“Peacemaker” Disaster

                                              29 FEBRUARY 1844                                        “PEACEMAKER” DISASTER A series of advancements were made in naval gunnery in the decades before the Civil War.  The commonly used material for gun construction at the time was wrought iron, being cheaper and more readily available than Read More

Intercepting the Mega-Guns

                                                26 AUGUST 1863                                  INTERCEPTING THE MEGA-GUNS When South Carolinians fired on Fort Sumter to start the Civil War, all but one of the foundries in the United States were in the North.  Only the Tredeger Iron Works in Richmond could bore Read More

The Gun from USS SHUBRICK

                    15 FEBRUARY–16 MAY 1865                    THE GUN FROM USS SHUBRICK                (outside the NMCSD Command Suite) RADM William Branford Shubrick’s Navy career was long and distinguished.  Born on 31 October 1790, Mr. Shubrick received his midshipman’s warrant in the Spring of 1806 Read More