Also known as: Captain Blakely, Theophilus Alexander Blakely.
| Nationality | British |
|---|---|
| Known for | The Blakely rifle |
| Manufacture | Built by outside firms; roughly 400 guns produced |
| Confederate use | Calibers from 2.5-inch to a 12.75-inch gun at Charleston |
The Blakely guns
Captain Alexander Blakely designed a rifled cannon but had no works of his own, relying on outside firms such as Fawcett, Preston and Company, the Low Moor Iron Company, and the Blakely Ordnance Company of London to build his guns. Of roughly four hundred pieces produced, about half were of steel and the rest of cast iron strengthened with steel.
The Confederacy bought Blakely rifles in a range of sizes, from 2.5-inch field pieces to a large 12.75-inch gun mounted at Charleston, South Carolina, and two 4.5-inch Blakelys were used at Fort Pulaski. Blakely believed Sir William Armstrong had infringed his patents, a grievance that colored his dealings with the British ordnance establishment.
On this site
Sources & further reading
- Melton, Jack W., Jr. Civil War Artillery Projectiles: The Half Shell Book. Blue Ridge, GA: Historical Publications LLC, 2018.
- CivilWarArtillery.com research archive: inventor biographies, manuals, reports, and patent files.