Civil War Heavy Explosive Ordnance: A Guide to Large Artillery Projectiles, Torpedoes, and Mines

CIVIL WAR HEAVY EXPLOSIVE ORDNANCE ○

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A Guide to Large Artillery Projectiles, Torpedoes, and Mines

Jack Bell

University of North Texas Press Denton, Texas

©2003 Jack Bell

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Permissions: University of North Texas Press P.O. Box 311336 Denton, TX 76203-1336 The paper used in this book meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, z39.48.1984. Binding materials have been chosen for durability. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Bell, Jack, 1941– Civil War heavy explosive ordnance : a guide to large artillery projectiles, torpedoes, and mines / Jack Bell. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-57441-163-2 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Projectiles—History—19th century. 2. Torpedoes—United States—History—19th century. 3. Torpedoes—Confederate States of America—History. 4. Mines (Military explosives)—United States—History—19th century. 5. Mines (Military explosives)—Confederate States of America—History. 6. United States—History—Civil War, 1861–1865—Equipment and supplies. I. Title. UF753.B44 2003 623.4'51'097309034—dc 21 2002045577

WARNING Most Civil War artillery projectiles and torpedoes are still loaded when they are recovered. Large ones are especially dangerous. Many have virtually waterproof fuzes that have effectively sealed the explosive charge against moisture, contamination, or deterioration. In the last 50 years several people have been killed or injured attempting to unload large caliber Civil War projectiles. Every collector and dealer should personally inspect every projectile to ensure that all of the gunpowder has been removed. This is best done with a probe light that can be inserted into the projectile to highlight the contents. This book does not provide any guidance regarding the unloading of artillery projectiles. Such work is extremely dangerous and should be done only by qualified experts. Someone who has survived a previous effort to unload a projectile is not a qualified expert. Dealers should be able to provide information on qualified experts. It is illegal to ship loaded projectiles by any means— U.S. Mail, UPS, FedEx or any other means—without a permit. And in many states, the possession and transport of loaded projectiles is a violation of laws and regulations. It is also illegal in many states and on federal property to recover historic artifacts without a permit. Individuals should check with local, state, and federal authorities to investigate the permitting process. Serious criminal penalties apply to some of these violations.

Dedication To the hundreds of nameless artillery collectors, museum curators, historians, dealers, and diggers—those who have recovered, preserved and protected Civil War heavy explosive ordnance from the ravages of time and, most important, from the mindless actions of others who otherwise would have destroyed them.

Contents ○

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Preface .................................................................................................................. vii Acknowledgments .................................................................................................... x Introduction ............................................................................................................ 1 The Role of Heavy Explosive Ordnance in Strategic Battles ...................................... 19 Guide to Using Data Sheets..................................................................................... 30 Glossary ................................................................................................................ 36 Section 1 — Large Smoothbore Projectiles .............................................................. Shot, Shell, and Case Shot ........................................................................... Canister ...................................................................................................... Grape Stands and Quilted Grape ..................................................................

43 43 90 99

Section 2 — Introduction to Rifled Projectiles ........................................................ 113 Absterdam ................................................................................................. 114 Archer ....................................................................................................... 117 Armstrong ................................................................................................. 120 Blakely ...................................................................................................... 133 Britten ....................................................................................................... 141 Brooke ....................................................................................................... 153 Broun ........................................................................................................ 197 Cochran ..................................................................................................... 204 Dahlgren ................................................................................................... 207 Dyer .......................................................................................................... 219 Harding ..................................................................................................... 225 Hotchkiss .................................................................................................. 238 James ........................................................................................................ 255 Lynall Thomas ........................................................................................... 264 Maury ....................................................................................................... 268 Mullane ..................................................................................... see Tennessee Parrott ....................................................................................................... 271 Preston-Blakely .......................................................................................... 320 Read .......................................................................................................... 324 Sawyer ...................................................................................................... 354 Schenkl ..................................................................................................... 359 Selma ........................................................................................................ 379 Skates ........................................................................................................ 388

Stafford ...................................................................................................... 391 Tennessee .................................................................................................. 398 Tredegar .................................................................................................... 432 Whitworth ................................................................................................. 445 Miscellaneous ............................................................................................ 453 Section 3 — Torpedoes and Mines ......................................................................... 471 Appendices Appendix A — Missing and Unaccounted for Projectiles .............................. 497 Appendix B — Civil War Cannon Rifling ..................................................... 499 Appendix C — Rifled Projectile Sabot Designs ............................................. 506 Bibliography ......................................................................................................... 527 Index .................................................................................................................... 531

Preface ○

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This book is a working reference guide for the study and identification of Civil War heavy explosive ordnance. I hope that it will serve as a useful guide for both the casual collector and the advanced student of Civil War explosive ordnance. The Civil War was a time of great experimentation, with appalling failures and stunning successes on both sides along the way in the development of heavy explosive ordnance. It was this process of experimentation, failure, and success that produced the wide variety of types of cannon, projectiles, sabots, torpedoes, mines, and fuzes that we see today. It also brought us to the dawn of modern warfare as we know it. This book highlights some of this history as background to its primary role as a reference guide. As a reference guide, the book covers: (a) large smoothbore artillery projectiles beginning with the 32-pounder caliber; (b) large rifled artillery projectiles beginning with the 4-inch caliber; and (c) torpedoes and mines.1 The smoothbore section provides expanded coverage of grape stands to include field calibers, because these were not covered broadly in the earlier field artillery projectile books. Altogether, this book includes about 360 large caliber projectiles and 22 torpedoes and mines. This scope dovetails cleanly with most reference books in print that cover field artillery projectiles. In all categories, the book includes a number of so-called “experimental” projectiles, for three reasons. First, we now know that a number of these large caliber so-called experimental projectiles were used in actual battlefield situations (e.g., Staffords, McIntyres, Peveys, etc.). We may discover in the future that other so-called experimental projectiles were also used in actual battles. Second, research has shown that some projectiles that were thought to be experimental or unique (e.g., the 11-inch triple-fuzed shell), were in fact manufactured in large quantities for battle usage. And third, there are a number of large caliber experimental projectiles in circulation in the collectors’ market, and information is needed about them to document their status. Equally important for coverage of heavy explosive ordnance, research in original period documentation has provided significant new information and perspective about the design and use of heavy explosive ordnance in the war. This is covered in the Introduction and in the second chapter “The Role of Heavy Explosive Ordnance in Major Strategic Battles,” as well as in the text introductions to each section of projectiles and torpedoes. vii

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PREFACE

To get the most value out of the book, you should read the “Guide to Using Data Sheets” for important information and perspectives about the data on each projectile and torpedo. In particular please note the background on how the rarity scale and the provenance information were developed. Important additional information is also provided in the Appendices: Appendix A provides a list of projectiles identified in the historical record that are not known to have survived to modern times. Appendix B provides information on cannon rifling, identifying all known rifling for every known caliber of rifled cannon used in the war. This information will help the student identify a rifled projectile with a particular cannon. Like the book, it is a work in progress, and additions are welcomed. Appendix C provides detailed information on sabot designs that will aid in projectile identification. The Bibliography and footnotes identify additional sources of information in related books and documents for the student who wants additional source material. In particular, The Big Guns: Civil War Siege, Seacoast, and Naval Cannon, by Olmstead, Stark, and Tucker and Artillery Fuses2 of the Civil War, by Chuck Jones, are useful companion books. It should be noted that most information on large caliber cannon not otherwise footnoted is from The Big Guns and is used with permission. The data sheet sections of the book are organized along traditional lines: • Smoothbore projectiles are listed first, by type: spherical projectiles, canister, grape stands and quilted grape. Within each type, projectiles are listed in ascending order by caliber. With few exceptions, smoothbore shot are not shown in the data sheets, since they have no distinguishing visual characteristics. The weight of solid shot are identified in the first data sheet for each caliber. • Rifled projectiles are listed by designer, then by caliber, then by type of projectile: bolts, shells, and case shot. • Torpedoes are listed in their section according to their type: Stationary and anchored torpedoes, which are defensive in nature; and drifting torpedoes and spar torpedoes, which are offensive in nature. As with all historic reference books, this is a work in progress. Some projectiles known to have survived to modern times could not be located and documented. Other projectiles and torpedoes were identified, described, and sometimes even drawn in original source documents, but no specimens could be found that have survived to modern times. These “mystery” projectiles are identified in Appendix A: “Missing and Unaccounted For.” Three puzzles were not solved and remain for future research efforts: 1. The identity and history of “Harding” who is credited in period photographs with designing the Harding family of projectiles made and used in the Charleston area.

