Robert Parker Parrot was a West Point-educated inventor of
artillery and projectiles. A former U.S. Army artillery officer, Parrot used
his civilian position as superintendent of the West Point Iron and Cannon
foundry to develop cast-iron canons that would help the North defeat the South in the
American Civil War.
Early Life and
Military Service
Robert Parker Parrot was born in Lee, New Hampshire
on October 5, 1804. He attended the United States
Military Academy
at West Point, New York, and graduated third in his class
in 1824. For the next five years, Parrot served the Academy as a professor of
mathematics and of "natural and experimental philosophy", a precursor to modern
science. Commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the 3rd U.S. Artillery, Parrot then saw
a tour of duty in the Creek Indian War, a two-year conflict that spanned parts
of Georgia and Alabama.
After the war, Robert Parker Parrot returned to New York's Hudson
Valley, where he served
as Assistant to the Chief of the Ordnance Bureau. His post, the West Point Iron
and Canon Foundry, was a civilian-run facility in Cold Spring. Rising through
the ranks, Robert Parrot became an Inspector of Ordnance and was promoted to
captain. Ultimately, however, he resigned his military rank to accept the
civilian position of superintendent of the foundry on October 31, 1836.
Civilian Life Before
the Civil War
"As a private citizen," explains the military historian Jack
Melton, "Parrot was able to experiment with cannons and projectiles without the
usual red tape" of government service. First, however, Parrot bought 7,000
acres of forest for a steady supply of charcoal. He also invested in a pig iron
furnace to supplement the foundry's other iron manufacturing equipment. As Ohio historian Emmet A.
Conway, Sr. explains, these blast furnaces were used to cast molten iron into
bars for later remanufacturing. Typically, a separate facility would form the
bars of cold cast iron for transfer to a foundry where the production of finished
goods actually occurred.
With his supply chain and manufacturing operations in place, Robert Parker Parrot was now
able to turn his full attention to the design of Army artillery. Parrot guns,
Parrot cannons, Parrot rifles, and Parrot shells would enter the War Between the States.
Editor's Note: Click here for Part 2.
Resources:
http://www.cwartillery.org/parrott.html
http://www.oldeforester.com/ironintr.htm
http://www.michigun3.com/_wsn/page2.html
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