefit, and mental improvement of the inhabitants of the city of Manchester." The man who grew up on a local farm became the first native to serve as both mayor (four times) and governor (two terms). When you turn on your tap, you can thank him for constructing the city water works. His home was on the grounds of what is now Wagner Park, fitting for the mayor who also created an extensive parks and cemetery beautification program.

(silverquill Photos)

32-pounder M1864 (6.2-inch) Bureau of Ordnance Gun, 4,500 lbs, (Shell Gun), Cyrus Alger & Company, (Serial No. 223), weight 4,522 lbs, mounted on an ornamental iron carriage, No. 1 of 2.

(silverquill Photos)

32-pounder M1864 (6.2-inch) Bureau of Ordnance Gun, 4,500 lbs, (Shell Gun), Cyrus Alger & Company, (Serial No. 225), weight 4,523 lbs, mounted on an ornamental iron carriage, No. 2 of 2.  Both guns are mounted about 50' in front of the observatory beyond the edge of the circular stoned paved area, with the iron bases resting directly on the bare ground, facing southwest overlooking the city of Manchester.

Manchester, Stark Park

(Nelson Lawry Photo)

32-pounder M1864 (6.2-inch) Bureau of Ordnance Gun, 4,500 lbs, (Shell Gun), mounted on an iron display stand, No. 1 of 4 in Stark Park on River Road.

32-pounder M1864 (6.2-inch) Bureau of Ordnance Gun, 4,500 lbs, (Shell Gun), mounted on an iron display stand, No. 2 of 4 in Stark Park on River Road.

32-pounder M1864 (6.2-inch) Bureau of Ordnance Gun, 4,500 lbs, (Shell Gun), mounted on an iron display stand, No. 3 of 4 in Stark Park on River Road.

32-pounder M1864 (6.2-inch) Bureau of Ordnance Gun, 4,500 lbs, (Shell Gun), mounted on an iron display stand, No. 4 of 4 in  Stark Park on River Road.

Manchester

(Allen Tanner Photos)

Japanese 70-mm Type 92 Battalion Gun, located in front of the American Legion on Brook Street.

The Type 92 Battalion Gun was a light howitzer used by the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Second World War.  The Type 92 number was designated for the year the gun was accepted, 2592 in the Japanese imperial year calendar, or 1932 in the Gregorian calendar.  Each infantry battalion included two Type 92 guns; therefore, the Type 92 was referred to as Battalion Artillery.

Nashua

(silverquill Photos)

32-pounder 57-cwt gun, a.k.a. the long 32, with a Millar pattern breeching ring, 6,383 lbs, No. 1 of 3, mounted on a wooden stand.

32-pounder 57-cwt gun, a.k.a. the long 32, with a Millar pattern breeching ring, 6,383 lbs, No. 2 of 3, mounted on a wooden stand.

32-pounder 57-cwt gun, a.k.a. the long 32, with a Millar pattern breeching ring, 6,383 lbs, No. 3 of 3, mounted on a wooden stand.  Built in the 1840s and 1850s, all three guns are displayed at the base of a large monument to the soldiers and sailors of the Civil War, located in the center of Nashua.

(Alexius Horatius Photos)

(TGIS93 Photo)

German First World War 10.5-cm leichte Feldhaubitze 16 (10.5-cm leFH 16), (Serial Nr. TBC), 1918, light field howitzer, Greeley Park.

The 10.5-cm leichte Feldhaubitze 16 was introduced in 1916 as a successor to 10.5-cm Feldhaubitze 98/09, and featured a longer barrel which gave it a longer range.  It had the same carriage as the 7.7-cm FK 16.  The leFH 16 remained the standard German howitzer until 1937.

New Boston

(New Boston Historical Society Photos)

Bronze 4-pounder Field Gun, cast in 1743.  This gun was captured on 15 August 1777 at the Battle of Bennington by General John Stark's troops.  General Stark presented "Old Molly" to the New Boston Artillery Company of the 9th Regiment of New Hampshire Militia, for its part in the battle.  The artillery company was reorganized in 1938 and maintains a permanent home for "Molly Stark" in New Boston.  

This gun was cast in Paris, France in 1743 for a trading company called the Compagnie des Indes.  In the 17th and 18th centuries it was common for private companies to be established in Europe to trade with the East Indies (which include India), China, and the Americas.  An early example is the East India Company which was chartered in London in 1600.  A French competitor, formed in the early 1700s, was the Compagnie des Indes, which means the "Company of the Indies".  The Compagnie traded in Canadian beaver furs, tobacco and other goods.

The gun, which was not yet named the Molly Stark, has the words "Fait A Paris 1743" (Made in Paris 1743) cast into its base.  It also bears the coat of arms of the Compagnie des Indes.  It is believed that the gun was shipped to Quebec to protect the city from its adversaries.  The gun was captured by the British from the French in the Battle of Quebec in 1759.

