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

Research Center: Artillery5312-Schenkl

Rifled artillery projectile, Schenkl design, Federal manufacture, bursting shell, "case shot"lead balls packed in asphalt matrix, rounded nose, paper sleeve sabot, Schenkl combination 10 second fuze, late pattern, Ordnance rifle, 3 in. Projectile was manufactured in the Federal arsenals, following the design of John P. Schenkl. The sabot system consisted of a "forcing cone" paper sleeve, which was intended to expand into the rifling, then flutter away on release. Problems with the paper absorbing moisture or swelling and blocking passage of the flame on firing rendered it impractical with time fuzes and so it saw limited application. This pattern with rounded shoulder was designed to hold "case shot" balls, designed to disperse above the heads of troops in the open field. Lead balls of small size, about .54in. diameter, are packed in black or asphalt matrix, with long powder train which often will be off center. Fuze employed was the Schenkl combination fuze, which was a complicated contraption designed to ignite either by time or on impact. This "late" pattern fuze has the percussion mechanism on the side of the fuze and is marked on top "10 SEC", Jones pg. 105. Projectile measures: diameter 2.94in., length 9in. (excluding the fuze), weight 9lbs. Research Center: Artillery5312-Schenkl, Ref: Dickey & George, Field Artillery (1993 Edition), pg. 299. Details click: http://relicman.com/artillery/Artillery5312-Schenkl.html.

A1734...Rifled artillery projectile, Schenkl design, Federal manufacture, bursting shell, "case shot"lead balls packed in asphalt matrix, rounded nose, paper sleeve sabot, Schenkl combination 10 second fuze, late pattern, Ordnance rifle, 3 in. Projectile was manufactured in the Federal arsenals, following the design of John P. Schenkl. The sabot system consisted of a "forcing cone" paper sleeve, which was intended to expand into the rifling, then flutter away on release. Problems with the paper absorbing moisture or swelling and blocking passage of the flame on firing rendered it impractical with time fuzes and so it saw limited application. This pattern with rounded shoulder was designed to hold "case shot" balls, designed to disperse above the heads of troops in the open field. Lead balls of small size, about .54in. diameter, are packed in black or asphalt matrix, with long powder train which often will be off center. Fuze employed was the Schenkl combination fuze, which was a complicated contraption designed to ignite either by time or on impact. This "late" pattern fuze has the percussion mechanism on the side of the fuze and is marked on top "10 SEC", Jones pg. 105. Projectile measures: diameter 2.94in., length 9in. (excluding the fuze), weight 9lbs. Combination fuze is intact. Projectile is disarmed, drill hole through the side, not photographed. Recovered: Bermuda Hundred, Virginia. Ref: Dickey & George, Field Artillery (1993 Edition), pg. 299.

A1840...Rifled artillery projectile, Schenkl design, Federal manufacture, bursting shell, "case shot"lead balls packed in asphalt matrix, rounded nose, paper sleeve sabot, Schenkl combination 10 second fuze, late pattern, Ordnance rifle, 3 in. Projectile was manufactured in the Federal arsenals, following the design of John P. Schenkl. The sabot system consisted of a "forcing cone" paper sleeve, which was intended to expand into the rifling, then flutter away on release. Problems with the paper absorbing moisture or swelling and blocking passage of the flame on firing rendered it impractical with time fuzes and so it saw limited application. This pattern with rounded shoulder was designed to hold "case shot" balls, designed to disperse above the heads of troops in the open field. Lead balls of small size, about .54in. diameter, are packed in black or asphalt matrix, with long powder train which often will be off center. Fuze employed was the Schenkl combination fuze, which was a complicated contraption designed to ignite either by time or on impact. This "late" pattern fuze has the percussion mechanism on the side of the fuze and is marked on top "10 SEC", Jones pg. 105. Projectile measures: diameter 2.94in., length 9in. (excluding the fuze), weight 9lbs. Conbination fuze intact. Projectile is disarmed, drill hole through the side. Recovered: City Point, Virginia ammo explosion. Ref: Dickey & George, Field Artillery (1993 Edition), pg. 299.

A2642...Rifled artillery projectile, Schenkl design, Federal manufacture, bursting shell, "case shot"lead balls packed in asphalt matrix, rounded nose, paper sleeve sabot, Schenkl combination 10 second fuze, late pattern, Ordnance rifle, 3 in. Projectile was manufactured in the Federal arsenals, following the design of John P. Schenkl. The sabot system consisted of a "forcing cone" paper sleeve, which was intended to expand into the rifling, then flutter away on release. Problems with the paper absorbing moisture or swelling and blocking passage of the flame on firing rendered it impractical with time fuzes and so it saw limited application. This pattern with rounded shoulder was designed to hold "case shot" balls, designed to disperse above the heads of troops in the open field. Lead balls of small size, about .54in. diameter, are packed in black or asphalt matrix, with long powder train which often will be off center. Fuze employed was the Schenkl combination fuze, which was a complicated contraption designed to ignite either by time or on impact. This "late" pattern fuze has the percussion mechanism on the side of the fuze and is marked on top "10 SEC", Jones pg. 105. Projectile measures: diameter 2.94in., length 9in. (excluding the fuze), weight 9lbs. Projectile is cut showing cross section. Combination fuze intact, was removed from the cut. Projectile is disarmed, cut show exposes interior. Recovered: not known. Ref: Dickey & George, Field Artillery (1993 Edition), pg. 299.

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.