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

Research Center: Artillery4684-Parrott

Rifled artillery projectile, Parrott design, Federal manufacture, bursting shell, long pattern "common" (standard), high band brass sabot with 10 rabbets, Parrott percussion fuze West Point Style, Parrott 30 pounder rifle, 4.2 in. Projectile was manufactured in the Federal arsenals following the invention of Robert Parrott. The sabot system utilized was a thin wide brass band secured to the base with rabbets, referred to as "type II", more flexible than the earlier wrought iron design, this pattern was secured with 10 rabbets flush with the exterior of the shell. The thin soft brass sabot had a tendency to separate from the shell on firing, rendering it unsatisfactory for field use, but it was used extensively on heavy siege artillery where friendly infantry would not generally be located forward of the fire. This shell is a "common" shell, (standard), it does not contain balls, and with a percussion fuze it was designed to detonate after striking enemy cannon or equipment. Fuze employed was a Parrott zinc percussion fuze, "West Point" style two part fuze, (Jones pg. 79), edge of the fuze hole is milled thin. Bottom of shell usually shows a casting sprue which was rough milled. Projectile measures: diameter 4.1in., length 12in. (excluding fuze), weight 23lbs. to 26lbs. Research Center: Artillery4684-Parrott, Ref: Bell, Heavy Ordnance, pg. 279. Details click: http://relicman.com/artillery/Artillery4684-Parrott.html.

A1884... Projectile measures: diameter 4.1in., length 12in. (excluding fuze), weight 23lbs. to 26lbs., not verified. High band sabot was separated on firing and is missing. Parrott West Point percussion fuze intact. Metal solid. Projectile is disarmed, drill hole through the bottom. Recovered: Port Hudson, Louisiana.

A2386... Projectile measures: diameter 4.1in., length 12in. (excluding fuze), weight 24lbs., sabot missing. High band sabot separated on firing. Parrott West Point percussion fuze intact. Metal solid. Projectile is disarmed, drill hole on bottom. Recovered: North Carolina defenses.

A2501... Projectile measures: diameter 4.1in., length 12in. (excluding fuze), weight 23lbs., sabot missing. High band sabot separated on firing. Parrott West Point percussion fuze is partial. Metal solid. Projectile is disarmed, drill hole on side. Recovered: Port Hudson, Louisiana.

A2701... Projectile measures: diameter 4.1in., length 12in. (excluding fuze), weight 23lbs., missing sabot Projectile is marked: "PATENTED / 1861". High band sabot separated on firing. Parrott West Point percussion fuze is partial. Metal stable, projectile was recovered from wet ground and has been conserved. Projectile is disarmed, drill hole on bottom. Recovered: North Carolina defenses.

A2854... Projectile measures: diameter 4.15 in., length 12.25 in. (missing sabot and excluding fuze), weight 26lbs. High band sabot separated on firing. Parrott West Point percussion fuze is partial. Metal solid. Projectile is disarmed, drill hole through damaged center of the percussion fuze. Recovered: old tag on the bottom gives some information as to provenance, tag is hard to read, but is determined to be "Drumgould's Bluff, Mississippi 12/59".

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.