New Castle, Fort Constitution

(Alexius Horatius Photo)

(Carol White Photo)

Fort Constitution on the Piscataqua River between New Hampshire and Maine

Fort William and Mary was a colonial fortification in Britain's worldwide system of defenses, manned by soldiers of the Province of New Hampshire who reported directly to the Royal Governor.  The fort, known locally as "the Castle", was situated on the island of New Castle, at the mouth of the Piscataqua River estuary.  It was captured by Patriot forces, recaptured, and later abandoned by the British in the Revolutionary War.  The fort was rebuilt under the Second System of US fortifications.  Walls were doubled in height and new brick buildings added.  Work was completed in 1808 and the defense renamed Fort Constitution.  During the War of 1812 the fort was manned and expanded, Walbach Tower, a Martello tower with a single 32-pounder gun, being built in 1814.

During the American Civil War, Fort Constitution was projected to be rebuilt as a three-tiered granite fortress under the Third System of US fortifications. However, advances in weaponry, particularly armored, steam-powered warships with heavy rifled guns, rendered the masonry design obsolete before it was finished.  The fort's construction was abandoned in 1867 with the Second System fort largely intact and two walls from the Third System built around parts of it.

In 1897 construction began on Battery Farnsworth, located under the hill on which Walbach Tower stands, as part of the large-scale Endicott Program of seacoast fortifications.  It was part of the Coast Defenses of Portsmouth, along with Fort Stark and Fort Foster.  The battery was completed in 1899. Named for Brigadier General Elon J. Farnsworth, the installation included two 8-inch (203-mm) M1888 guns on disappearing carriages.  The battery was accompanied in 1904 by Battery Hackleman, with two 3-inch (76-mm) M1903 guns on pedestal mounts.  A mine casemate for an underwater minefield in the harbor was built; Battery Hackleman was built primarily to defend this minefield against minesweepers.

(Fort Stark Visitors Centre Photos)

Sea Mines at Fort Constitution during the Second World War.

(Library of Congress Photo)  

8-inch (203-mm) railway gun.  

After the American entry into the First World War in early 1917, many guns were removed from coast defenses for potential service on the Western Front.  Both 8-inch guns of Battery Farnsworth were removed for use as railway artillery in October 1917 and were not returned to the fort.  In 1920 a mine casemate was built next to Battery Farnsworth to replace a similar facility at Fort Stark.

In the Second World War Battery Hackleman's 3-inch guns were sent to a new battery of the same name at Fort H.G. Wright on Fisher's Island, New York. They were replaced by two 3-inch (76-mm) M1902 seacoast guns on pedestal mounts from Battery Hays at nearby Fort Stark.  In 1940-1944 the Harbor Defenses of Portsmouth were garrisoned by the 22nd Coast Artillery Regiment.  Also, a mine observation station was built atop Battery Farnsworth.  Battery Hackleman was disarmed by 1948 and the fort was turned over to the Coast Guard. Battery Hackleman was demolished, but Battery Farnsworth can still be seen.  Since 1771 the fort has been home to a lighthouse.  (Wikipedia)

New Castle, Little Harbor, Fort Stark

(New Hampshire Visitor Center Photos)

Fort Stark, ca 1942-1945.

(Magicpiano Photos)

Fort Stark, present day.  

Fort Stark is located at Jerry's Point (also called Jaffrey's Point) on the southeastern tip of New Castle Island, most of the surviving fort was developed in the early 20th century, following the Spanish–American War, although there were several earlier fortifications on the site, portions of which survive.  The fort was named for John Stark, a New Hampshire officer who distinguished himself at the Battle of Bennington in the American Revolution.  The purpose of Fort Stark was to defend the harbor of nearby Portsmouth and the Portsmouth Navy Shipyard.  The fort remained in active use through the Second World War, after which it was used for reserve training by the US Navy.  The property was partially turned over to the state of New Hampshire in 1979, which established Fort Stark Historic Site, and the remainder of the property was turned over in 1983.  The grounds are open to the public during daylight hours.  (Wikipedia)

More information about Fort Stark and historic locations in New Hampshire can be found at these web sites.  (Information courtesy of Carol White with the Fort Stark Visitor Center):

http://www.nhstateparks.org/visit/Historic-Sites/fort-stark-state-historic-site.aspx

https://www.facebook.com/Fort-Stark-Brigade-Friends-131264770288937/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel

http://www.northamericanforts.com/East/New_Hampshire/Fort_Stark/index.html

The site of the present Fort Stark was first fortified in 1746 as Battery Cumberland, with nine 32-pounder guns.  It was rebuilt in 1775 for the American Revolution, but the guns (two 32-pounders and six 24-pounders) were soon removed to arm other forts in the area.  Several of the guns captured at nearby Fort William and Mary were used to rearm this fort in September 1775. The fort was garrisoned until 1778 and is one of several forts in the area that may have been named Fort Hancock during the Revolution.  In 1794 a new battery for nine guns was built on the site as part of the First System of US fortifications; the remains of a circular stone redoubt excavated in 1982, probably this one, can be seen in front of Battery Hunter.

