File:Photograph taken at Fortress Monroe sometime in 1868-1870 - DPLA - 960fa28dfd9f2e9c9de49535eeecc4ff.jpg

Title from item.; Additional text from item: during firings of 10" and 12" rifles against stone and iron casements. AMMRC egineer's relative's picture found in archives. In going through a collection of historical material from Watertown Arsenal, Dr. L.S. Foster, Historical Officer, noted the name of 1st Lieutenant William S. Smoot on a photograph taken at Fortress Monroe, about 1870. The guns are believed to be Rodman cannon, made at Watertown Arsenal when Major Thomas J. Rodman (later General) was Commanding Officer, from 1859-July 1865. Lt. Smoot (#5) was a distant relative of Perry Smoot, Shaping Technology Branch, Process Technology Laboratory. Among the officers are (#2) Lt. Col. Theodore T.S. Laidley, Watertown ARsenal Commander, April 1871-November 1882; and (#8) Capt. Daniel W. Flagler (later Lt. Col.), Commander, Nov 1889-February 1891. In the period around 1870, the Rodman cannon was among the largest and best. They were made by a process invented by General Rodman, consisting of casting the molten iron around a water-cooled copper core; this caused the outside to freeze last, and placed the interior under residual compression. The strength of the cannon was increased greatly. A number of these were installed in coastal defense emplacements around the country. The shot used, shown in the photograph, weighed about 600 pounds.; Date from item or accompanying material.