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

Research Center: Artillery5087-Read

Rifled artillery projectile, Read design, Confederate manufacture, bursting shell, long pattern with smooth sides, segmented interior, copper ring sabot milled, copper time fuze, Confederate 3.4in. or Blakely rifle, 3.5in. Projectile was Confederate manufactured during the war. Read developed this copper sabot, it was more flexible than the earlier wrought iron sabot Both sides produced a smooth sided shell, this Confederate version is distinguished by a lathe dimple in the base, a casting sprue on the nose, and the smooth sides were finished by turning on a lathe, nose on this pattern is bluntly rounded. Copper ring sabot is tapered at the top and seated in a deep groove well inside of the iron base, ring was cast thick, then milled to a thin edge at the bottom. Interior of the shell was segmented in star shape, an innovation to produce more even fragmentation. Fuze employed was a Confederate copper time fuze, two spanner holes, Jones pg. 41. It is not entirely clear what gun this was intended for, specimens noted seem to vary in diameter from 3.35 in to 3.45 inch which may be measurement variance caused by corrosion, distortion of sabots from firing, or machining quality variations. Many were found at High Bridge Virginia which was a low priority outpost and may have been equipped with an older smoothbore gun bored and retrofitted to take these rifled projectiles or it could have been intended for the 12 pounder Blakely rifle, 3.5 inch. Projectile measures: diameter 3.35in., length 7.75in. (excluding fuze), weight 10.9lbs. Research Center: Artillery5087-Read, Ref: Dickey & George, Field Artillery (1993 Edition), pg. 271 or 274. Details click: http://relicman.com/artillery/Artillery5087-Read.html.

A0282.. Projectile measures:diameter 3.35in., length 7.75in. (excluding fuze), weight 10.9lbs. Sabot is not fired. Time fuze intact. Metal is solid, minorareas of pitting. Projectile is disarmed: drill hole through papersection of time fuze. Recovered: High Bridge, Virginia.

A1494... Projectile measures: diameter 3.35in., length 7.75in. (excluding fuze), weight 10.9lbs. Sabot is intact and has damage, it is not determined if this is from firing or from an early attempt to disarm, but both the fuze and the sabot show similar damage. There is chunk missing from the side, this exposes the segmented interior inside. Copper time fuze intact with dings from hammering. Metal quality is solid with areas of pitting and damaged side. Shell is disarmed, missing section from the side exposes the empty interior. Recovered: Brandy Station, 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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