PREFACE

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There was apparently a Captain James Harding at the Charleston Arsenal, but no period documentation could be located that identified him or any work he did in designing projectiles. See the section on Harding projectiles for more information. 2. The identity of the designer of a family of projectiles manufactured by Tredegar Foundry during the early months of the war, identified in this book as “Tredegar” projectiles. It was probably Dr. Robert Archer, who designed the Archer projectiles and the Archer safety fuzes, but I could not find specific documentation to prove it.3 See the “Archer” and “Tredegar “sections for more information on this puzzle. 3. Why the so-called “Broun” shells and bolts in the 6.4-inch and 7-inch caliber would appear in Mobile. Their appearance there contradicts the logistical plan for Mobile to be supported by foundries in Selma and Atlanta, neither of which are known to have made Broun projectiles. Equally important, these projectiles do not show up in any of the east coast Confederate defensive positions that Broun and the Richmond Arsenal would have been supporting. See the section on Broun projectiles for more information. For those interested in the details of how the book manuscript was prepared, all the photography was done using digital technology with a Sony Cybershot 3.3-megapixel digital camera. Better quality digital cameras are available now in the 5-megapixel range, and these are recommended for future efforts. The scanner used was Epson Perfection 1250, with resolution of 1200 by 2400 DPI. The digital software used for page production included Adobe PhotoShop, Adobe Illustrator, and Microsoft Word. The book was assembled and formatted using Adobe PageMaker.

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Both torpedoes and mines were generally called “torpedoes” during the Civil War. While technically inaccurate by today’s standards, this terminology is used here, because of the reliance on period literature. 2 “Fuses” and “fuzes” are both correct spellings for the same items. Period civilian documents such as U.S. Patent Office filings generally used the spelling “fuses.” Period military documents and artifacts generally used the spelling “fuzes.” Jones has opted for the civilian spelling. I have opted for the military spelling. 3 Charles Dew identified Dr. Robert Archer as the designer of both projectiles and fuzes for Tredegar Foundry; Dew, 97. Cdr. John Brooke also referred to Dr. Robert Archer as the designer of shells and fuzes; Brooke, Ironclads, 45. See section on Archer and Tredegar projectiles for more information.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS A historic reference book is never the work of a single individual. Collaboration with collectors, museum curators, and experts in related fields is essential to achieve adequate coverage of a subject. Many people contributed to this book, beginning with some important “collectors” at the end of the Civil War. First among these was Brig. Gen. Henry L. Abbot, whose collection of projectiles during and just after the war constitutes the bulk of the current West Point Civil War artillery collection. Another was Bvt. Brig. Gen. Peter S. Michie, USMA Class of 1863, who in the summer of 1865 collected many of the Confederate torpedoes that are shown in the book, which are also in the West Point collection. On the navy side, a number of Union Navy ship captains brought back Confederate projectiles or torpedoes to the Naval Academy, West Point, or the Washington Navy Yard. Fortunately, the navy meticulously engraved many of these projectiles with data on their provenance and dates of usage, providing important information about the usage of certain types of projectiles. Almost every Civil War artillery book acknowledges Tom Dickey. He inspired so many current collectors with his infectious enthusiasm for finding projectiles. In my case Tom showed up at my house outside Marietta, Georgia, in 1951. He took me on my first relic hunt with his World War II mine detector. Tom was a meticulous record keeper and carefully labeled each projectile he found or acquired with coded information about projectile provenance. That data has proven to be extremely valuable in identifying the provenance today of many of the shells in this book. Fortunately, much of Tom’s collection and that of Beverly Dubose, another inspiring collector, are now preserved at the Atlanta History Center. This book builds on the pioneering work of two earlier books published in the early 1970s: Heavy Artillery Projectiles of the Civil War, 1861-1865, by Sid Kerkis and Tom Dickey; and Artillery & Ammunition of the Civil War, by Warren Ripley. Unless I had reason to change, I have used their terminology and classification systems for projectiles and sabots. Where I have changed or added names of rifled projectile designers, it is based on information that has become available subsequent to the publication of their books. I want to express special appreciation to those institutions that made their collections available for photographing and study. These include: • The Atlanta History Center, with special thanks to Myers Brown for his efforts to facilitate my visit and documentation effort. • The Citadel Archives and Museum in Charleston, with special thanks to Jane Yates for hosting my visit there. • The Historic Charleston Foundation, with special thanks to Valerie Perry for hosting my visit to the McLeod plantation on James Island.

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• The National Park Service Fort Sumter National Monument, with special thanks to Rick Hatcher for his efforts to facilitate my visit and for the research information he shared so freely. I also want to express my appreciation to Rick for his effort to review the manuscript and for his corrections and suggestions. • The North Carolina Division of Archives and History, with special thanks to Ray Flowers and Nathan Henry for hosting my visit to their facility at Fort Fisher. • The U.S. Military Academy at West Point, with special thanks to Robert Fisch and Paul Ackerman for hosting my visits and providing valuable information about the projectiles and torpedoes in their collection. • The U.S. Naval Academy, with special thanks to James Cheevers for hosting my visit and for providing very helpful information that aided us in tracking projectile provenance to specific ships. • The U.S. Navy Washington Navy Yard, with special thanks to Dr. Norman Carey and Dr. Edward Fergle for providing me access to their public and nonpublic collections. I want to acknowledge the many individuals who allowed me to photograph their collections or who contributed material, information, and perspective for this book: Howard Alligood John Bartleson Glenn Beckham Roger Bethke Rick Burton Freddie Clark Joe Chance Greg Craven Glenn Dutton Roger Edwards Rafael Eledge Peter George Riley Gunter Rick Hatcher Paul Hricz Jerry Imperio Chuck Jones Keith Kenerly Mike Kochan Ken Kurdt Bennett Langely Bob MacDonald Al MacIntosh Larry McCoy Torrey McLean Jack Melton Steve Phillips Dan Poppen Andy Rice Harry Ridgeway Jaime Roussett Wayne Stark Jay Taylor Bill Tracy Sam White Butch Williams Richard Williamson Dean Winebrenner Dickie Wolfe Paul Wohlford This book draws heavily on cannon information from Wayne Stark and from the recent book, The Big Guns: Civil War Siege, Seacoast and Naval Cannon, by Olmstead, Stark, and Tucker. I recommend that any serious student of large artillery projectiles purchase The Big Guns as a companion to this book in studying the development of heavy artillery in the Civil War. I also want to express my appreciation for Wayne’s patient and comprehensive review of the manuscript and for his comments and corrections for the book. Special thanks is also due to several hardy friends who volunteered to assist me in the physical labor in moving projectiles for weighing, measuring and photographing: John

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Barry, Bill Tracy, and Richard Williamson. Given the number of projectiles documented and the weights involved, theirs was a Herculean effort. On the technical side, thanks to Michelle Bock, my software consultant, who helped me in the effort to produce this book in digital form and who taught me how to use the software so essential to digital photography and page layout. Finally, on a personal level, I want to acknowledge the support and forbearance of my wife, Gin, who endured my irrepressible enthusiasm and obsession with researching and authoring this book and who provided encouragement and support for my efforts to get it published.

Introduction ○

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The development and deployment of heavy explosive ordnance was perhaps the greatest technology breakthrough of the Civil War. Even by modern standards, the accomplishments were impressive: • Heavy rifled shells weighing 150 pounds or more were fired distances of four miles or more; • Armor piercing projectiles were developed that could penetrate four to eight inches of armor and splinter one or two feet of the wooden understructure, disabling or killing dozens in a single shot; • Incendiary shells weighing 125 pounds were hurled three to four miles into urban targets; • Torpedoes weighing up to 3,000 pounds were deployed in rivers and harbors, destroying the most formidable warships in a single blow, and forcing major changes in naval tactics; • The world’s first successful submarine attack sank a major warship; and • The world’s first armored railroad battery saw action.1 Equally impressive was the scale with which heavy explosive ordnance was used, a scale never known before, and a harbinger of twentieth-century warfare. In 1863 the Confederates in the Charleston area were firing as much as 25 tons per day of heavy projectiles at Union forces, who were firing 40 tons of artillery a day at Fort Sumter alone. 2 Then in December 1864 and January 1865, the Union Navy, in a four-day bombardment of Fort Fisher, fired almost 40,000 heavy projectiles weighing more than 2.9 million pounds, an average of 362 tons per day.3 During this same period, torpedo warfare took a leap from infancy to full maturity as a major new dimension of war. The Confederates deployed thousands of underwater and underground torpedoes, and sank more Union ships during the war than all the Confederate artillery combined: 43 ships and gunboats, including four Monitor-type gunboats and two other ironclads.4 A single torpedo sank the USS Tecumseh at the entrance to Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864, killing 93 officers and men. And two more ironclads and a tug were sunk in 1865 in an attempt to clear a massive minefield at the mouth of the Blakely River at the north end of Mobile Bay.5 These dramatic advances in destructive capabilities led to a massive postwar redesign of ships and forts worldwide and to fundamental changes in offensive and defensive

