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

Research Center: Artillery3555-Brooke

Rifled artillery projectile, Brooke design, Confederate manufacture, bursting shell, smooth sided pattern with grooves, ratchet ring sabot, Confederate watercap fuze, Brooke rifle or rifled 32 pounder, 6.4in. Projectile was Confederate manufactured following John Brooke 's design. The sabot system utilized was a copper ring cast onto the shell body, with ratchet notches to hold it in place. Th e side of the shell was milled, groove at the bottom and starting point at the top gives the appearance of a sleeve, this was done to size the shell as accurately as possible. Fuze employed was a Confederate watercap time fuze, with circular head extending above the flange, flange secured with spanner slots, (Jones Fuzes, pg. 21 . Shell is relatively short, this early design was likely originally intended for the rifled 32 pounders, but that system was quickly abandoned for the heavier 7 inch long guns. Performance was unsatisfactory, the sabot would typically be thrown or base would chip, and development efforts moved to the heavy disc sabot. Projectile measures: diameter 6. 35in., length 12in., weight 58lbs. Research Center: Artillery3555-Brooke, Ref: Bell, Heavy Ordnance, pg. 175 or 176. Details click: http://relicman.com/artillery/Artillery3555-Brooke.html.

A0737...Rifled artillery projectile, Brooke design, Confederate manufacture, bursting shell, smooth sided pattern with grooves, ratchet ring sabot, Confederate watercap fuze, Brooke rifle or rifled 32 pounder, 6.4in. Projectile was Confederate manufactured following John Brooke's design. The sabot system utilized was a copper ring cast onto the shell body, with ratchet notches to hold it in place. The side of the shell was milled, groove at the bottom and starting point at the top gives the appearance of a sleeve, this was done to size the shell as accurately as possible. Fuze employed was a Confederate watercap time fuze, with circular head extending above the flange, flange secured with spanner slots, (Jones Fuzes, pg. 21. Shell is relatively short, this early design was likely originally intended for the rifled 32 pounders, but that system was quickly abandoned for the heavier 7 inch long guns. Performance was unsatisfactory, the sabot would typically be thrown or base would chip, and development efforts moved to the heavy disc sabot. Projectile measures: diameter 6.35in., length 12in., weight not determined. Sabot separated on firing and is missing. Fuze is missing. Metal is solid, minor areas of pitting. Metal is stable, shell has been cut. Projectile is disarmed: cut shell, everything is open. Recovered: Fort Caswell, North Carolina, by Mac Mason. Ref: Bell, Heavy Ordnance, pg. 175 or 176.

A2649...Rifled artillery projectile, Brooke design, Confederate manufacture, bursting shell, smooth sided pattern with grooves, ratchet ring sabot, Confederate watercap fuze, Brooke rifle or rifled 32 pounder, 6.4in. Projectile was Confederate manufactured following John Brooke 's design. The sabot system utilized was a copper ring cast onto the shell body, with ratchet notches to hold it in place. Th e side of the shell was milled, groove at the bottom and starting point at the top gives the appearance of a sleeve, this was done to size the shell as accurately as possible. Fuze employed was a Confederate watercap time fuze, with circular head extending above the flange, flange secured with spanner slots, (Jones Fuzes, pg. 21 . Shell is relatively short, this early design was likely originally intended for the rifled 32 pounders, but that system was quickly abandoned for the heavier 7 inch long guns. Performance was unsatisfactory, the sabot would typically be thrown or base would chip, and development efforts moved to the heavy disc sabot. Projectile measures: diameter 6. 35in., length 12in., weight 58lbs. Artillery 3554 Brooke shell smooth side with groove ratchet ring sabot 6.4in., Ref: Bell, Heavy Ordnance, pg. 175 or 176. Projectile measures: diameter 6.35in., length 12in., weight 55lbs. Fired sabot is partial, strong example of base chip yet partial sabot remains. Fuze is fully intact. Metal solid, cracks and chips are from firing. Projectile is disarmed, drill hole through the bottom. Recovered: Charleston, South Carolina.

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.

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