Fort Massachusetts Tour: Stop 5

Fort Massachusetts Parrot Rifle Stand

NPS Photo/Kiss

Quick Facts

Location:

Ship Island, Mississippi

Amenities

2 listed

Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Trailhead

Parrott Rifles

You are standing directly over the entrance to the fort. Two 100-pounder Parrott rifles were mounted here in the 1870s to protect the fort's eastern flank. Unlike the smoothbore cannon, Parrot projectiles fired from the rifled cannon had greater range, accuracy and destructive power.

The Parrot barrel had spiral grooves, called rifling, that caused the projectile to spin. This made the Parrotts much more accurate and destructive than earlier smoothbore cannons that fired round shots. The Parrots were cast iron muzzle-loaders like the smoothbores and could penetrate masonry forts. In the 1890s and early 1900s steel, breech-loading rifles replaced the Parrotts, and concrete-and-earthwork batteries replaced masonry fortifications like Fort Massachusetts.