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INTRODUCTION

strategies and tactics. But during the war, the changes came so quickly that military leaders struggled to adapt their thinking to the new realities of warfare. The first indication of how quickly traditional military thinking had to change came with the duel of the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia on March 9, 1862. As one astute eyewitness to the duel put it, “The death knell for wooden ships for war purposes was sounded last Saturday.”6 Then a month later the Union Army deployed large numbers of heavy rifled cannon for the first time. In a brief 31-hour siege, they battered Fort Pulaski into surrender, and made obsolete the entire fort system that same army had designed for the defense of the American coastline, which was still under construction at the time. The strategic importance of these and other major developments is described in the chapter that follows. The remainder of this chapter traces the development of the design, manufacture, and deployment of heavy explosive ordnance. First, a few notes on some confusing terminology and concepts: • In Civil War documentation, smoothbore cannon up through the 42-pounder caliber (7-inch bore size) were identified by the weight of a solid shot they were designed to fire (e.g., 42-pounder). Above that caliber, they were identified primarily by their bore size (e.g., 8-inch) and secondarily by the type of cannon (e.g., Columbiad). • Both Union and Confederate Navys identified their large smoothbore cannon (above the 42-pounder caliber) using Roman numerals. Thus, the navy identified a cannon with a bore of nine inches as a “IX-inch gun,” while the army identification would be “9-inch gun.” This was done even if the cannon were identical. More confusing, the Roman numeral approach was inconsistently applied to rifled cannon. • For rifled cannon, both sides used Arabic numerals (e.g., 6.4-inch gun) and a pounder designation (e.g., 100-pounder Parrott rifle) interchangeably. Unfortunately, the army and the navy had different pounder designations for some identical rifled cannon; for example the army called the 8-inch Parrott rifle a 200-pounder, while the navy called it a 150-pounder. • Even more confusing, the American and British pounder designations for British guns imported for the Confederacy were also sometimes different. For example, the Americans identified a 5-inch British Whitworth rifle as an 80-pounder. The British identified it as a 70-pounder. Despite these inconsistencies, this book uses the identifications used during the period, to provide a connection with period literature.

THE SITUATION AT SECESSION As the Southern states seceded in 1860 and early 1861, they took control of a large number of smoothbore cannons, projectiles, fuzes, and barrels of gunpowder in U.S. government facilities in the South. From the Army forts and the U.S. Arsenal at Baton

INTRODUCTION

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Rouge, they captured a significant share of the total cannon in the Army’s possession at that time7 : 42# 32# 24# 18# 12# 6# Total Cannon Captured by CS 38 308 344 11 17 8 726 Remaining US Cannon 145 546 327 25 43 32 1,118 More important, the Confederacy came into possession of almost 1,200 heavy caliber cannon when the Union Navy abandoned Gosport (Norfolk) Navy Yard near Portsmouth, Virginia, in April 1861. In their haste to leave, the Union Navy burned or scuttled eleven major ships, including the USS Merrimack,8 later to be salvaged and launched as the CSS Virginia. They also left behind 1,195 heavy caliber guns,9 including one XI-inch Dahlgren, two X-inch Dahlgrens, 52 IX-inch Dahlgrens and 83 VIII-inch guns and howitzers.10 The Confederates also captured over 300,000 pounds of gunpowder there.11 At the Pensacola Navy Yard, the Confederates also captured 32 cannon (including two VIII-inch, eight 32-pounders and twenty-two 18-pounders), and 400 to 500 barrels of gunpowder.12 The gunpowder was as critical as the cannon. The South had no facilities for manufacturing the massive tonnage of gunpowder needed for the conduct of the war at the time it began. Many of the cannon captured by the Confederates were obsolete or in unusable condition, but their capture gave the Confederacy time to develop its own explosive ordnance programs to hold Union forces at bay. Two of the five major cannon foundries producing large cannon for the U.S. government before the war were located in the South: the Tredegar Iron Works Foundry of Joseph R. Anderson and Co. in Richmond, Virginia, and the Bellona Foundry in Chesterfield County, Virginia, near Richmond, owned by Dr. Junius Archer. The three major cannon foundries in the North were Cyrus Alger in Boston, Fort Pitt Foundry in Pittsburgh, and the West Point Foundry under Robert Parrott in Cold Spring, New York, across the Hudson River from West Point. Anticipating the beginning of armed conflict with the South, the U.S. Army entered into an agreement with retired Gen. Charles T. James in December 1860, to rifle 50 percent of the cannon belonging to the U.S. Army. This work had barely gotten underway when hostilities began. Gen. James would also design and get contracts for the manufacture of the 3.8-inch and 4.62-inch James rifles and the James family of projectiles that were responsible for the siege victory at Fort Pulaski in April 1862.

WHEN HOSTILITIES BEGAN After the opening bombardment and surrender at Fort Sumter, the Union launched a two-pronged effort. The first effort focused on producing large caliber smoothbores, to replace those lost to the Confederates at Gosport and at southern U.S. Army forts and arsenals, to replace obsolete cannon in their inventories, and to arm the vastly larger

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INTRODUCTION

navy fleet required to blockade Southern ports. The second effort was to design and manufacture the new types of heavy rifled cannon and projectiles that both sides knew represented the weapons technology of the future. Confederate forces adopted a three-pronged effort: manufacturing large caliber smoothbores and their projectiles, designing and manufacturing heavy rifled cannon and the new rifled projectiles (and buying them in England), and deploying torpedoes in rivers and harbors to deter the Union fleet from early attacks on key coastal and river positions. Although the South captured a number of heavy smoothbore cannon, they realized that most of the major U.S. forts in the South were armed with inadequate numbers of mostly obsolete cannon, and that many additional defensive fortifications would be needed to blunt Union attacks. Equally important, the Confederacy began the war without a single warship, and both ships and heavy cannon would be needed to develop a credible naval capability. The technology for rifled field artillery was already in hand on both sides and being rolled out as the war began. However, the technology and resources needed to manufacture large rifled cannon and projectiles, heavy smoothbore cannon, and underwater torpedoes presented numerous challenges to both sides. Large rifles and projectiles were much more difficult to design and manufacture than smoothbores for several reasons. Firing of rifled cannon produced chamber pressure four to five times greater than that of smoothbore guns. In large caliber cannons, even the best cast iron could not contain such pressures without extremely complicated processes.13 Even with wrought iron reinforcing bands, large rifled cannon sometimes burst after a few rounds, or the projectiles burst in the barrel, damaging or destroying the gun and creating friendly fire casualties. Recognizing these challenges, ordnance officers on both sides developed balanced programs of smoothbore and rifle production, to have enough reliable smoothbore cannon until the problems of the large rifles could be solved.

SMOOTHBORE DEVELOPMENT In addition to reliability, smoothbores had several other advantages over rifled cannon that gave them an equal standing with rifles throughout the war. These advantages were: • At ranges of 700 yards or less, smoothbore projectiles had greater impact on targets than rifled projectiles of the same weight.14 Beyond that range, the velocity of smoothbore projectiles decreased rapidly due to wind resistance. The navy conducted most of its engagements at relatively close ranges anyway because of the difficulty of shooting accurately on the water. This brought them into the range where smoothbores were as effective as rifles, especially for shot and bolts. • Over calm water, gunners could depress the muzzles of smoothbore guns below the target and ricochet the projectile along the water, impacting the target at or

