The columbiad was a large-caliber, smoothbore, muzzle-loading cannon able to fire heavy projectiles on both high and low trajectories. That flexibility let it throw solid shot or shell to long ranges, which made it an excellent seacoast defense weapon of its day. The first columbiads were cast at the foundry of Henry Foxall on the Potomac in Georgetown for Fort Columbus on Governors Island in New York. They served in United States seacoast defense from the War of 1812 until the early years of the twentieth century. Very few were used outside the armies of the United States and the Confederacy, though some writers see the columbiad as an inspiration for the shell-only guns developed by Henri-Joseph Paixhans about thirty years later.
Facts
Classification
Service Status Weapon Class
Weapon Class (category) Introduced Year Connections
Operated By
Source Columbiad (Wikipedia)
Source Columbiad (Wikipedia)
Used In
Source Columbiad (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Columbiad (Wikipedia)
Lead, first sentence
smoothbore, muzzle-loading cannon
History, first paragraph
The first columbiads were manufactured by Foxall's foundry for Fort Columbus in 1808.
Lead, use sentence
from the War of 1812 until the early years of the 20th century
History, second paragraph
The columbiads produced in 1811 had a 7.25-inch (184 mm) diameter bore
Operated By: United States Army, Lead, operators sentence
Very few columbiads were used outside of the U.S. and Confederate Armies
Operated By: Confederate States Army, Lead, operators sentence
Very few columbiads were used outside of the U.S. and Confederate Armies
In Group: Muzzle-Loading Naval and Coastal Guns, Lead
The columbiad was a large-caliber, smoothbore, muzzle-loading cannon able to fire heavy projectiles at both high and low trajectories.
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