These are not firearms, of course, as no gunpowder is used.
During the Civil War, the concept of the centrifugal gun took shape.
However, no one was impressed enough to send McCartys weapon to the field for a combat test.
Illustration of Dickinson’s Steam Gun from the May 18, 1861 edition of Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper. Image: Author’s collection
His first efforts were hand-cranked.
By early 1861, Dickinson had constructed a large, steam-powered contraption with the help of some Boston-based inventors.
The Baltimore police were impressed enough to take the monstrosity away from him.
Dickinson’s centrifuge weapon was also referred to as The Baltimore Gun. This illustration originally appeared in Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper during the 1860s. Image: Author’s collection.
In police custody, Dickinsons steam-powered menace was temporarily housed at the foundry of wealthy Ross Winans.
Meanwhile, Winans was also labeled as an agent of the Confederacy.
As a result, the Baltimore police returned it to Dickinson, the rightful owner.
A Civil War era artist’s impression of Dickinson’s steam-powered centrifugal gun, fitted with a cone-shaped metal gun shield. Image: Library of Congress
Shortly afterwards, Dickinson tried to take his brainchild to Harpers Ferry, ostensibly to sell to rebel forces.
He was intercepted along the way by Union troops.
The Federals took his gun away, again, and this time for good.
Levi Lombard and his associates posing with his “Centrifugal Gun” in Boston during March, 1918. Image: NARA
He was released on his promise to never take up arms against Abe Lincoln and the government in Washington.
The Dickinson invention went back to Massachusetts without ever firing a shot in anger.
A Bunch of Hot Air?
The Lombard Centrifuge Gun tested with a truck-mounted generator at Aberdeen Proving Grounds after World War I. The shot was poured into a funnel. Image: NARA
The Civil War era media was certainly impressed by the centrifugal gun concept.
For city or harbor defense it would prove more efficient than the largest battery.
Some of them revisited the centrifugal gun concept.
A close-up of Lombard’s invention described as having “no barrel” and claiming a rate of fire of 33,000 rounds per minute. Image: NARA
One of these men was Levi Lombard.
I found a photo of Mr. Lombard and his associates in Boston, dated March 1918.
The official caption describes the unit in the foreground as a centrifuge gun.
The J.H. Parsons centrifuge gun design appears to have a buttstock to give the shooter more control. No information could be found about this device in the military archives. Image: U.S. Patent Office
It also mentioned that the weapons rate of fire was 33,000 rounds per minute!
Thats when the difficult questions about the concepts practicality started to arise.
Several patents were issued, continuing into the early 1920s.
Conclusion
Even now, the concept still lingers.
During 2005, a 21stCentury centrifugal gun was announced, titled the DREAD Weapon System.