INTRODUCTION

5

below the waterline. Rifled projectiles could not do that and often overshot or undershot their targets when fired from navy ships.15 • Smoothbore projectiles did not create the same friendly fire hazards as rifled projectiles among gun crews and forward troops. In particular, smoothbore cannon did not have the same tendency to burst during firing, endangering gun crews and sometimes entire ships. • For naval purposes, smoothbores offered most of the advantages of rifled cannon without the challenge of accurately firing rifled cannon from ships with the unavoidable risk of the rifled cannon bursting. For this reason, all Monitor-class gunboats had at least one XI-inch or XV-inch smoothbore aboard. More significant, all Monitor-type gunboats launched after March 1864 were armed only with XVinch Dahlgren smoothbores.16 • Finally, the development of the very large smoothbores, in the XI-inch and XV-inch calibers, provided a crushing power that matched the penetrating power of the largest rifled projectiles. Even before the war, Capt. Thomas J. Rodman had developed a breakthrough technique for hollow casting large cannon, and had delivered a 15-inch smoothbore gun to the Union Army at Fort Monroe for testing.17 By October 1862 the first 15-inch cannon for service was delivered to the Union Army. The Union Navy received its first XV-inch Dahlgren smoothbore in time to put it on the USS Montauk before it was commissioned on December 17,1862.18 Ironically, before the war Tredegar Foundry was encouraged by the U.S. Army to adopt the Rodman method of casting cannon and lost a major contract by refusing to do it.19 This attitude cost the South dearly, limiting Tredegar’s ability to cast cannon larger than 10-inch bores until 1864. Confederate foundries were able to produce 11-inch smoothbores only in 1864. Eleven 11-inch Brooke smoothbores were made (nine in Selma). Apparently only four of them ever saw action: one in Charleston,20 one on the CSS Virginia II,21 and two at Battery Buchanan at Fort Fisher.22 It is also significant that towards the end of the war, Tredegar Foundry was working to finish two 12-inch smoothbores using Rodman’s hollow casting process as the next step in Confederate artillery development, instead of a 9-inch or 10inch rifle.23 Confederate foundries suffered more from shortages in skilled manpower and raw materials than from shortages in technology. Primarily for these reasons, even the major cannon foundries had problems casting the number and size of the rifles and smoothbores the Confederates needed. The lack of adequate supplies of pig iron and skilled labor prevented the Tredegar Foundry from operating at more than one-third capacity during the entire four years of the war.24 The Selma Naval Gun Foundry struggled with labor and materials problems during its construction in 1863 and throughout its existence.

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INTRODUCTION

After it began casting guns in August 1863,25 a high percentage of its guns were condemned, including nine of twenty-four 6.4-inch Brooke rifles and fourteen of fifty-five 7-inch Brooke rifles. Tredegar and Selma combined managed to produce only eleven 11-inch smoothbores and only four 8-inch Brooke rifles before the war ended.26 The awesome destructive power of the 15-inch smoothbore projectiles was so great that it delayed the sunset of smoothbore technology at least another 10 years. Only in 1878 did the U.S. Army and Navy begin to undertake programs to convert their 10-inch Rodmans and XI-inch Dahlgrens into 8-inch rifles.

RIFLED CANNON DEVELOPMENT When the war began, neither Union nor Confederate forces had more than a few large caliber rifled cannon. Because of significant differences in the availability of raw materials, skilled labor, and manufacturing capabilities, Union and Confederate ordnance departments and offices followed different approaches in developing rifled cannon and projectiles for their armies and navies, as described below.

Union Approach The U.S. Army Ordnance Department contract for Gen. Charles T. James to rifle 50 percent of the large caliber smoothbore cannons in the coastal forts around the country was accelerated and a number of 32-pounder and 42-pounder guns were rifled. Many of these ended up on navy ships, particularly on the Mississippi River in 1862 and 1863. To obtain the rifles and rifled projectiles needed once the war started, the War Department, representing the Union Army, approached private contractors, who owned their own gun and projectile foundries or who had contracts with major private foundries. The following business relationships have been documented in the reports submitted under Executive order # 99:27 Designer Foundry John Absterdam John Absterdam, New York Chase, Sharp and Thompson, Philadelphia, PA Dickson & Zane, Philadelphia, PA A.J. Smith Alexander Dyer Calvin Adams Knap, Rudd & Co. Pennock Hart & Co, Robinson, Menis, & Miller Smith Park & Co., Pittsburgh, PA William Sellers & Co., Philadelphia, PA Andrew Hotchkiss Hotchkiss & Sons, N.Y., N.Y. Norman Wiard Gen. Charles T. James Ames Mfg. Co., Chicopee, Mass.

INTRODUCTION

Robert P. Parrott Sylvanus Sawyer

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West Point Foundry, Cold Spring, NY S & AM Sawyer S & JB Sawyer John P. Schenkl Cyrus Alger, Boston, Mass. Some of the variations noted in Union projectiles of identical design and caliber are probably related to their manufacture in different foundries. The Union Navy was more active and directive in its rifle and projectile procurement program than the army. While using a number of the same designers and foundries as the army for its smoothbores, rifles, and projectiles, the navy also manufactured or finished a significant number of its smoothbore and rifled cannon, projectiles, and fuzes in their own yards and workshops.28 Recently discovered documents confirm that the Washington Navy Yard even manufactured Whitworth bolts for two captured 5-inch Whitworth rifles used by Union forces in Charleston.29 Rear Adm. John A. Dahlgren, the Union Navy’s chief of ordnance for the early part of the war, designed a family and system of rifles before and during the war. He worked with Cyrus Alger, Fort Pitt Foundry, and the Washington Navy Yard to develop, test, and produce 4.4-inch, 5.1-inch, and 6-inch rifles for the navy in 1861, in addition to 3.4-inch boat howitzers.30 He had already developed IX-inch and XI-inch smoothbore shell guns and other cannon for the Navy, and production of these cannon accelerated dramatically at the beginning of the war. In early February 1862 at Roanoke Island, North Carolina, one of the Dahlgren 6-inch rifles burst.31 The Navy Ordnance Board immediately ordered an inspection of all Dahlgren rifles, then ordered the 4.4-inch and 6-inch rifles withdrawn from service on February 17.32 However, in the spring of 1863, the Navy found itself short of large caliber rifles to simultaneously support three major sieges being planned for Charleston, Vicksburg, and Port Hudson. Based on projectile recoveries, it is obvious that they decided to bring the 4.4-inch Dahlgren rifles back into service temporarily for use in the navy attacks on Port Hudson and the 6-inch Dahlgren rifles into service for the Vicksburg bombardment. This explains why we have the rare, brief appearance of 4.4-inch short Schenkl projectiles almost exclusively at Port Hudson and Grand Gulf. This also explains the brief appearance of 6-inch Hotchkiss shells at Vicksburg, and almost nowhere else in 1863 or afterwards. It appears that in bringing the condemned rifles back into service, the Union Navy designed lightweight shells to reduce the risk of the guns bursting. After Port Hudson and Vicksburg, these 4.4-inch and 6-inch Dahlgren rifles were withdrawn yet again, replaced with 4.2-inch and 6.4-inch Parrott rifles as they became available.33 In 1863 Dahlgren brought out the 4-inch Dahlgren bronze rifle, which saw only limited action except at Fort Fisher.34 In 1864 Dahlgren came out with an improved design for the 4.4-inch rifle and the rare longer and heavier 4.4-inch Schenkl and Dahlgren projectiles were used for those guns.

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INTRODUCTION

Parrott led the way in producing both field caliber and large caliber rifles for both the army and navy, a lead he never lost. Parrott had already delivered the first 2.9-inch Parrott rifle to Virginia in 1860. Following an enthusiastic test report from Thomas Jonathan Jackson (later to be known as “Stonewall”), Virginia bought another 12 Parrott rifles. Parrott delivered these 2.9-inch rifles to Virginia in time for one to be deployed at the Battle of Big Bethel on June 10, 1861.35 The first 4.2-inch Parrott rifles were delivered in May 1861 in time to be used by the Union Army at First Manassas, where the Confederates captured one, along with seven 2.9-inch Parrott rifles.36 Particularly in the 6.4-inch and 8-inch calibers, Parrott’s rifles were manufactured quickly and in massive quantities. Some say Parrott manufactured them too quickly. Large Parrott rifles had the worst record of any Union cannon for premature bursting of both rifles and projectiles. Of 110 large caliber Union cannon that cracked or burst in action during the war, 93 were Parrotts: three 4.2-inch, sixty 6.4-inch, nineteen 8-inch, and one 10-inch.37 Ironically, both Gen. Quincy Gillmore and Gen. Henry Abbot expressed high opinions of the Parrott rifles during and just after the war.38 However, in testimony before the Joint (Congressional) Committee on Ordnance in 1869, Gillmore declared, “[The] average endurance of his [Parrott’s] guns is 310 rounds. I have always regarded the form of Mr. Parrott’s large guns as defective.”39 The Union Navy never had a high opinion of Parrott rifles, projectiles, or fuzes. After a running argument with Parrott about the cause of cannon bursting and premature shell explosions, Admiral Dahlgren ordered the replacement of Parrott fuzes with Schenkl, Sawyer, and Hotchkiss fuzes in Parrott shells on March 16, 1863.40 Then on July 7, 1863, as he assumed command of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, Dahlgren ordered that navy commanders replace Parrott projectiles with Schenkl in the 6.4-inch and 8-inch Parrott rifles, and that Hotchkiss projectiles be used in the 3.67-inch and 4.2inch Parrott rifles.41 It was the poor endurance of the Parrott rifles that caused the navy’s concern about the danger of casualties during a major bombardment. This concern became a reality during the two attacks on Fort Fisher in December 1864 and January 1865. As described by the Joint Committee on Ordnance, “The Battle of Fort Fisher was the only occasion during the war when rifled guns of large caliber were fired rapidly and continuously for a great number of rounds.”42 Nine large Parrott rifles burst during the bombardments. Admiral Porter, the Union Navy commander during the bombardments, gave damning reports on them. After the first attack in December, he stated that the Parrott 100-pounders “were unfit for service, and calculated to kill more of our men than those of the enemy.” In his report after the second attack, he wrote, “I believe we have burst all the rifled guns left in our fleet . . . and I think the reputation of these guns is now about ruined.”43 After Schenkl was killed in a fuze test accident in 1863, the quality of Schenkl shells

