Civil War seacoast mortars Dictator

Civil War seacoast mortars Dictator

Civil War seacoast mortars were very large mortars used defensively in fixed fortifications and in coast and river defense. They were also used in siege operations and occasionally in other offensive endeavors. The largest mortar in the Federal arsenal was the 13 inch seacoast mortar, so named for the size of the weapon’s bore. Perhaps the most famous individual 13 inch mortar was one used at the Siege of Petersburg, Virginia in the summer of 1864. Union soldiers gave this weapon the nickname “The Dictator”.
Cast in a foundry in Pittsburgh, the Dictator weighed in at 17,120 pounds. Thirteen inch mortars were difficult to move due to their size and were transported by ships and by rail. At Petersburg, the Dictator was placed on a specially reinforced railroad flatcar and run along a spur line of the City Point and Petersburg Railroad into various firing positions. The flatcar also served as a firing platform. The Dictator used a 20 pound gunpowder charge to fire a 220 pound shell. The range of the mortar was 4235 yards when fired at a 45 degree angle of elevation, although one round is reported to have gone over 4750 yards.
The Dictator remained in service at Petersburg though September, firing a total of 218 rounds. This unusual mortar on a flatcar arrangement also was a favorite subject of photographers covering the war at Petersburg, making it one of the more famous individual weapons of the conflict. Despite it’s fame during it’s relatively short time in service, the exact fate of The Dictator is unknown, but it was probably sold as scrap iron at some point after the war. Today, a similar 13” seacoast mortar from the Civil War era is on display at Petersburg National Battlefield, at the same place where the actual weapon was located during the siege.