Artillery

Ultra-Rare, Superb Condition CS 2.6" Rifle Canister Round Complete w/Original Wooden Sabot

Recovered from Milledgeville, Georgia

You will rarely, if ever, have a chance to add one of these to your ordnance collection. Phenomenal condition, extremely rare CS 2.6" original rifle canister round with the original wooden sabot. This was a Georgia manufactured piece, coming from the Milledgeville Arsenal. Whether made there or in nearby Atlanta, Macon, or Augusta, it is not precisely known, but this and a few other specimens have been recovered from the Milledgeville stock. This one is in outstanding condition. The tin is solidly complete, and even in such fine condition that much of the original "shiny" patina of the tin is intact! It appears non-dug, it looks so good. The wooden sabot is solidly attached. Every piece of the tin foldings on the top are also complete and present (many examples of canister rounds existing today have broken folded tines missing--not so on this one.) Canister rounds were used for very close-range combat usage, when being assaulted by an enemy who was intent on capturing a battery. It literally acted as a gigantic shotgun shell, ripping bone and flesh into a thousand pieces. What a terrifying effect canister rounds had upon massed lines of attacking infantry. George & Dickey like to refer to these 2.6" CS Rifle Canister rounds as being for a 2.6" Wiard gun--and it certainly could and would have been fired from a Wiard gun, which the Confederates are known to have captured and used them. However, being the "good engineer" that I have been in my professional life, I know that firing a 2.6" can of iron balls for short-range effect can easily be fired from a 2.9" Confederate rifled piece as well Since the rifling has no bearing on firing a "shotgun blast" of iron balls, that 0.3" won't make a darn bit of difference in firing in terms of ballistics. It'll just blow the balls out like the shotgun effect it intended to have regardless of that 0.3" difference. Therefore, I am absolutely sure from a Physics standpoint that they also could/probably used these for 2.9" CS rifled guns as well. (Note: even with rifled projectiles, there is "room" for good variation in caliber, as I have personally dug 3.67" Hotchkiss shells fired from DeGolyer's 8th Michigan Battery of 3.8" James Rifles at Champion Hill--in that case, the 3.67" lead sabot would expand into the 3.8" rifling, thus giving stability for flight out of the larger bore, and the slight caliber difference meant nothing to the Physics in play for the ballistics.)

It is a fantastic and rare specimen offered for the finest collectors of Confederate iron. How often do you even see FEDERAL canister, let alone a Confederate canister round, and at this price?

Sale Pending

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Phenomenally Rare 10-Pound Parrott/Read Shell w/ Confederate Bormann Fuse

Yet another unbelievably rare piece of ordnance for the truly advancer collector. This is a rarely seen example of a 10-Pound Read/Parrott shell, with intact iron sabot, that is fused with a Confederate Bormann fuse. This shell appears to be a US Read/Parrott that was captured and fitted for the CS Bormann fuse. The shell my be a Confederate Read/Parrott, but there is no "tell-tale" CS attributes (lathe-marks, lathe dimple, etc). Clearly, the Bormann fuse is a 100% Confederate Bormann fuse, so it clearly had to have been at the very least a captured shell that the Confederates fused for their use--a commonplace occurrence, as the supply-starved southern forces would utilize any equipment and ordnance they could get their hands on. The Bormann time fuse proved inadequate for use with rifled ordnance, and both the Federal and Confederate forces quickly stopped using them (unless out of necessity for the Confederates). Only the rifled Archer and Read/Parrott shells were ever fused with Bormann fuses for Confederate rifled projectiles. This specimen is clearly a fired projectile, though the iron sabot remains intact. The CS Bormann fuse is punched out at about 4 seconds, and the seconds and hash-marks are quite clear. It has been disarmed, cleaned, and coated long ago, and ready for your display...