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deteriorated, and the navy reluctantly returned to using Parrott projectiles. However, they continued to use Schenkl shells and fuzes and navy watercap fuzes in the Parrott shells until the end of the war. These developments explain the appearance of Schenkl and navy watercap fuzes in Parrott shells, as well as the use of Schenkl projectiles in navy Parrott rifles, especially around Charleston in 1863-64.44 Projectile recoveries from late war battlefields confirm that large caliber Schenkl shells were used by Union Navy ships and gunboats until the very end of the war. Despite the controversy, Parrott was the low-cost producer. He demonstrated he could ramp his production quickly to meet the needs of both the army and navy. As a result, Parrott’s large rifles eventually became the standard in both the army and navy. Parrott’s insistence that only Parrott projectiles be used in his rifles was largely successful, especially with the army. Because he made more rifles, Parrott produced more rifled projectiles than any other manufacturer in the war. Early in the war, other Northern cannon and projectile designers attempted to gain favor with politicians or senior Union military officers in order to get production contracts, with varying degrees of success. Some of these designers got limited production contracts, and their projectiles were used under actual battle conditions (e.g., Cochran, Pattison, and Stafford). Others managed to get larger production contracts in a number of calibers with the army or navy, such as Absterdam, Dyer, and Sawyer. The Union Army and Union Navy apparently had policies to deploy marginal and obsolete cannon and projectiles in the western theater (Mississippi River and Gulf coast areas), as soon as more effective rifles and projectiles could be provided to units on the east coast. This explains why certain types of Union projectiles are recovered almost exclusively on western battlefields. This includes 7-inch Dyers, virtually all Sawyer projectiles,45 and 3.8-inch and 4.62-inch James projectiles. Towards the end of the war, the army and navy attempted to use up their obsolete and marginal ammunition inventories at Petersburg and at Fort Fisher, which is why a number of otherwise obsolete projectiles have been recovered from those late war battlefields.

Confederate Approach With more limited manufacturing and raw materials capabilities, the Confederates adopted an aggressive, pragmatic approach to rifle and projectile design. To meet the immediate needs for large rifled cannon and lacking proven designs, Tredegar began designing and producing “hybrid” rifles in the summer of 1861, casting large smoothbore gun blocks of prewar or early war designs and modifying them by boring and rifling them in smaller calibers:46 • At least nine 10-inch Confederate Columbiads were bored and rifled to 6.4-inch caliber. These rifles were deployed as follows: Charleston; Memphis; Mobile (2); Fernandina, Florida; Savannah; Washington, North Carolina; Fredericksburg, Virginia; Columbus, Kentucky; and Yorktown, Virginia. Only one has survived, in Mobile.

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INTRODUCTION

• At least fourteen 8-inch Confederate Columbiads were bored and rifled to 5.82inch caliber through January 1862. These were initially deployed as follows: Charleston (4); Columbus, KY (3); Evansport (2); Galveston (2); Mobile; Fort Lowry; and Nashville. None is known to survive. • Seven IX-inch Dahlgren smoothbores were bored and rifled as 7-inch rifles then reinforced with a wrought iron band in the breech area, according to a design of Lt. John M. Brooke. Two of these six reportedly were deployed aboard the CSS Virginia. • At least four 8-inch Confederate siege howitzers were bored and rifled to the 4.62inch caliber. Most or all of these were subsequently rebored as 8-inch howitzers. Probably, this was too heavy a gun block for the 4.62-inch caliber, and the 24pounder siege gun block was better. (See description below.) • Thirteen new 24-pounder siege guns were cast and rifled to the 4.62-inch caliber in late 1861 and early 1862. Orders for another 100 of these rifles were cancelled in mid-1862. A number of these rifles were later bored out as 24-pounder smoothbores. The Confederate Army was quick to adopt these hybrid rifles with shells and bolts also designed by Tredegar, and used them until they burst or until better designs could be developed (see the section on Tredegar projectiles). The Confederate Navy was more conservative and charged Lieutenant (later Commander) Brooke with the responsibility for designing its cannon and projectiles, initially for the CSS Virginia. Brooke also adopted the approach of designing hybrid rifled cannon and projectiles, combining proven smoothbore designs with his concepts for rifled guns and projectiles. His biggest mistake early in the war was the failure to provision the Virginia with rifled bolts for the new rifled cannon. After destroying the USS Congress and USS Cumberland and cowing the rest of the Union fleet there, the Virginia was unable to use her new rifled cannon with the deadly effect against the USS Monitor they later proved to have. Brooke learned quickly and soon had the Confederate Navy armed with wrought iron and steel-tipped bolts that could penetrate even the heaviest armor the Union could deploy. Throughout the war the Confederates depended heavily on imports of large British rifled cannon to bolster their coastal defenses and to arm the Confederate cruisers and rams being manufactured in England and France. Blakelys were the most commonly imported rifles. They were provided in a wide range of calibers, from 2.5-inch to 12.75inch. Most were supplied with Britten projectiles, made with heavy lead cups. Charleston already had a 3.5-inch Blakely rifle when the hostilities began and used it in the Fort Sumter attack in April 1861. Virginia also imported a 7.5-inch Blakely rifle, which was deployed in 1861 near the mouth of the Potomac River at Shipping Point until they abandoned it in mid-1862.47 It apparently saw extensive action, because the Confederate Ordnance Office purchased more than 900 shells for it in a series of orders until mid1862.48

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Later in the war, the Confederacy began to receive Armstrong and Blakely rifles in calibers that in larger numbers could have changed the balance of power in armaments between ships and fortifications. Two 8-inch Blakely rifles for flanged projectiles were deployed, one at Fort Morgan and one at Fort Fisher. Two 8-inch English Armstrong rifles were also deployed at Fort Fisher and nearby Fort Caswell. And two 12.75-inch Blakely rifles were set up on the South Battery area in downtown Charleston. While the 8-inch Blakelys and Armstrongs proved their value, the 12.75-inch Blakelys appear to have been virtually worthless. More alarming to the Union was the CSS Stonewall, an ironclad ram armed with one 10-inch and two 8-inch Armstrong rifles. Delayed by European neutrality, it got only as far as Havana for refueling when the war ended. But it was the sound of the future, and the Union Navy heard it.49 The Confederate Army concentrated on the manufacture of field caliber rifles and left the large caliber rifle development in the able hands of Lieutenant Brooke. He began to develop a network of government-owned and -operated facilities to produce the ordnance needed to support the war effort. His best known effort was the Selma Naval Gun Foundry set up in 1863 under the capable command of Lt. Catesby ap Roger Jones.50 Selma was the only foundry other than Tredegar and Bellona that could cast large caliber cannon. While major Southern foundries cast the cannon, the manufacture of smoothbore and rifled projectiles was in large part done by smaller private foundries for the army and by either private foundries or the navy yards for the navy. Tredegar Foundry cast the projectiles intended for the CSS Virginia.51 Some of these were saboted and finished by the Gosport Navy Yard.52 It was Brooke’s intention that as much ordnance production as possible for the navy be done in navy facilities.53 He was not very successful in this effort. Documents found in the National Archives confirm that the Confederate Navy Ordnance Office let contracts to a large number of private foundries.54 Nonetheless, the navy ordnance works played an important role in the manufacture of projectiles. According to Brooke:55 Ordnance works have been established at Charlotte, N.C., Atlanta, Ga., Selma, Ala., and at Richmond . . . . The Ordnance Works at Atlanta . . . manufactured projectiles and various articles of equipment required for the vessels in Mobile and other points. A large number of projectiles have been supplied to the Army of the West from these shops. The Naval Ordnance Works at Charlotte produced in 1864 gun carriages and ordnance equipment. [It] was the only establishment in the Confederacy that could do heavy forging. Shafting for steamers and wrought iron projectiles were forged and finished at Charlotte. . . .