During the War of 1812 a company of 120 militiamen under Captain William Marshall garrisoned the redoubt. The guns at this time were a mix of 6-pounder and 9-pounder weapons. The redoubt was abandoned soon after the war ended in 1815.

Plans were drawn up in 1861 for a large stone fort on the site, part of the Third System of fortifications, but the fort was never built. In 1873 the United States acquired the property as part of a modernization of seacoast defenses. The stone forts of the Civil War and earlier had been shown to be vulnerable to rifled cannon in that war, and new defenses centered on earthworks were planned. After modifying the plan for reduced cost in 1874, earthworks for eight 15-inch Rodman Guns, (Columbiad, 15-inch, smoothbore, seacoast, Model 1861), were planned as the "Battery at Jerry's Point", with an additional three "heavy guns" in the old redoubt.  However, funding was cut off in 1876 with the new battery about two-thirds complete. Minor construction occurred in 1879 and 1885-1886, but it appears the battery was never armed. A small portion of it can still be seen. In 1887 the Jerry's Point Lifesaving Station was built on the west side of the site, which remained in service until 1908 when the Portsmouth Harbor Lifesaving Station was built on Wood Island near Fort Foster.

In 1885 the Endicott Board recommended a large-scale fortification plan that eventually included Fort Stark. However, construction on the new fort did not begin until 1901.  In 1898, shortly after the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, emergency batteries were constructed to quickly arm key points, as most of the Endicott batteries were still years from completion and it was feared the Spanish fleet would bombard the US East Coast. At Jerry's Point this consisted of two 8-inch (203-mm) M1888 guns mounted on converted carriages built for Rodman guns in the 1870s emplacements. These guns were removed in 1900 to arm new Endicott batteries elsewhere and to make room for the new batteries at Fort Stark.

(New Hampshire Visitor Center Photos)

12-inch M1895 gun mounted on a disappearing carriage at Fort Stark.  The photos of the Model 1895 12-inch disappearing gun at Fort Stark were taken in 1941, after the national guard coast artillery regiments had been federalized and called up, and the regular formations largely on paper fleshed out, in order to man U.S. harbor defenses.

Construction began on the newly named Fort Stark in 1901 and was completed in 1905.  Four batteries were originally built: Battery Hunter with two 12-inch (305-mm) M1895 guns on disappearing carriages, Battery Kirk with two 6-inch (152-mm) M1903 guns on disappearing carriages, and Battery Hays and Battery Lytle, each with two 3-inch (76-mm) M1902 seacoast guns on pedestal mounts.

A gun battery consisted of one or more gun emplacements, and was under the command of the battery commander.  The battery commander was assisted by a battery executive and an assistant battery executive.  These positions are filled by officers.

Each gun in an emplacement was manned by a gun section consisting of a gun squad of 15 (war strength) or 12 (peace strength) enlisted men including one non-commissioned officer (NCO), the chief of section, and an ammunition squad of 9 (war strength) or 6 (peace strength) enlisted men/other ranks (OR) including one non-commissioned officer, the chief of ammunition.

(New Hampshire Visitor Center Photos)

3-inch/50 cal M1902 gun, c1945, Fort Stark.  The M1902 was functionally similar to the M1898, but was manufactured by Bethlehem Steel and was mounted on a non-retractable pedestal carriage.  60 of these weapons were built and emplaced 1903–1910.  (Smith, Bolling W. (Fall 2019). "The Driggs-Seabury 15-pounder (3-inch) Masking-Parapet Carriage".  Coast Defense Journal. Vol. 33, No. 4. Mclean, Virginia: CDSG Press)

Model 1903 3-inch/55cal seacoast  gun.

The Model 1903 3-inch/55cal guns (pair) were mounted only in Battery Hackleman, Fort Constitution, until removed and transferred early in the Second World War to Fort H. G. Wright, defending Long Island Sound.  Four 3-inch RF batteries were constructed there during the Endicott era, with Battery Hackleman being the only exception having Model 1903 guns.  The remaining batteries at Forts Stark and Constitution were armed with the Model 1902, after the pair of Model 1903s were removed.

