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

Research Center: Artillery5057-Read

Rifled artillery projectile, Read design, Confederate manufacture, bursting shell, short pattern with bourrelet rings, lead plug side loader above the bourrelet ring, copper ring sabot, copper 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. A lathe dimple in the base, and a casting sprue on the nose are usually 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, ring was cast thick, then milled slightly leaving a bevel at the bottom. This pattern employed a side plug as a way to load iron balls into the shell. Conventional case shot shells were usually filled with soft matrix and lead balls, an auger would be used to drill through the lead balls and the matrix to create a void for the powder train. Because of a shortage of lead, theConfederates substituted iron balls. To drill through a mixture of matrixand iron balls would be difficult, so a sizing rod would be inserted through thefuze hole to reserve a void for the powder, the iron balls and matrix would beloaded through a side hole, once loaded the side hole would be plugged, thesizing rod would be removed, and the powder train would be filled. This one used a lead side-plug located above the bourrelet ring. Fuze employed was a Confederate copper time fuze, two spanner holes, Jones pg. 41. Projectile measures: diameter 2.95in., length 7.25in. (excluding the fuze), weight 8lbs. Research Center: Artillery5057-Read, Ref: Dickey & George, Field Artillery (1993 Edition), pg. 258. Details click: http://relicman.com/artillery/Artillery5057-Read.html.

A2147... Projectile measures: diameter 2.95in., length 7.25in. (excluding the fuze), weight 8lbs. Copper sabot shows seven lands and grooves, fired from a Confederate rifle, and is partial. Copper time fuze and lead side plug are intact. Metal is solid. Projectile is disarmed by drill hole through the paper section of the time fuze. Recovered: Spotsylvania County, Virginia.

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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