Ridgeway Civil War Research Center, A virtual examination of artifacts of the American Civil War
	Civil War Artillery
	by Harry Ridgeway

Research Center: Artillery1254-Ball12pdr

Smoothbore artillery projectile, spherical ball, bursting shell, "case shot", iron balls packed in powder without matrix, wood time fuze with .875in. opening, 12 pounder, 4.62in. Projectile was intended for the smoothbore 12 pounder. Fuze employed was a wood time fuze, fuze hole is smooth and tapered, the simple to make fuze could easily be hammered into place, Jones Fuzes pg. 2. Those with small openings, .875in., were generally manufactured before the war for the 12 pounder Coehorn Mortar. However by the beginning of the Civil War this small Coehorn mortar had largely been replaced by the newer 24 pounder Coehorn. All of the arsenals would have been abundantly stocked with them, and southerners made good use of them in the 12 pounder howitzers, referred to as the "Napoleon". It is believed that this pattern is Confederate wartime manufacture. It was packed with iron balls loosely packed in powder, matrix was not used. In addition the wide area around the fuze hole is recessed inside, this is an unusual feater, most designs are flat. Projectile measures: diameter 4.52in., weight 9 to 11lbs. Research Center: Artillery1254-Ball12pdr, Ref: Dickey & George, Field Artillery (1993 Edition), pg. 30. Details click: http://relicman.com/artillery/Artillery1254-Ball12pdr.html.

A2415...Smoothbore artillery projectile, spherical ball, bursting shell, "case shot", iron balls packed in powder without matrix, wood time fuze with .875in. opening, 12 pounder, 4.62in. Projectile was intended for the smoothbore 12 pounder. Fuze employed was a wood time fuze, fuze hole is smooth and tapered, the simple to make fuze could easily be hammered into place, Jones Fuzes pg. 2. Those with small openings, .875in., were generally manufactured before the war for the 12 pounder Coehorn Mortar. However by the beginning of the Civil War this small Coehorn mortar had largely been replaced by the newer 24 pounder Coehorn. All of the arsenals would have been abundantly stocked with them, and southerners made good use of them in the 12 pounder howitzers, referred to as the "Napoleon". It is believed that this pattern is Confederate wartime manufacture. It was packed with iron balls loosely packed in powder, matrix was not used. In addition the wide area around the fuze hole is recessed inside, this is an unusual feater, most designs are flat. Projectile measures: diameter 4.52in., weight 11lbs. Cut shell shows cross section of iron balls packed in powder only. Wood fuze is partial. Projectile is disarmed, drill hole in bottom before it was cut, cut shell everything is open. Recovered: Mississippi campaign. Ref: Dickey & George, Field Artillery (1993 Edition), pg. 30.

This is the "Ridgeway Civil War Research Center", a research tool for educational purposes only, and is provided at no cost to the reader. Some of the relics listed are retained in the author's collection, most reside in other collections and are not owned by the author. None of the items listed in this section are for sale, please refer to relicman.com sales listings for items offered for sale. This is a work in progress, I list items as I get to them, there are many patterns that are not listed yet, this list will be regularly updated as I get pictures and descriptions for more items. I will also correct mistakes, so if you see any please tell me. All items listed are believed to be authentic to the Civil War or as otherwise described. This information is available for research purposes, pictures may be used by permission only.
All excavated artifacts have been recovered from private property with owner's permission.
All projectiles listed have been disarmed.

Most information on this page is from:
Field Artillery Projectiles of the American Civil War, 1993 Edition. by Thomas S. Dickey and Peter C. George.
Civil War Heavy Explosive Ordnance, A Guide to Large Artillery Prjectiles, Torpedoes, and Mines, by Jack Bell.
Artillery Fuses of the Civil War, by Charles H. Jones.
Pictures are by the author, unless otherwise indicated.

Ridgeway Civil War Research Center, A virtual examination of artifacts of the American Civil War. Artillery Research center, artillery, click: http://relicman.com/artillery/Artillery0000-Index.html. Research center, artillery, click: http://relicman.com/artillery/Artillery0000-Index.html.

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