Images(7)

Model

Object number2014.110.1 a-d

Made by Fort Pitt Foundry

Date1864

OriginPittsburgh, PA

MediumIron; Metal; Wood; Paper; Adhesive

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

DescriptionCast iron model of 15-inch Rodman Gun.DimensionsHeight (a-c with gun in down position): 8 in. (20.3 cm)
Height (a-c with gun in up position): 9.375 in. (23.8 cm)
Width (a-c): 6.375 in. (16.2 cm)
Depth (a-c): 25.875 in. (65.7 cm)
Height x Length (a): 4 × 18.625 in. (10.2 × 47.3 cm)
Circumference (a - approximate): 15 in. (38.1 cm)
Height x Width x Depth (b): 4 × 5.75 × 9.75 in. (10.2 × 14.6 × 24.8 cm)
Height x Width x Depth (c): 2 × 6.25 × 24.5 in. (5.1 × 15.9 × 62.2 cm)
Height x Width (d): 1 × 2.375 in. (2.5 × 6 cm)
Circumference (d): 7.5 in. (19.1 cm)
Inscriptionsa) Sticker attached to bottom of cannon has handwritten number in center "65[?]".

c) Tag has text: "JAMES D. / JULIA / INC."

d) White hand-painted number on base "FT-33.73b".
Marksa) Text inscribed on muzzle. "NO 4 50 000 LBS T.J.R. / FORT PITT PA 1864".

Text inscribed on left trunnion. "15 IN".

Text inscribed on top back of barrel. "U.S."
Historical NotesMuseum Purchase from James D. Julia Auction House. Provenance provided by the auction house lists past owners as Hampton P. Howell, Jr., Collection; Springfield Arsenal, LLC Artillary Collection. At one time, Mr. Howell had one of the largest collections of muzzle loading model cannnons.Label TextWhen Jules Verne wrote From the Earth to the Moon in 1865 he chose a Pittsburgh innovation to rocket his fictional explorers to their lunar destination. He modeled his cannon after the “Rodman Columbiad” produced for the Union during the Civil War at the Fort Pitt Foundry along the Allegheny River. In Verne’s novel, after debate about Texas and Florida launch sites, the cannon shot three men from Florida to the Moon in an aluminum capsule and then landed them back in the Pacific Ocean. The Apollo 11 astronauts saw the similarities and chose to name their Command Module “Columbia” after Verne’s “Columbiad.” The choice of Columbia also referenced an early name for the Americas.

Previous owner Hampton P. Howell, Jr.

Related person Thomas Jackson Rodman (1816 - 1871)

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