"4-in. 40 caliber rifles"

<br>These two guns, originally known as breech-loading rifles, are trained in a southerly direction, to either side of the flagpole. <br><br> Gun on East side, registry no. 21, manufactured in 1896 here at the Navy Yard mounted on USS PURITAN (Monitor #1, BM-1, 1896-1922), one of the last of the USN monitors. She participated in the attack on the Spanish fleet at Santiago Cuba in July 1898. <br><br> Gun on West side, registry no. 152, manufactured in 1898 by American Ordnance Co., mounted on the USS TOPEKA (1898-1930, later PG-35). She operated off Cuba in the Spanish American War, also saw Mediterranean and Caribbean service.<br><center>[<i>Photos of</i>:]<br> USS PURITAN and USS TOPEKA</center>