$1695

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Excavated CS/US 6-Pounder Bormann-Fused Shell, Complete w/Great Brass Underplug & Excavated Bormann Fuse

The 6-pound (3.67") smoothbore gun was a stable field artillery piece of the US armies until the Civil War, and so many were present within Southern armories at the outbreak of war and within militia artillery units. They were being quickly outdated, even just prior to the war, thanks to the classic "Napoleon" 12-pounder (4.5") field piece. The main armies in the East had largely phased these smaller-calibered 6-pounders by the beginning of 1862, though Grant's army still had some for the Vicksburg Campaign. The Confederate forces were still utilizing them in great numbers everywhere through 1863, out of sheer necessity. This specimen here is a nice example of the archetypical 6-pounder Bormann-fused shell, and actually appears to be a Southern ball. It has the crude mold seam and mold anomalies present, and does utilize a standard brass spanner underplug. This is a cool example in that the Bormann fuse is not in the shell, so you can see the underplug clearly, and thus quite educational to show how the Bormann-fusing system worked. The excavated blown Bormann fuse comes with it, and is also a nice, representative example. It does not screw back in, and though you could use a Dremmel Tool to clean the threading of the shell to make it fit, I'd recommend not doing that--it's far more educational as it is. Professionally disarmed and cleaned.

$315

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This is a nice Port Hudson excavated specimen of a 3.67" Hotchkiss Bolt (solid-shot), and is one of the very few Hotchkiss 3.67" ordnance I've seen from Port Hudson. Though the Federals had a quite a few rifled 3.67" guns there, you rarely find Hotchkiss shells or bolts, since the majority of 3.67" ordnance you find are Parrott/Reads. This one is also the only unfired specimen I've personally ever see, so you know it's got to be rare from Port Hudson! The lead sabot is intact and completely solid, showing beautifully around the entire bolt. This specimen is obviously a very early find, as the iron is stable and has only minimal ground action--unlike many Port Hudson examples. The Hotchkiss patent info on the base of the cup makes it even more rare and desirable, as many never had the patent info molded into the base, or as in the case of this one, it was so feint at molding that excavated examples are hard to read. You can read most of "PATENT" and "MAY 14", but the rest is garbled in the ground action. It has been coated, and is ready for display. If someone wished to clean it up further, a Dremmel Tool would take a lot of that surface ground action right off and reveal the patent base info! Too hot for me to sweat over it (literally)...

Here's some "heavy metal" you don't see offered a lot--the larger and scarcer 4.5" Dyer shell, employed mainly by 4.5" Naval guns. They are a rather unique design and looking shell, complete with large ribbing to hold the lead sabot (this one threw the sabot in firing), a very bulbous head, and zinc paper-timed fuse adaptor. There is some minor ground action to this one, but no significant pitting whatsoever (unlike most of the Port Hudson specimens you see out there). It has been professionally cleaned and coated with Johnson's Paste Wax, and has a beautiful dark patina. The iron is completely stable and no active oxidation or flaking whatsoever.

Slick & Very Scarce War of 1812 9-Pounder American Cannonball From The Battle of New Orleans, January 8, 1815

Here's a neat piece of ordnance loaded with cool early US history! This was dug long ago by Shane Mears along the area where British soldiers overran the American lines on the west bank at the Battle of New Orleans, and armed US schooners fired into the British lines to stem the tide, amongst which were 9-pounder deck guns. This one has a classic early American crudeness (much like Confederate manufactured pieces), in that there is a distinct mold seam running across the piece hemispherically, there is a great mold-sprue deformation (where they poured the iron into the mold to make the cannonball, and capped-off the area making it a flat-spot), and several mold-vent anomalies (where gas was allowed to escape while pouring--one looks like a tiny hole in the ball, where a void allowed gas to escape in pouring). Very stable and slick iron, being virtually unpitted in any way, and clearly an early find, since the iron is in such great condition by the coast. No active oxidation whatsoever. A really neat piece of our history from one of the most historic battles of the War of 1812. Though peace between the US and Great Britain had technically been declared already (the Treaty of Ghent), news had not reached the Deep South to either side, and the Battle was a terrible loss to the British, and also launched the reputation and career of General Andrew Jackson--a meteoric rise in fame that would take him to the White House...

