The Library of Congress

Picture 5 From The Photographic History of the Civil War, Volume 5, Forts and Artillery (pages 184-185). "The 17,000 pound mortar, "Dictator," was run on a flat-car from point to point on a curve of the railroad track along the bank of the Appomattox. It was manned and served before Petersburg, July 9-31, 1864, by Company G, First Connecticut Artillery, during its stay. When its charge of fourteen pounds of powder was first fired, the car broke under the shock; but a second car was prepared by the engineers, strengthened by additional beams, tied strongly by iron rods and covered with iron-plating. This enabled the "Dictator" to be used at various points, and during the siege it fired in all forty-five rounds--nineteen of which were fired during the battle of the Crater. It was given at last a permanent emplacement near Battery No. 4." Original caption from The Photographic History of the Civil War, Volume 5, Forts and Artillery edited by Francis Trevelyan Miller and published in 1911 (pages 184-185). Picture 6 From Mathew Brady Photographs of Civil War-Era Personalities and Scenes, National Archives at College Park, MD Click on the picture for a larger view "'Dictator'--The Traveling Mortar In Front Of Petersburg, 1864 This is the 13-inch mortar, a 200-pound exploding shell from which threw a Confederate field-piece and its carriage above its parapet, at a range of nearly two miles. The 17,000 pounds of this mortar made it difficult to move, so it was mounted on an ordinary railroad-car strengthened by additional beams, and placed on top with iron. This engine of destruction was run down on the Petersburg & City Point Railroad to a point near the Union lines, where a curve in the track made it easy to change the direction of the fire. The recoil from a charge of fourteen pounds of powder shifted the mortar less than two feet on the car, which moved a dozen feet on the track. Even the full charge of twenty pounds of powder could be used without damage to the axles of the car. This mortar, whose shell could crush and explode any ordinary field-magazine, terrorized the Confederate gunners, and succeeded in silencing their enfolding batteries on Chesterfield Heights. The activities of this great war machine were directed by Colonel H. L. Abbott, of the First Connecticut Heavy Artillery." Original caption from The Photographic History of the Civil War, Volume 3, The Decisive Battles edited by Francis Trevelyan Miller and published in 1911 (page 51).