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The Ordnance works in Richmond . . . have rendered important service. A large number of gun carriages, projectiles, and ordnance stores have been made. Nearly all the carriages and ammunition needed by vessels on the James River and at Wilmington, and ordnance equipment for some of the shore batteries were supplied in 1864 by the Naval Ordnance Works in Richmond. At Charleston [Ordnance works] gun carriages, projectiles, etc. have been manufactured . . . . The Confederate Army Ordnance Office appears to have relied much more on private foundries for its projectiles than the Confederate Navy. Most private foundries could not manufacture large caliber projectiles in the Brooke pattern, nor meet the Confederate Ordnance Office’s quality requirements. Confederate ordnance officers had to accept poorer quality shells and bolts of simpler design in order to get the quantity they needed. Simplicity in manufacturing favored the Tennessee bolts and shells with wooden fuze holes. Production of this design grew as the war increasingly taxed Southern resources. Towards the war’s end, the South’s transportation systems began to break down as the Union Army moved deeper into the South.56 By late 1864, Hampton Roads was closed, the Mississippi River was closed, and all Gulf and Atlantic coast ports were closed except Charleston and Wilmington. The remaining key coastal defenses had to rely increasingly on local foundries and local sources of raw materials. Mobile was supported by the Skates Foundry of Mobile, by the Selma Naval Foundry, and by Atlanta. Charleston was supported by the Charleston Arsenal, by Eason Brothers, and by the South Carolina State works in Columbia. Fort Fisher and the Wilmington area forts were supplied by Tredegar, Sampson and Pae of Richmond, and several smaller local and regional private foundries. Gunpowder became very scarce again late in the war. In the final attack on Fort Fisher, Confederate forces had enough powder and projectiles to fire each gun only once an hour—against an attacking fleet of 64 warships firing about 1,200 rounds per hour. In the first two-day attack, the Union Navy fired 20,281 rounds (weighing 1,275,299 pounds) and the Confederates fired 1,390 rounds.57

SUMMARY The Union had superior manufacturing technology and capabilities. It also had a vastly larger natural and human resource base. With these, the North was able to build larger and more powerful cannon and projectiles than the South. It also was able to provide significantly more soldiers, more uniforms, more muskets, more bullets, and more of all the other war materiel than the Confederates could—more than was needed to ultimately overwhelm Confederate forces. In terms of total cannon production, the West Point Foundry under Robert Parrott produced more designs of large caliber rifles and more of the actual guns and projectiles

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than any other manufacturer during the war — and more than all of the foundries in the South produced during the war. By the war’s end, Parrott had produced 798 4.2-inch rifles, 585 6.4-inch rifles, 175 8-inch rifles, and sixteen 10-inch rifles.58 It is significant that Parrott produced more 4.2-inch rifles than he did 2.9-inch and 3-inch rifles combined or 3.67-inch rifles. Perhaps more significant, he also produced more 6.4-inch rifles during the war than he did 2.9-inch and 3-inch rifles.59 Other Northern foundries also individually produced more cannons than the total Confederate production, including Fort Pitt with 2,342 and Cyrus Alger with 1,536.60 Before the war ended, the Northern foundries delivered 134 of the 15-inch Rodmans and 70 of the XV-inch Dahlgrens. It was these 70 XV-inch Dahlgren smoothbores that saw action aboard the Monitor-type gunboats, delivering fatal blows to Confederate ships at almost every encounter from February 1863 forward.61 The results against Confederate fortifications were a different matter. The large Confederate smoothbores and rifles stalemated the Union ironclads, unless they appeared in an overwhelming armada, as they did at Vicksburg, Port Hudson, Mobile Bay, and Fort Fisher. Ironically, the Confederate Army had ordered 15-inch guns from Tredegar in 1861. For a variety of reasons—including Tredegar’s resistance to adoption of Rodman’s gun-casting process, shortages of raw materials, manufacturing limitations, labor shortages, and a disastrous fire at Tredegar Foundry in the spring of 1863—the cannon was never cast. By the end of the war, a number of major problems were still unsolved in the manufacture and use of large rifles. The impressive performance of the XV-inch Dahlgrens added at least ten years to the life of smoothbore technology. Large smoothbores were kept in service until the large rifle problems could be solved. Further advances in rifled cannon technology awaited the development of manufacturing quantities of high quality gun steel that could contain the pressures of firing heavy rifled projectiles. This steel was already being produced in limited quantities in the U.S., Germany, and England during the 1850s and 1860s. But it would be the 1880s and 1890s before high quality steel cannon were manufactured in any numbers in the United States.62

TORPEDO DEVELOPMENT Most torpedo development and deployment was carried out by Confederate forces. Overwhelmed by the miles of coastline and the number of harbors and rivers to be defended, they moved quickly into the new field of torpedoes and mines. One of the earliest accounts of Confederate torpedo use was by the USS Pawnee, which discovered several large torpedoes floating in the Potomac River near Aquia Creek on July 7, 1861. The Pawnee captain, Cdr. S. C. Rowan, called it a “wicked machine.”63 The captain of the USS Resolute, Acting Master William Budd, who snagged the torpedoes, gave them the more colorful name “infernal machines.” The term caught on and became the semiofficial Union term for Confederate torpedoes.64

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INTRODUCTION

In the spring of 1862, Confederate President Jefferson Davis formally acknowledged to the Confederate House of Representatives that torpedoes and submarine batteries were part of the overall defense effort to protect major Southern cities and coastal areas from Union naval attacks.65 Gen. Pierre Beauregard, in charge of Charleston defenses, was an early and enthusiastic adopter of torpedoes for Charleston defenses. He actively supported the development of and experimentation with floating and spar torpedoes. He also encouraged a private company—the Southern Torpedo Company—to supply torpedoes for Charleston’s defenses.66 Just before the Union ironclad attack on Fort Sumter on April 7, 1863, Beauregard had a huge torpedo containing 3,000 pounds of explosives submerged about a mile off the fort. During the attack, the USS New Ironsides anchored directly over the torpedo, but the Confederates were unable to detonate the electric fuze.67 After the Union ironclad attack on Fort Sumter, Beauregard greatly expanded the torpedo program. As Union forces closed in on Battery Wagner on Morris Island, hundreds of underground torpedoes were placed in front of the approaches. The channel at Lighthouse Inlet and the Cooper River were mined in August, as was the area between Castle Pinckney and Fort Ripley. The channel between Hog Island and Sullivan’s Island was mined in September, and the Stono River was mined in January 1864.68 On a broader scale, the Confederate government established a Torpedo Bureau in Richmond, which designed and manufactured torpedoes for distribution throughout the South. Gen. George Rains also designed a number of land torpedoes, using 24-pounder and 10-inch shells adapted to be used with the Rains torpedo fuze. By mid-1864, most major Southern harbors and rivers were heavily mined with anchored torpedoes. The Union Navy paid a heavy price for this in their attack on Mobile Bay, losing their most modern Monitor, the USS Tecumseh, and 93 officers and men as they entered the harbor, then two river ironclads and four more ships and tugs in follow-up actions the next March and April. The Union Navy losses in Mobile Bay would have been several times greater, but for a serious tactical mistake by Confederate defenders. They left an open channel some 500 yards wide for blockade runners to use to get in and out of the bay. On the morning of the attack, the Union Navy observed a Confederate ship entering the harbor close by Fort Morgan. They lashed the attacking ships in pairs to survive the fire from Fort Morgan and pushed through the gauntlet. The Tecumseh was on the port side of the formation and struck one of the 46 torpedoes in place across the west side of the channel. Had the channel been completely blocked with mines, chains, and cables, it is doubtful the Union Navy would have been able to enter the bay, as they were unable to enter Charleston until after the city was abandoned by Confederate troops.69 The Confederate forces also developed aggressive plans for the use of torpedoes as offensive weapons. General Beauregard sponsored several efforts with small motor-driven

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launches, nicknamed “David” (as in Goliath) and “Torpedo.” While several Union ships were damaged, none were sunk until the H. L. Hunley sank the USS Housatonic in late October 1864. This forced the Union Navy to back off its program of aggressive patrolling around Charleston and to adopt a more defensive posture for its blockading ships. Union reaction to the Confederate torpedo programs began as pure outrage. They accused the Confederates of uncivilized acts. As time passed, the Union Navy, at least, began to see a potential role for both torpedoes and torpedo boats. By October 1864, the Union Navy had built a torpedo boat with a spar torpedo and used it successfully to sink the CSS Albemarle. They also began to think about and probably deployed floating torpedoes in the James River to prevent a Confederate attack against their positions at Dutch Gap.70 The Union Army maintained a very dim view of the use of torpedoes on land. Their losses at Morris Island and along the James River in 1863 caused them to react with raw emotion. Even as the Union Navy began to adopt elements of a torpedo warfare strategy, the army resisted. Perhaps Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman best summed up the army view. On June 23, 1864, just before his attack against Kennesaw Mountain near Atlanta, he sent a letter to Maj. Gen. James B. Steedman regarding the Confederate use of torpedoes to blow up railroad and wagon trains in his rear area. In closing he said: The use of torpedoes in blowing up our cars and the road after they are in our possession is simply malicious. It cannot alter the great problem, but simply makes trouble. Now, if torpedoes are found in the possession of an enemy in our rear, you may cause them to be put on the ground and tested by wagon-loads of prisoners, or, if need be, citizens implicated in their use. In like manner, if a torpedo is suspected on any part of the road, order the point to be tested by a car load of prisoners, or citizens implicated, drawn by a long rope. Of course an enemy cannot complain of his own traps.71 This attitude did not dissuade Confederates. By late 1864 they had placed 1,300 torpedoes in and around the James River and about 600 of the Rains shell torpedoes around the Richmond-Petersburg defenses. By the end of the war, torpedoes had established themselves as formidable weapons both underground and under water. By World War II, torpedoes and mines would be a critical part of both land and naval warfare strategies and tactics.