The 3-inch gun M1903 and its predecessors the M1898 and M1902 were rapid fire breech-loading artillery guns with a 360-degree traverse.  The M1903 was a slight improvement on the M1902 with the bore lengthened from 50 calibers to 55 calibers for increased range.  The weapon was manufactured by Watervliet Arsenal and was on a non-retractable pedestal carriage. 101 of these weapons were emplaced 1904–1917.In some references they are called "15-pounders" due to their projectile weight.  They were originally emplaced from 1899 to 1917 and served until shortly after the Second World War.  These 3-inch guns were placed to provide fire to protect underwater mines and nets against minesweepers, and also to protect against motor torpedo boats (MTB).  In some documentation they are called "mine defense guns".  The 3-inch guns were mounted on pedestal mounts (or a retractable "masking parapet" mount for the M1898) that bolted into a concrete emplacement that provided cover and safety for the gun's crew.  (Smith, Bolling W. (Fall 2019). "The Driggs-Seabury 15-pounder (3-inch) Masking-Parapet Carriage". Coast Defense Journal. Vol. 33, No. 4. Mclean, Virginia: CDSG Press)

(New Hampshire Visitor Center Photo)

155-mm Model 1917 Field Gun employed in Coastal Defense, Fort Stark.

Battery Hunter was named for Major General David Hunter of the Civil War, Battery Kirk was named for Brigadier General Edward N. Kirk, Battery Hays was named for Major General Alexander Hays, and Battery Lytle was named for Brigadier General William Haines Lytle.  Each of the last three were killed in action in the Civil War.  Facilities for controlling an underwater minefield in the harbor were added in 1907-1909; Batteries Hays and Lytle were built primarily to defend this minefield against minesweepers.  As with other US seacoast forts, Fort Stark was garrisoned by the United States Army Coast Artillery Corps.  The fort was part of the Coast Defenses of Portsmouth (Harbor Defenses after 1925), along with Fort Foster and Fort Constitution.

After the American entry into the First World War the two 6-inch (152-mm) guns of Battery Kirk were dismounted for use on the Western Front on field carriages.  These guns were sent to France and returned to the United States after the war, but were not returned to Fort Stark.  A history of the Coast Artillery in the First World War states that none of the regiments in France equipped with 6-inch guns completed training in time to see action before the Armistice.

In 1940-1944 the Harbor Defenses of Portsmouth were garrisoned by the 22nd Coast Artillery Regiment.  In 1942 a new combined Army-Navy Harbor Entrance Control Post (HECP) and Harbor Defense Command Post (HDCP) was built atop the inactive Battery Kirk and disguised as a seaside mansion of the period; the design of this facility was unique to Fort Stark.  It included an SCR-682 radar.

(Carol White Photo)

16-inch shell on display inside Fort Stark.

Although most of the heavy guns in the Portsmouth area were superseded by the new 16-inch (406-mm) gun battery at Fort Dearborn, Battery Hunter's 12-inch guns remained in service until February 1945, several months after the guns at Fort Dearborn entered service. The original Batteries Hays and Lytle were deactivated in 1942. Battery Hays' two 3-inch guns were sent to Battery Hackleman at Fort Constitution, while a new Battery Lytle was built just south of Battery Hunter, consisting of two concrete pads atop the 1870s earthworks. A 90-mm M1A2 anti-aircraft gun battery, called Anti-Motor Torpedo Boat Battery 953 (AMTB 953), was proposed for Fort Stark but not built.

With all the guns scrapped, the fort was deactivated in 1948 and turned over to the Navy in 1950. The Navy used the fort for harbor defense purposes until 1953, when it became a reserve training center for a Mobile Inshore Undersea Warfare Unit until 1980. In 1963 two Navy 3-inch (76-mm) guns were placed on the "new" Battery Lytle's gun blocks as a memorial to USS Thresher (SSN-593), lost while operating from Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. Years later, one gun was returned to the shipyard, while the other gun was left derelict after a 1978 storm dislodged its mounting block. The fort is now a state park, with a small museum in the Visitors' Center that includes the remaining 3-inch gun. (Wikipedia)

3-inch Mk. 2 Fisher Naval Deck Gun, 1942, inside the Fort Stark Museum.  (Carol White Photos)

Newington

(Author Photo)

3-inch Model 1905 Field Gun and limber, Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery School, 5 Canadian Division Support Base Gagetown, New Brunswick.

3-inch Model 1905 Field Gun, mounted on a Model 1902 carriage Serial No. 382, Rock Island Arsenal 1911, No. 1 of 2.

3-inch Model 1905 Field Gun, N2 3182, mounted on a Model 1902 carriage Serial No. TBC, Rock Island Arsenal 1911, No. 2 of 2.  These two guns are located in the historical district next to the oldest town forest in the USA.

Newmarket

(Allen Tanner Photos)

57-mm M1 anti-tank gun, No. 1 of 2 in Newmarket, this one is on Bay Road.

