Very few of these cannons are in private hands today, and they hardly ever come up for sale. Most surviving examples reside at historic sites, battlefields, and museums. They were designed by Lt. John A. Dahlgren of the U.S. Navy following the Mexican-American War after investigating the potential use of the Army's field howitzers by the Navy for mastheads, launches, and Marine landing parties. Previously a mix of weapons were used which were logistically an issue. These were used with a few versions of carriages designed by Dahlgren including this light cast iron carriage for use in the field and could be fitted with a naval carriage when used on frigate's launches. These light carriages were designed to be able to be pulled by the gun's crew after landing, and reports suggest the gun could be mounted in less than four minutes. There are also photographs from the period of them mounted to their lightweight field carriages while onboard the ships, including multiple images of the monitor U.S.S. Lehigh. The guns were formidable and period reports claim an experienced crew could get off 10 shots in a minute. Cyrus Alger & Co. is reported to have manufactured 57 of these howitzers in 1863-64 for the U.S. Navy and also manufactured others under contract with the Ordnance Department for use by the Army. A similar Boat Howitzer and field carriage can be seen on page 143 of "Field Artillery Weapons of the Civil War" by Hazlett et al. Government records also record Alger & Co. as supplying large quantities of shells and other related weapons. This howitzer does not have any visible government inspection markings. The top of the barrel has "12P/BOAT HOWITZER/Dahlgren Model/1858" near the midsection and "CYRUS ALGER & Co. BOSTON/760 LBS No 651" at the breech. It has the standard front sight at the muzzle. The overall length of the gun itself is 65 inches. The carriage wheels stand around 49 inches tall. The cannon was entered into the registry on May 15, 91 in Memphis. The Union succeeded in capturing the city during the Battle of Memphis on June 6, 1862, using ironclads. The transverse screw is absent.

Fine with a mottled attractively aged patina overall on the gun itself showing a mix of verdigris green and bronze coloration and very distinct markings. The carriage is very good has extensive moderate pitting but is very solid. This is a rare opportunity to get you hands on a rare Civil War era Dahlgren Boat Howitzer complete with an original lightweight iron carriage which is missing the transverse screw. These guns were used by the Navy, Marines, and Army during the war and are known to have been present at some of the war's most significant battles including Antietam.