Nice Fuse Display Grouping, w/ Fuse Packs, Half-Cut Fuses, CS Bormann Fuse, Friction Primers, CS Fuse Adaptors, & More

Yet another great artillery display for my "heavy metal" enthusiasts. This has a little of everything, and really makes for a splendid general display of artillery fusing and ignition. I shall list all of the items, starting at the top left and going down row by row (left to right):

Scarce 10-Pound Read/Parrott Shell w/Schenkl Fuse (1861 Patent Date) -- Possible Confederate Specimen

Nice Excavated Condition, Complete Iron Sabot Intact, Cleaned, Coated, & Disarmed

Here's a hard-to-find 2.9" Read/Parrott shell! They are rarely encountered utilizing the Schenkl fuse, and this one is a very early 1861 patent-marked fuse, at that. Given the iron sabot (which is beautifully intact, and showing the rifling well), and the use of the very early Schenkl fuse, it may indeed be a Confederate specimen, as early-war Confederate rifled projectiles (such as these Read/Parrott's and Dyer's) have been found with 1861-dated Schenkl fuses. The iron is completely stable, and this one has been cleaned and coated to a beautiful dark finish. Great early-war shell, with very possible Confederate manufacture or use, utilizing the very desirable 1861-dated Schenkl fuse. This one will only cost you the price of a regular common Federal zinc-fused Parrott....

Slick & Dark, Rarer 20-Pound Parrott Excavated "Bottlenose" Bolt From Atlanta, W/ Complete Brass Sabot

The Federal armies by 1863 through 1864 had equipped their artillery arsenal with far more accurate, longer-ranged cannon, which became the terror of their foe. Able to fire accurately at 2 miles or more, rifled Parrott and Ordnance field pieces in multiple calibers were forcing the Confederates to depend upon fixed positions and fortifications for protection from the Federal "rain of fire". In response, newly-designed solid-shot "bolt" projectiles were created and used to pound away at Confederate fortified defenses to batter them down. This larger 20-Pound Parrott (standard field size was 10-Pound) "bottlenose" bolt projectile is one of them, being a very advanced engineering design utilizing Physics of the design to concentrate the force of the round's impact for maximum force, penetration, and destruction. Much like our use of "shaped-charges" today, the tapered nose comes to a much smaller "nose", in the shape of a bottle, and thus it's moniker. Far advanced thinking and design for the 1860. This specimen was excavated in Atlanta, and these rounds were well-used by Federal forces for accurately and effectively causing destruction to both the massive fortifications guarding Atlanta, and the physical structures of the town, as well. It is completely stable, with virtually no pitting--only the expected ground-action to be seen over the piece. The brass sabot is entirely intact, and shows the rifling of the 20-Pound Parrott Rifle very crisp. The form of the nose is still very distinct and intact as well (often they are chipped or highly deteriorated). A great displaying, quality specimen, as you can see in the photo's below.

No representative collection is complete, in my opinion, without having the truly representative Confederate piece of iron within it--the 12-Pound Confederate wood-plug fused shell. Only the Confederacy produced these simple, cheap, and effective shells, and became the main 12-pound field round for all the South's armies well unto the end of the war. Without a lot of brass and zinc for making fuses, and the manufacturing capacity or expertise to make ingenious percussion fusses or times-fuse adaptors, they went to the more older, simpler, and tested design of a simple cork/wood plug drive, within which they would insert the times paper fuse for burning the proper amount of seconds in flight until exploding. This specimen has good, stable iron, with the usual and expected uniform ground action, and has been professionally cleaned and coated for your display to a beautiful dark patina. No large pits or missing iron, and no active oxidation or flaking whatsoever. A great example for any collection of any theme, it will be a nice educational piece...