(Allen Tanner Photos)

57-mm M1 anti-tank gun, No. 2 of 2 in Newmarket, this one is on Packers Fall Road.

Pembroke

Bronze 12-Pounder Model 1841 SBML Field Howitzer, mounted on a concrete stand, one of two guns in a war memorial park.

(Allen Tanner Photos)

Bronze 12-pounder Dahlgren rifled muzzleloading boat howitzer, mounted on a concrete stand, second of two guns in the war memorial park.  This Dahlgren 12-pounder landing howitzer is an uncommon small type, compared with the greater number of light and heavy types.

Peterborough

(silverquill Photo)

32-pounder M1864 (6.2-inch) Bureau of Ordnance Gun, 4,500 lbs, (Shell Gun), mounted on an iron carriage, on display in front of the G.A.R. Hall on a hill in Peterborough.  No. 1 of 2.  The carriages on these 32-pounders are Marsilly fighting carriages, unique to New Hampshire for this size of cannon.

(Nelson Lawry Photo)

32-pounder M1864 (6.2-inch) Bureau of Ordnance Gun, 4,500 lbs, (Shell Gun), mounted on an iron carriage, on display in front of the G.A.R. Hall on a hill in Peterborough.  No. 2 of 2.

(Allen Tanner Photos)

RF 6-pounder Model 1898 Naval Deck Gun, manufactured by Driggs-Seabury Gun and Ammunition Co., New York, NY 1889, on display near the war memorials in downtown Peterborough.  The  QF 6 pounder Hotchkiss (called the Rapid Fire gun in the USA, rather than Quick Firer in the UK), is a light 2.244-inch (57-mm) 6-pounder naval gun and coast defense gun of the late 19th century that was used by many countries.

Pittsburg

(PTCRAZY Photos)

Bronze 12-pounder Napoleon Model 1857 smoothbore muzzle-loading Gun-Howitzer, (Federal Gun with muzzle swell used in the Civil War), mounted on a wheeled gun carriage, located in the Town Common.

Plymouth

(Postcard, 1921)

(1929, Town of Plymouth Photo)

(1921, Town of Plymouth Photo)

Two bronze smoothbore muzzle-loading guns once stood on Burial Hill overlooking Cape Cod Bay in Plymouth.  A plaque on the site states: On the right is a “Minion” of the time of (Queen) Mary, 1554, with a rose and the letters M.R. (Maria Regina) and is inscribed “John and Thomas Mayo, Brethern, made this pece (sic) Anno Dni 1554.” On the left is a “Sakeret” of the time of (King) Edward VI with a shield and three lions passant inscribed "Tomas Owen made this pece for the ye’l of Carnse Vhan Ser Peter Mevtas vas Governor and Captayn, Anno Dni 1550.” They were transmitted through the Honorable Artillery Company of London, chartered 1537, and placed here by the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts, chartered 1638 and dedicated 4 October 1921.

According to the Pilgrim Hall Museum staff, Pilgrim separatists brought the initial bronze guns to the New World to protect the colony.  They were positioned at the plantation’s fort on what is now Burial Hill.  Bronze guns like these were named by Bradford and Winslow in the annals of Plymouth as mounted on the first fort, 1621, and were still in use in 1645 when the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts under its Commander Major General Gibbons joined the Plymouth Company under the Command of Captain Myles Standish to fight against the Narrangansett Indians.  

In 1537, King Henry VIII created the Honourable Artillery Company through royal charter to help keep the peace.  It is the second oldest military corps in the world.  Then, in 1637, Massachusetts Bay Colony applied to England for a similar charter, and was granted it in 1638, when the charter was signed by Gov. John Winthrop.  These guns were eventually melted down and transformed into more useful tools during the Revolutionary War.

In 1920, Britain’s Honourable Artillery Company sent another set of bronze guns, a “saker” gun and a “minion” gun, to Plymouth as a gesture of friendship to honour the 300th anniversary of the landing of the Mayflower.  These pieces are from the collection in the British National Artillery Museum and were originally mounted in a castle on Guernsey, one of the islands in the English Channel, now known as a “self-governing British Crown dependency.” These two guns dated to the 16th century. In time, the saker was sent back to Guernsey, and its sister gun, the minion, remained behind in Plymouth.  These guns were the only ones of that period of English manufacture in the collection.  They were given “in consideration of the greatness of the occasion, the Tercentenary celebration of the landing of the Pilgrims, and the good will of the English nation, the government, on behalf of the British people have made this gift to the Town of Plymouth Massachusetts.

(Emily Clark Photo)

The bronze minion gun is currently preserved behind glass in the Pilgrim Hall Museum in Plymouth.  The minion was cast in 1545, and is embossed with a Tudor rose and the initials “MR” for Maria Regina, to honour Queen Mary.  There are plans for a second gun to be cast in London to commemorate Plymouth’s 400th Anniversary in 2020.

