Also known as: 13-inch mortar.
| Type | Heavy seacoast mortar |
|---|---|
| Bore | 13 inches |
| Fire | High-angle plunging fire |
| Famous example | The Dictator, mounted on a railway car at Petersburg |
The heaviest mortar
The 13-inch seacoast mortar was the largest mortar in general use, throwing a shell of some two hundred pounds in a high, plunging arc. Its great weight confined it to fixed emplacements and heavy beds, from which it bombarded fortifications and anchorages.
Its best-remembered example is the Dictator, a 13-inch mortar mounted on a reinforced railway car during the siege of Petersburg, which lobbed its huge shells into the Confederate lines from a moving platform.
On this site
Sources & further reading
- United States Army, Ordnance Department. The Ordnance Manual for the Use of the Officers of the United States Army. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1862.
- CivilWarArtillery.com research archive: cannon identification pages, manuals, and reports.