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

Research Center: Artillery4762-Parrott

Rifled artillery projectile, Parrott design, Federal manufacture, bursting shell, short pattern with flat bottom, high band brass sabot, Schenkl percussion fuze, Parrott 200 pounder rifle, 8in. Projectile was manufactured in the Federal arsenals following development of Parrott's patent. The sabot, referred to as "type II", utilized a thin wide brass band which was softer and more flexible than wrought iron, secured to the base with rabbets. However performance was poor, the thin soft brass sabot either failed to take the rifling or had a tendency to separate on firing, resulting in shards of brass flying into the backs of the forward infantry. However for large caliber guns, fired from ships or forts, flying sabots was less of a problem and this pattern of sabot became the primary convention for siege guns. This is the shorter pattern of the 200 pounder Parrott. Fuze employed was large caliber Schenkl percussion intended to detonate upon striking enemy cannon or fortifications, fuze is marked "JP SCHENKL / PAT OCT 16 1861", Jones pg. 101. Shell measures: diameter 7.9in., length 17in., weight 150lbs. approx. with sabot. Research Center: Artillery4762-Parrott, Ref: Bell Heavy Ordnance, pg. 312. Details click: http://relicman.com/artillery/Artillery4762-Parrott.html.

A0559...Rifled artillery projectile, Parrott design, Federal manufacture, bursting shell, short pattern with flat bottom, high band brass sabot, Schenkl percussion fuze, Parrott 200 pounder rifle, 8in. Projectile was manufactured in the Federal arsenals following development of Parrott's patent. The sabot, referred to as "type II", utilized a thin wide brass band which was softer and more flexible than wrought iron, secured to the base with rabbets. However performance was poor, the thin soft brass sabot either failed to take the rifling or had a tendency to separate on firing, resulting in shards of brass flying into the backs of the forward infantry. However for large caliber guns, fired from ships or forts, flying sabots was less of a problem and this pattern of sabot became the primary convention for siege guns. This is the shorter pattern of the 200 pounder Parrott. Fuze employed was large caliber Schenkl percussion intended to detonate upon striking enemy cannon or fortifications, fuze is marked "JP SCHENKL / PAT OCT 16 1861", Jones pg. 101. Shell measures: diameter 7.8in., length 17.25in. (excluding fuze), weight 135lbs. High band brass sabot shows 11 lands and grooves, fired from Parrott rifle., sabot is partial with a base chip from firing. Schenkl percussion fuze is intact. Metal solid. Shell is disarmed by drill hole through the side. Recovered: Charleston, South Carolina. Ref: Bell Heavy Ordnance, pg. 312.

A1228 Parrott Type II Army short shell, 200 Pounder 8in Short 200 pounder Parrott from the Federal seige of Charleston South Carolina. Fired sabot fully intact on this example. The sabots were usually thrown on these shells. Unlike field artillery these heavy shells were shot from ships so flying sabots were not a problem. There is a chip missing on the base which is typical. Armed with Schenkl percussion fuze fully intact. Recovered: Charleston, South Carolina.. Diameter 7.9 in., weighs about 150 pounds, length 17 in... Ref: Bell Heavy Ordnance, pg. 312.

A2547...Rifled artillery projectile, Parrott design, Federal manufacture, bursting shell, short pattern with flat bottom, high band brass sabot, Schenkl percussion fuze, Parrott 200 pounder rifle, 8in. Projectile was manufactured in the Federal arsenals following development of Parrott's patent. The sabot, referred to as "type II", utilized a thin wide brass band which was softer and more flexible than wrought iron, secured to the base with rabbets. However performance was poor, the thin soft brass sabot either failed to take the rifling or had a tendency to separate on firing, resulting in shards of brass flying into the backs of the forward infantry. However for large caliber guns, fired from ships or forts, flying sabots was less of a problem and this pattern of sabot became the primary convention for siege guns. This is the shorter pattern of the 200 pounder Parrott. Fuze employed was large caliber Schenkl percussion intended to detonate upon striking enemy cannon or fortifications, fuze is marked "JP SCHENKL / PAT OCT 16 1861", Jones pg. 101. Shell measures: diameter 7.9in., length 17in., weight 150lbs. approx. with sabot. Shell measures: diameter 7.9in., length 17in., weight 150lbs. approx. with sabot. High band brass sabot shows 11 lands and grooves, fired from Parrott rifle, sabot is partial and with base chip from firing. Schenkl percussion fuze intact. Metal stable, projectile was recovered from wet ground and has been conserved.. Shell is disarmed by drill hole through the bottom. Recovered: Charleston South Carolina by Jack Melton, log of his recovery accompanies the shell. Ref: Bell Heavy Ordnance, pg. 312.

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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