(Allen Tanner Photos)

Cast-iron 3-pounder smoothbore muzzle-loading Gun, weight 11-1-26 (1,286 lbs), broad arrow over King George III cypher, M No. 613, mounted on a wheeled gun carriage, standing in front of the courthouse.  This gun was captured from British General John Burgoyne's forces at the Battle of Bennington, near Vermont, during the Revolutionary War on 16 Aug 1777.  A rebel force of 2,000 men, primarily New Hampshire and Massachusetts militiamen, led by General John Stark, and reinforced by Vermont militiamen led by Colonel Seth Warner and members of the Green Mountain Boys, decisively defeated a detachment of General John Burgoyne's army led by Lieutenant Colonel Friedrich Baum, and supported by additional men under Lieutenant Colonel Heinrich von Breymann..

Baum's detachment was a mixed force of 700 men composed primarily of Hessians, but also including small numbers of dismounted Brunswick dragoons, Canadians, Loyalists and Indians.   He was sent by Burgoyne to raid Bennington in the disputed New Hampshire Grants area for horses, draft animals, provisions, and other supplies.  Believing the town to be only lightly defended, Burgoyne and Baum were unaware that Stark and 1,500 militiamen were stationed there.  After a rain-caused standoff, Stark's men enveloped Baum's position, taking many prisoners, and killing Baum.  Reinforcements for both sides arrived as Stark and his men were mopping up, and the battle restarted, with Warner and Stark driving away Breymann's reinforcements with heavy casualties.

The battle was a major strategic success for the American cause and is considered part of the turning point of the Revolutionary War; it reduced Burgoyne's army in size by almost 1,000 men, led his Native-American support to largely abandon him, and deprived him of much-needed supplies, such as mounts for his cavalry regiments, draft animals and provisions, all factors that contributed to Burgoyne's eventual defeat at Saratoga.  The victory galvanized colonial support for the independence movement, and played a key role in bringing France into the war on the rebel side.  The battle's anniversary is celebrated in the state of Vermont as Bennington Battle Day.

(New York Public Library Digital Collection)

Print of the Battle of Bennington, Vermont, 1777.

(Allen Tanner Photos)

155-mm M114 Medium Towed Howitzer, NATO Stock No. (NSN) 1025-01-025-9857.  May 1986, Serial No. 1077.  Weight 12,700 lbs.

Plaistow

(Allen Tanner Photos)

3-inch Model 1861 Ordnance Rifle, mounted on a wheeled wooden carriage, TTSL Serial No. 69, P.I. Co., 1861, 819 lbs on the muzzle, standing in front of the war memorial on the Town Common, No. 1 of 2.

(Allen Tanner Photos)

3-inch Model 1861 Ordnance Rifle, mounted on a wheeled wooden carriage, JHVF Serial No. 688, P.I. Co., 1864, 816 lbs, on the muzzle, standing in front of the war memorial on the Town Common, No. 2 of 2.

(Allen Tanner Photos)

Cast-iron 3-pounder 3-cwt smoothbore muzzle-loading Gun, weight 3-1-9 (373 lbs), no other markings, mounted on a wheeled gun carriage, standing in front of the Police Station.

(Army Heritage and Education Center Photo)

8-mm Hotchkiss Model 1914 Machine Gun being operated on a range near Froissy, Oise, France, by a US Army Machine Gun Team from Company 1, 2nd Brigade, Machine Gun Battalion, 1st Division, 10  May 1918.

(Allen Tanner Photos)

8-mm Hotchkiss Model 1914 Machine Gun, mounted on tripod beside the war memorial.  The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) in France purchased 7,000 Mle 1914 Hotchkiss machine guns in 8-mm Lebel, and used them extensively at the front in 1917 and 1918.

Portsmouth

3-inch/23 cal naval deck gun, in the park on the edge of the South Mill Pond.

(Lawrence Mirsky Photos)

Cast-iron (possibly 3-pounder) smoothbore muzzle-loading Gun mounted barrel down as a bollard, downtown Portsmouth.  No. 1 of 2, both guns have a plaque stating "Taken from the British by Commodore Perry at the Battle of Lake Erie, 10 Sep 1812".

(Lawrence Mirsky Photo)

Cast-iron (possibly 3-pounder) smoothbore muzzle-loading Gun mounted barrel down as a bollard, downtown Portsmouth.  No. 2 of 2, both guns have a plaque stating "Taken from the British by Commodore Perry at the Battle of Lake Erie, 10 Sep 1812".

1st New Hampshire Heavy Artillery Volunteer Regiment

The First New Hampshire Heavy Artillery Regiment was  first raised in 1863 for the defenses of Portsmouth harbor in New hampshire and Maine during the Civil War.  The regiment was later transferred to garrison the numerous fortifications of Washington, DC.  