1

The first armored railroad battery was a Confederate railroad battery designed by Lt. John M. Brooke and deployed in support of Lee’s troops at the Battle of Savage Station on June 29, 1862. It mounted a rifled and banded 32-pounder gun on a flatcar and was covered with two inches of iron armor that had been intended

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INTRODUCTION

for the CSS Richmond. Dew, 183; and Brooke, Ironclads, 259. Its fame was eclipsed by the publicity associated with the Union Army’s deployment of the 13-inch mortar nicknamed the “Dictator” on an unarmored railroad car at Petersburg. Neither played a strategic role in the outcome of the battles. 2 Brooke, Ironclads, 144; and Army ORs, Series I, vol.28, part II, 302. 3 Moore, 71. 4 Perry, 196, 199-201. The two ocean-going Monitors sunk by torpedoes were the USS Tecumseh sunk in Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864, and the USS Patapsco, sunk in Charleston Harbor on January 16, 1865. Two river Monitors were also sunk, the USS Milwaukee on March 28, 1865, and the USS Osage on March 29, 1865, both in the Blakely River at the head of Mobile Bay. The two other ironclads sunk were the USS Baron de Kalb on July 13, 1864 on the Yazoo River, Arkansas, and the USS Eastport on April 26, 1864, on the Red River, Arkansas. See also Navy ORs series II, vol. 1. 5 Silverstone, 7. See also footnote 4 above. 6 Brooke, Ironclads, 74-75; letter from George T. Sinclair to Lt. John M. Brooke, CSN, of 11 March 1862; Sinclair was an eyewitness to both days of attacks by the CSS Virginia in Hampton Roads. 7 Estimate based on the attachment to the James Agreement. This document was identified by Richard Hatcher of the National Park Service, Sumter National Monument. 8 Two Union ships had confusingly similar names during the Civil War. The USS Merrimack was a frigaterigged screw steamer launched in 1855. Burned by the Union Navy when they abandoned the Gosport Navy Yard in April 1861, it was salvaged by the Confederates and re-launched as the CSS Virginia. In period documents, Merrimack was often spelled “Merrimac.” Even Lt. John Brooke, who designed the Virginia’s armor and armaments, and Lt. Catesby Jones, the Virginia’s Executive Officer, referred to it as the “Merrimac.” See Brooke, Ironclads, 60-61. To confuse matters more, a Confederate blockade-runner named Merrimac was captured by the Union Navy in 1863, then commissioned as the USS Merrimac in 1864. 9 Tucker, 217. 10 Virginia House, 1861-62, Document 25, Report of Articles on Hand 21 April 1861 When Possession Taken in the Name of Virginia, Navy Yard Gosport, October 10, 1861, 26. 11 Navy ORs, series I, vol. 4, 308 12 Navy ORs, series I, vol. 4, 38. 13 Brooke, Ironclads, 171. 14 Smoothbore projectiles were normally fired at initial velocities of 1,600 feet per second. Rifled projectiles were fired at much lower initial velocities, because of the added strain on the barrel of firing a heavier longer projectile. The crossover point for residual velocities of smoothbore and rifled projectiles of the same weight was approximately 700 yards. Ibid., 158. 15 Simpson, 352-59; also, Tucker, 238. 16 Silverstone, 6-8. 17 Olmstead, Stark, and Tucker, 262. 18 Ibid., 262-265; Silverstone, 5; and Navy ORs, series II, vol. 1, 149-150. 19 Dew, 44-50. 20 Daniel and Gunter, 80; and Olmstead, Stark, and Tucker, 129. 21 Olmstead, Stark, and Tucker, 129. 22 “Official Atlas,” Plate LXXV, maps 1 and 3; and Moore, 32. 23 Tredegar Guns Cast, 39. 24 Brooke, Brooke, 279-80. 25 Daniel and Gunter, 78. 26 Olmstead, Stark, and Tucker, 128-29, 218-19 and 225.

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17

Mowbray, 707 ff. Note: the information contained in Report under Executive Order # 99 and in the book by Stuart Mowbray, Civil War Arms Purchases and Deliveries, covers purchases only by the Ordnance Department of the War Department, representing the Union Army. The navy was in a separate cabinet department and ordered or manufactured its own ammunition supplies. Unfortunately, no comprehensive source of information is available in the historical record on these Union Navy orders and none for Confederate Army or Navy orders. 28 Olmstead, Stark, and Tucker, 96. 29 National Archives, Union Navy Record Box 137, telegrams of July 16, 1863, and July 27, 1863, from H.A. Wise, Acting Chief of the Union Navy Bureau of Ordnance to Lt. Cdr. Mitchell at the U.S. Navy Ordnance Yard in Washington, D.C. 30 Olmstead, Stark, and Tucker, 96-97. 31 The rifle burst on the USS Hetzel, wounding six men. Navy ORs, series I, vol. 6, 558-61. 32 National Archives RG 74. Adm. Dahlgren Outgoing Letters, July 23, 1862–June 24, 1863. 33 See Navy ORs, series II, vol. 1 for the chronology of the cannon mounted and replaced on the ships that participated in the attacks on Port Hudson and Vicksburg. 34 The Union Navy had only six 4-inch (20-pounder) Dahlgren rifles out of 633 total cannon aboard the ships bombarding Fort Fisher — two on the USS Sassacus, and four on the USS Malvern. Navy ORs series II, vol. 1, 27-246; and Moore, 161-63. 35 Hazlett, Olmstead, and Parks, 110. 36 Army ORs, series I, vol. 2, 328. 37 Report on Experiments with Heavy Ordnance, Appendix E. 38 Gillmore wrote, “There is perhaps no better system of rifled cannon than Parrotts; certainly none more simple in construction, more easily understood or that can with more safety be placed in the hands of inexperienced men for use.” Army OR, series I, vol. 28, Part I, 31. Abbot wrote, “Beyond question, the 30pounder Parrott gun was preferred to the 4.5-inch Ordnance pattern by battery commanders who had used both.” “Of the great endurance of the 30-pounder, and of the smaller calibers of Parrott guns, there is no dispute.” “[The 100-pounder Parrott] is doubtless relatively weaker than the smaller calibers, but so far in our limited experience, not dangerously so.” Abbot, 86-87. 39 Report of the Joint Committee on Ordnance, February 15, 1869, 41. 40 National Archives, RG 74, Rear Admiral Dahlgren (Outgoing) Letters, July 23, 1862-June 24, 1863. 41 Ibid. 42 Report of the Joint Committee on Ordnance, 3. 43 Ibid., 166. 44 It is not known exactly when the Union Navy returned to using Parrott projectiles, certainly by December 1864 at the Fort Fisher attack. However, they were still using Schenkl shells as late as January 1865, when one was fired by the USS Dai Ching, before it was sunk in the Combahee River, South Carolina. 45 Abbot reported on having tested a 24-pounder Sawyer during the Petersburg siege in 1864-65. Abbot, 85. 46 Tredegar Order Book; Dew, 112. 47 Olmstead, Stark, and Tucker, 138-39. 48 Tredegar Order Book. 49 The Union Navy conducted tests of three designs of 12-inch rifles bored from XV-inch Dahlgren gun blocks, each type using a different type projectile — Parrott, Hotchkiss, and Rodman. The tests were a disaster, all three rifles cracking or bursting within 30 rounds. The three projectiles are included in the book. The Union Army conducted similar tests using 15-inch Rodman gun blocks with similar results. See Olmstead, Stark, and Tucker, 97.

