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

Research Center: Artillery3411-Britten

Rifled artillery projectile, Britten design, English manufacture, solid bolt, pattern with long rounded nose, lead cup sabot, 10 pounder rifle, 2.9 in. or Ordnance rifle, 3in. Projectile was manufactured by the English and exported to the American conflict, either side could purchase them, but primary use was southern. The design follows Britten's English patent, employing a lead cup sabot with a counter bulge or large concave teat that extends beyond the bottom. Bolt was turned on a lathe, when sabot is missing there is lathe dimple and lathe marks on bottom, some will have ring around the nose which probably was left from it being clamped to the lathe, American producers tended to use knobs. Projectile measures smaller than 2.9 in. suggesting that it may have originally been intended for the 10 pounder, however, the short length with a soft lead sabot would not have been suited at all for a 3 groove 10 pounder 2.9in. rifle, those missing the sabot may have been fired from this rifle, the torque from firing 3 groove would tend to rip the sabot away. All examples recovered with fired sabot remaining show 7 grooves suggesting most were actually fired from a 3 inch rifle, it would have fit loose in a 3 inch bore and this would account for the weak rifling. It is speculated that this pattern was originally manufactured for the smaller 2.9in. rifle, but most were used in the 3in. rifle as a practical solution. Projectile measures: diameter 2.45in., length 5.25in. (excluding sabot), weight 5.7lbs., without sabot. Research Center: Artillery3411-Britten, Ref: Dickey & George, Field Artillery (1993 Edition), pg. 108. Details click: http://relicman.com/artillery/Artillery3411-Britten.html.

A0029...Rifled artillery projectile, Britten design, English manufacture, solid bolt, pattern with long rounded nose, lead cup sabot, 10 pounder rifle, 2.9 in. or Ordnance rifle, 3in. Projectile was manufactured by the English and exported to the American conflict, either side could purchase them, but primary use was southern. The design follows Britten's English patent, employing a lead cup sabot with a counter bulge or large concave teat that extends beyond the bottom. Bolt was turned on a lathe, when sabot is missing there is lathe dimple and lathe marks on bottom, some will have ring around the nose which probably was left from it being clamped to the lathe, American producers tended to use knobs. Projectile measures smaller than 2.9 in. suggesting that it may have originally been intended for the 10 pounder, however, the short length with a soft lead sabot would not have been suited at all for a 3 groove 10 pounder 2.9in. rifle, those missing the sabot may have been fired from this rifle, the torque from firing 3 groove would tend to rip the sabot away. All examples recovered with fired sabot remaining show 7 grooves suggesting most were actually fired from a 3 inch rifle, it would have fit loose in a 3 inch bore and this would account for the weak rifling. It is speculated that this pattern was originally manufactured for the smaller 2.9in. rifle, but most were used in the 3in. rifle as a practical solution. Projectile measures: diameter 2.45in., length 5.25in. (excluding sabot), weight 5.7lbs., without sabot. Artillery 3411 Britten bolt long nose 2.9in to 3in., Ref: Dickey & George, Field Artillery (1993 Edition), pg. 108. Projectile measures: diameter 2.45in., length 5.25in. (excluding sabot), weight 5.7lbs., without sabot. Sabot separated on firing and is missing. Metal is smooth, this is early pickup. Projectile is disarmed, solid iron casting never had a cavity or bursting charge. This came out of Jac Weller old collection which was auctioned in San Francisco in 1995. Recovered: First Manassas, Virginia, not confirmed.

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.

and now a word from our sponsor.....

Civil War Relicman, Harry Ridgeway, Civil War artillery, Relicman sales catalog. Click here: http://relicman.com/artillery/RelicmanSalesArtillery1.html. Artillery for sale: http://relicman.com/artillery/RelicmanSalesArtillery1.html.