Lieutenant Colonel Charles H. Long was commissioned captain of the First Company NH Heavy Artillery Volunteers, ordered by the War Department for use in the defenses of Portsmouth harbor.  The men were mustered into service on 22 July 1863, and stationed at Fort Constitution in New Castle.  On 17 September 1863, the Second Company was mustered in, and garrisoned at Fort McClary, Kittery Point, Maine.  They remained at these posts until the following spring when, on 6 May 1864, both companies were ordered to Washington, DC, for the defense of the capital, with detachments of them being spread between a dozen forts and batteries.   Shortly after this, a third company began recruiting in Manchester.

In August 1864, Ira McL. Barton, the captain of Company B, requested further recruits and, with authorization granted to organize a battalion-sized unit, he returned to New Hampshire to take part in the raising of an additional four companies.  Recruiting within the cities of Nashua, Concord, Laconia and Dover, the number of volunteers exceeded what was needed.  The state adjutant applied to the War Department for authority to continue the formation of companies, and by November 1864 nearly had the required number of men to be organized into a proper regiment.  To do so, the 1st New Hampshire Light Battery, which had just gone through its r-eenlistment following the end of a three-year term of service, became "Company M" of the 1st NH Heavy Artillery on 9 November.  However, they were soon detached and returned as light artillery in Hancock's II Corps.

As soon as each unit was organized, they were sent to Washington and assigned to different divisions, though seven companies remained together under Lt Col Barton in DeRussey's Division, 3rd Brigade.  Col Long was mustered in as the regiment's commander on 16 November and took command of the 1st Brigade, Hardin's Division, XXII Corps, on the 21st.  While Company A returned to Portsmouth Harbor in November 1864 and Company B did the same the following February, the remainder of the regiment stayed in the vicinity of Washington.  On 15 June 1865, the regiment was mustered out, arriving in New Hampshire on the 19th for final pay and discharge.  (Waite, Otis Frederick Reed (1870). New Hampshire in the Great Rebellion. Claremont, NH: Tracy,Chase & Co.)

Rollinsford

(Charles W Canney Camp Photos)

IX-inch Dahlgren Shell Gun, No. 1 of 2, mounted on an authentic Marsilly fighting carriage lacking its front wheels, stands in front of the Civil War monument.”

IX-inch Dahlgren Shell Gun, No. 2 of 2, is mounted on an iron replica stand to the left of the No. 1 gun.

Rye, Odiorne Point State Park, Fort Dearborn

Odiorne Point State Park is a New Hampshire state park located on the seacoast in Rye near Portsmouth.  The location of the first European settlement in New Hampshire, the point got its name from the Odiorne family, who settled on the land in the mid-1660s.  Among the park's features are the Seacoast Science Center and the remains of the Second World War Fort Dearborn.

Prior to 1942, the site of the park was private, expensive oceanfront land.  In 1942, the site was condemned and purchased by the United States government for the construction of Fort Dearborn as part of an across-the-board modernization of US coast defenses.  In 1961 the site was ceded to the state of New Hampshire.

The fort was named for Henry Dearborn, a colonel in the Revolutionary War and later Commanding General of the United States Army and Secretary of War.  The fort was part of the Harbor Defenses of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, along with Fort Stark, Fort Constitution, and Fort Foster.  In 1940-1944 the Harbor Defenses of Portsmouth were garrisoned by the 22nd Coast Artillery Regiment.  The first battery at Fort Dearborn was called Battery Dearborn, and consisted of four 155-mm towed guns on "Panama mounts", which were circular concrete platforms. The platforms remain today.

Fort Dearborn was primarily acquired to build a battery of two 16-inch (406-mm) Mark IIMI ex-Navy guns, heavily protected by concrete and earth casemates. This was completed and test-fired in June 1944, and eventually superseded all other heavy guns in the Harbor Defenses of Portsmouth. It was initially called Battery 103 and later named Battery Seaman in honour of Colonel Claudius M. Seaman.  The battery remains today. A companion battery, Battery 204, consisted of two 6-inch (152-mm) M1 guns in shielded barbette mounts with a large bunker between them containing magazines and fire control facilities.  This was also completed and test-fired in June 1944.  The battery is near the park entrance and parking lot, and today has several 16-inch shells displayed.  A similar 6-inch battery (Battery 205) was built at Fort Foster but not armed.  Near Fort Dearborn at Pulpit Rock, short-range defense was provided by Anti-Motor Torpedo Boat Battery (AMTB) 951, consisting of four 90-mm M1A2 anti-aircraft guns, two on fixed mounts and two on towed mounts. A similar 90-mm M1A2 anti-aircraft gun battery, AMTB 952, was built at Fort Foster, and AMTB 953 was planned for Fort Stark but never built.  In 1948 Fort Dearborn was deactivated and all guns were scrapped. (Wikipedia).

