Distinguished by its clean lines and notched, flat breech, this 10-inch cannon was developed by U.S. Army Ordinance [sic - Ordnance] Lieutenant (later Major) Thomas J. Rodman. It was cast at Fort Pitt, Pennsylvania in 1862, carries serial number 37, weighs 14,920 lbs., and from its 126-inch-long tube could fire a 128-pound shot approximately 1,800 yards. Cast iron was poured into the mold around a water cooled core, giving the cannon great strength. From the late 1800s to the mid 1930s it was emplaced near the shore at the State Military Reservation in Niantic, when it was moved to the main gate of the camp. In 1996 it was relocated to this spot at the State Armory and Arsenal.
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