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

Research Center: Artillery5056-Read

Rifled artillery projectile, Read design, Confederate manufacture, bursting shell, short pattern with bourrelet rings, tall copper ring sabot, wood time fuze, Confederate rifle, 3in. Projectile was Confederate manufactured during the war employing Read's design. This pattern utilized two bourrelet rings, as a labor saving device, only the rings had to be accurately machined, the rest could be left rough. The width of the bourrelet rings varies considerably, presumably this is operator variance in the finishing process. A lathe dimple in the base, and a casting sprue on the nose areusually prominent. Read developed this copper ring sabot, it was more flexible than the earlier wrought iron sabot, sabot is tapered at the top and seated in a deep groove well inside of the iron base. Copper ring sabot was milled inside to a bevel, then a significant safety groove was milled into the top of the sabot exterior and is sometimes cut into the bottom bourrelet ring , this sabot is typically much longer than the other Reads. Fuze employed was a wood time fuze, Jones Fuzes pg. 2, fuze hole is smooth and tapered, the simple to make fuze could easily be hammered into place. Projectile measures: diameter 2.95in., length 7.25in.(excluding fuze), weight 7.7lb. Research Center: Artillery5056-Read, Ref: Dickey & George , Field Artillery (1993 Edition), pg. 265. Details click: http://relicman.com/artillery/Artillery5056-Read.html.

A1536... Projectile measures: diameter 2.95in., length 7.25in. (excluding fuze), weight 7.7lb. Copper sabot unfired. Wood fuze was never installed. Metal is very strong, showing original casting and machining details. Projectile is disarmed by open fuze hole exposing empty cavity. Recovered: cache at Camden, South Carolina.

A1542... Projectile measures: diameter 2.95in., length 7.25in. (excluding fuze), weight 7.7lb. Copper sabot unfired. Wood fuze was never installed. Metal is very strong, showing original casting and machining details. Projectile is disarmed by open fuze hole exposing empty cavity. Recovered: cache at Camden, 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.

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.