Rye Air Force Station. Part of Fort Dearborn was used as a radar station by the United States Air Force beginning in 1949, and in 1955 this became the Rye Air Force Station. This was an Air Defense Command radar site that also supported the nearby Pease Air Force Base of the Strategic Air Command. In 1957-59 Rye AFS was deactivated, but unmanned "gap filler" radar remained active until 1968. Nothing remains of the Air Force installation. (Wikipedia).

Salem

(Lawrence Mirsky Photo)

1-pounder 37-mm Mk A Model 1 (1-Pdr MA/M1) semi-automatic light Gun mounted on a wheeled carriage with gun shield, one of two in a park (the town common) at the corner of Bridge & Main streets.  Possibly made by the Bethlehem Steel Company, these field pieces were initially designed as a landing light gun for the French Army in 1916.  Both the French and American versions were used as an infantry gun by the US troops on the western front in 1918.  The shells for this gun had a range of 3750 metres.(12,303 feet).  (Canon de 37mm SA - Nr. unknown)

(Lawrence Mirsky Photo)

(Lawrence Mirsky Photo)

37-mm Gun mounted on a wheeled carriage with gun shield, second of two in a park (the town common) at the corner of Bridge & Main streets.  Salem, New Hampshire lies roughly ten km (6.2 miles) to the west of Haverhill, Massachusetts, the former home of  Sergeant Elijah Estabrooks of the Massachuchetts Provincials (and one of the author's ancestors who came to Canada in 1760.

Seabrook

(Google Earth Photo)

Mk. VI 1-pounder AA gun, converted c1916 from the Maxim-Nordenfelt Mk. I 1-pounder automatic gun, stands on the triangle at the intersection of U.S. Route 1 and Walton Road.

Tilton

Bronze 6-pounder Model 1841 smoothbore muzzle-loading Field Gun, Cyrus Alger & Company, Serial No. TBC.

(Vic E Photo)

M5 High Speed Tractor.  Similar to this one on display at Fort Lewis, Washington.

(Author Photo)

M29C Weasel.  Similar to this one on display at Camp Mabry, Austin, Texas.

(US Army Signal Corps Photo)

'Weasels,' with their wide tracks, make easier going for medics transporting wounded men back from front lines over snow-covered and rough terrain as Airborne troops move to take Herresbach, Belgium. 325th CLDR Regiment, 29 January 1945.

Troy

(Nelson Lawry Photos)

3-pounder Maxim Semi Automatic Quick Firing Gun, central green.

Weare

(Nelson Lawry Photos)

Mk. VI 1-pounder AA gun, converted c1916 from the Maxim-Nordenfelt Mk. I 1-pounder automatic gun, stands adjacent to the Weare Historical Society building, at the junction of Stark Highway (Route 114) and E Road.

Weirs Beach

(NHVA Photo)

Bronze 6-pounder Model 1841 smoothbore muzzle-loading Field Gun, Cyrus Alger & Company, Serial No. 305, dated 1847, No. 1 of 2.   This gun was previously on display on the lawn of the NHVA headquarters.

Bronze 6-pounder Model 1841 smoothbore muzzle-loading Field Gun, Cyrus Alger & Company, Serial No. TBC, dated 1805, No. 2 of 2.

Wolfeboro

(Author Photo)

57-mm M1A1 Anti-tank Gun, Wright Museum of WWII History.  Similar to this one on display in the 1st Cavalry Museum, Fort Hood, Texas.

(Author Photo)

M16 Half-track, GMC (Serial No. RN 4050418).  Similar to this one on display at the 3rd Cavalry Museum, Fort Hood, Texas.

(Author Photo)

M20 Light Armoured Car (Serial No. 2446), private owner.  Similar to this M20 on display at the New Orleans National Guard Museum in Louisiana.

(Mark Holloway Photo)

M32B3 Armoured Recovery Vehicle (ARV), (Serial No. 11619).  Similar to this one on display at Fort Knox, Kentucky.

(Author Photo)

M3A1 Stuart Light tank, No. 1 of 2, Wright Museum of WWII History.  Similar to the M3A1 Stuart Light Tank on display at the 3rd Cavalry Museum, Fort Hood, Texas.

M3A1 Stuart Light tank, No. 2 of 2, Wright Museum of WWII History.

 (Shaddock.free Photo)

M4A1(76) HVSS Sherman Tank (Serial No. 68264), RN 30161945.  Similar to this one preserved in France.

(Author Photo)

T26E Pershiing Tank (Serial No. 35).  Similar to this M26 Pershing Tank on display at Camp Mabry, Austin, Texas.

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