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

Research Center: Artillery5351-Schenkl

Rifled artillery projectile, Schenkl design, Federal manufacture, bursting shell, short pattern with rounded grooved base, paper sleeve sabot, Schenkl percussion fuze, Dahlgren 30 pounder rifle, 4.4 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 grooves in a rounded tail, was intended for Navy use with the Dahlgren 30 pounder rifle. This early pattern was apparently field tested at Port Hudson, then rejected. It is a "common" or standard round and will not be filled with balls, and with a percussion fuze it was designed to detonate after striking enemy cannon or equipment. Fuze employed was the Schenkl Navy percussion fuze, removable cap had a slider and percussion cap, head is 1.4in, 12 threads per inch, marked: "JP SCHENKL / PAT OCT 16 1861", Jones pg. 102, top of fuze hole is milled flat. Projectile measures: diameter 4.38in., length 9.2in. (excluding the fuze), weight 15lbs. Research Center: Artillery5351-Schenkl, Ref: Bell, Heavy Ordnance, pg. 364. Details click: http://relicman.com/artillery/Artillery5351-Schenkl.html.

A0119...Rifled artillery projectile, Schenkl design, Federal manufacture, bursting shell, short pattern with rounded grooved base, paper sleeve sabot, Schenkl percussion fuze, Dahlgren 30 pounder rifle, 4.4 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 grooves in a rounded tail, was intended for Navy use with the Dahlgren 30 pounder rifle. This early pattern was apparently field tested at Port Hudson, then rejected. It is a "common" or standard round and will not be filled with balls, and with a percussion fuze it was designed to detonate after striking enemy cannon or equipment. Fuze employed was the Schenkl Navy percussion fuze, removable cap had a slider and percussion cap, head is 1.4in, 12 threads per inch, marked: "JP SCHENKL / PAT OCT 16 1861", Jones pg. 102, top of fuze hole is milled flat. Projectile measures: diameter 4.38in., length 9.2in. (excluding the fuze), weight 15.8lbs. Schenkl percussion fuze is intact and removable. Projectile is disarmed, open fuze hole exposes empty interior. Recovered: Port Hudson, Louisiana. Ref: Bell, Heavy Ordnance, pg. 364.

A0663...Rifled artillery projectile, Schenkl design, Federal manufacture, bursting shell, short pattern with rounded grooved base, paper sleeve sabot, Schenkl percussion fuze, Dahlgren 30 pounder rifle, 4.4 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 grooves in a rounded tail, was intended for Navy use with the Dahlgren 30 pounder rifle. This early pattern was apparently field tested at Port Hudson, then rejected. It is a "common" or standard round and will not be filled with balls, and with a percussion fuze it was designed to detonate after striking enemy cannon or equipment. Fuze employed was the Schenkl Navy percussion fuze, removable cap had a slider and percussion cap, head is 1.4in, 12 threads per inch, marked: "JP SCHENKL / PAT OCT 16 1861", Jones pg. 102, top of fuze hole is milled flat. Projectile measures: diameter 4.38in., length 9.2in. (excluding the fuze), weight 15lbs. Schenkl percussion fuze is intact and removable. Projectile is disarmed, open fuze hole exposes empty interior. Recovered: Port Hudson, Louisiana. Ref: Bell, Heavy Ordnance, pg. 364.

A1844...Rifled artillery projectile, Schenkl design, Federal manufacture, bursting shell, short pattern with rounded grooved base, paper sleeve sabot, Schenkl percussion fuze, Dahlgren 30 pounder rifle, 4.4 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 grooves in a rounded tail, was intended for Navy use with the Dahlgren 30 pounder rifle. This early pattern was apparently field tested at Port Hudson, then rejected. It is a "common" or standard round and will not be filled with balls, and with a percussion fuze it was designed to detonate after striking enemy cannon or equipment. Fuze employed was the Schenkl Navy percussion fuze, removable cap had a slider and percussion cap, head is 1.4in, 12 threads per inch, marked: "JP SCHENKL / PAT OCT 16 1861", Jones pg. 102, top of fuze hole is milled flat. Projectile measures: diameter 4.38in., length 9.2in. (excluding the fuze), weight 15lbs. Schenkl percussion fuze is intact. Projectile is disarmed, drill hole on the side. Recovered: Port Hudson, Louisiana. Ref: Bell, Heavy Ordnance, pg. 364.

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.

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