The Parrott Rifle
Robert Parker Parrott was born on 5 Oct 1804 in Lee, New Hampshire, USA and died at Cold Spring on 24 Dec 1877.
He joined the army but resigned in 1836 and became the Superintendent of the West Point Iron Foundry in Cold Spring, New York. He created what became known as the ‘Parrott Rifle’ (actually an artillery piece) in 1860 and patented it in 1861. It became the standard artillery weapon for both sides in the American Civil War which was just starting.
It was produced in 10 pounder and 20 pounder models for the battlefield and as large as 200 pounder for use in fortifications. Easily identified by the reinforcing band around the breech, it appears in hundreds of photographs taken during that devastating conflict.