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Lt. Catesby Jones was acting Captain of the CSS Virginia during its battle with the USS Monitor on March 9, 1862. 51 Brooke, Ironclads, 51. 52 Navy ORs, series I, vol. 6, 772 53 Brooke, Brooke, 272. 54 National Archives, RG 74, Subject File on Confederate Navy M1091. 55 Brooke, Ironclads, 154; and Brooke, Brooke, 280. 56 Olmstead, Stark, and Tucker, 129; Dew, 168. 57 Moore, 33, 71. 58 Olmstead, Stark, and Tucker, 241 and 248. 59 Ibid., 178, 180, 181, 186, 215, 217, 241, 242, 258, 269, and 271. 60 Olmstead, Stark and Tucker. p. 112. 61 The USS Montauk delivered the first fatal blow with a XV-inch cannon on February 28, 1863, against the CSS Nashville, aground close to Fort McAllister, near Savannah. NOR, series I, vol. 13, 696-698. 62 Tucker, 239. 63 Navy ORs, series I, vol. 4, 566-67. 64 Ibid., 567 65 Army ORs, series IV, vol. 1, 1021. 66 Ibid., series I, vol. 28, part II, 525. 67 Ibid., series I, vol. 14, 950-52. 68 Ibid., series I, vol. 28 part II, 293, 300, 311, 336, and 539. 69 Lt. F.S. Barrett, in charge of the torpedoes for the Mobile Bay command, pointed out this fatal flaw in Mobile’s defenses in his after-action report, much to the embarrassment of Maj. Gen. Dabney Maury. Gen. Maury had to send a report directly to Jefferson Davis, in which he attempted to dismiss the charge, but the facts support Lt. Barrett’s claim. See Army ORs, series I, vol.39, part II, 785-786; and Ibid., part I, 431. 70 William B. Cushing, Commander, USN, “The Destruction of the Albemarle,” Battles and Leaders, vol. IV, 634-641; and Army ORs, series I, vol. 42, part III, 244. 71 Army ORs, Series I, vol. 38, part IV, 579.

The Role of Heavy Explosive Ordnance in Strategic Battles ○

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The development of heavy explosive ordnance brought awesome destructive power to the battlefield never experienced before. But that power was not fully tested or understood before deployment under actual battle conditions, and could be destructive to the user as awell as to the enemy. Every major engagement involving heavy explosive ordnance was a learning experience for both sides. However, a few represented historic “firsts” in warfare or turning points in tactics or strategy. Sometimes these “firsts” were accomplished only with great sacrifice. In a number of cases, the tactics and strategies used were wrong, and brought disastrous results. In other cases the “lessons learned” were incorrect and reversed when tested in later battles. Notwithstanding these failures and catastrophes, by the end of the war, the tactical and strategic landscape for the use of heavy explosive ordnance was changed forever. Described in chronological order are highlights of seven major battles or attacks in which heavy explosive ordnance produced results that led to changes in the strategy or tactics of warfare.

The USS Monitor- CSS Virginia Duel The duel between the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia, on March 9, 1862, is a wellknown part of Civil War history. It was the first battle between ironclad ships and the first use of heavy rifled cannon aboard ships in battle. What is not so well known, and was not well known at the time, was that miscalculations and errors on both sides allowed the duel to end in stalemate, when either side might easily have won a decisive victory. As a result, both sides steamed away from the duel with the wrong conclusions about their ironclads, their cannon, and the tactics for their deployment that later proved disastrous. The Virginia’s first action began the day before, when it sank the USS Cumberland and USS Congress.1 March 8 was the worst day for the Union Navy in the war. In that action the Virginia proved to be devastatingly effective against wooden warships, sinking two of the Union’s most powerful wooden warships and causing 241 casualties.2 One of the many ironies about the Virginia’s brief existence was that her launch was delayed for more than a week due to the lack of adequate gunpowder. She was outfitted and ready to deploy by February 27, 1862, except she had received only 1,000 pounds of the 18,000

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pounds of gunpowder needed for the guns and projectiles.3 Had the Virginia steamed into Hampton Roads on February 28, it would have wreaked even more havoc on the Union fleet before the Monitor arrived. One of the interesting bits of trivia about the battle was that the captain of the Virginia was not in command during the battle with the Monitor. Flag Officer Franklin Buchanan had been seriously wounded by a Minie ball the day before during the attack on the USS Cumberland and USS Congress. Command of the Virginia then passed to the executive officer, Lt. Catesby Jones, for the historic engagement with the Monitor.4 Jones would not only distinguish himself in this battle, but also would later become more famous in artillery for his work in overseeing the Selma Naval Gun Foundry.5 When the Virginia steamed out into Hampton Roads on the morning of March 9, 1862, she encountered the USS Monitor, which had just arrived from New York early that morning. The battle between the two lasted about three hours. During that time the Monitor fired 41 cast iron shot at the Virginia, using reduced powder charges of 15 pounds as specified by Admiral Dahlgren, who was worried that the guns might burst. 6 Most of the shot that hit the Virginia shattered on impact with the Virginia’s armor or ricocheted off harmlessly.7 Later in the war, 30-pound charges were safely used in these guns, which would have had a much more destructive effect.8 Also, the Monitor had both wrought iron shot and bronze covered shot on board during the battle, either of which would have had a more telling effect on the Virginia’s armor than the cast iron shot. But it used neither, for fear of bursting the new 11-inch Dahlgren shell guns being used in battle for the first time. Nonetheless, because the Virginia did not yet have armored covers over the portholes (port stoppers), shot from the Monitor disabled two cannon, killed two men, and wounded 19 of the Virginia’s crew.9 During the battle, the Virginia reportedly struck the Monitor 22 times with 9-inch shot and rifled shells from the 6.4-inch and 7-inch rifles, doing little damage other than to the pilothouse, where the captain, Lt. John Worden, was temporarily blinded in both eyes by an exploding shell.10 Command then passed to Lt. S.D. Greene, the Monitor’s ordnance officer.11 A huge mistake was made before the battle in provisioning the Virginia. In his haste to supply the Virginia with cannon and projectiles for launching, Lt. John Brooke failed to order bolts for the new 6.4-inch and 7-inch rifles.12 Later tests proved that both the 6.4inch and 7-inch bolts would have penetrated the Monitor’s armor, causing serious damage and possibly sinking her.13 At the Confederate Navy Department’s investigative hearings in February 1863, Brooke admitted to both: The rifle guns were intended to throw bolts as well as shells, but owing to the fact that the enemy had no ironclad afloat at the time she first went out and there being great pressure upon the works for projectiles of other kinds proper to use

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against wooden vessels, she was not furnished with bolts. If she had been, the experiment made here with guns of the same caliber show that the turret of the Monitor would have been penetrated by them.14 For lack of the use of the proper projectiles and charges for this first clash of ironclads, the battle was a stalemate. The Virginia withdrew to Gosport to repair the damage done when it rammed and sank the USS Cumberland the previous day. Repairs to the ram (prow) and armor and installation of additional armor and the port stoppers delayed the Virginia’s return to Hampton Roads until April 11.15 The Union Navy did not know that the Virginia had no bolts for her heavy rifles. And the Confederates apparently did not know that the Monitor had wrought iron shot and bronze covered shot on board that might have done more damage to the Virginia,16 especially with a full charge of 30 pounds instead of the 15 pounds used.17 Each side accordingly drew different conclusions about the relative effectiveness of their armor and cannon, both incorrrect. The one inescapable correct conclusion for both was that the day of wooden warships had passed, giving way to modern armored battle vessels. In the North, politicians concluded that the Monitor was invincible, and authorized the construction of additional 51 Monitor-type gunboats.18 Without knowing all the facts, President Lincoln was far more concerned that the Monitor was vulnerable to being sunk by the Virginia. On March 10, the day after the battle, Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles sent the following telegram to Assistant Secretary of the Navy G.V. Fox: “It is directed by the President that the Monitor be not too much exposed; that in no event shall any attempt be made to proceed with her unattended to Norfolk [where the Virginia was based].”19 The Virginia steamed back into Hampton Roads on April 11 and 12, loaded with wrought iron bolts for the Monitor. The Monitor stayed close by her shallow water anchorage under the protection of Fort Monroe’s guns.20 The Virginia could not get close enough to engage her without the risk of running aground, so it captured three Union commerce ships ferrying supplies to Union troops. Orders for future Monitor-type gunboats specified both heavier armor and larger, more powerful cannon than the original Monitor carried. For example, the next group of Monitors, the Passaic class, increased the armor from eight inches to nine inches on the turrets and from 4.5 inches to five inches on the sides, while increasing the cannon power from two XI-inch smoothbores to one XV-inch and one XI-inch smoothbore. Later Monitors would replace the XI-inch smoothbore with either an 8-inch Parrott rifle or another XV-inch smoothbore.21 And the last Monitors built were armed with only two XV-inch Dahlgren smoothbores.22 On the Confederate side, the conclusion was drawn that the design of the Virginia would be invulnerable to attacks from the Monitors, and work underway on other ironclads

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like the Virginia was accelerated. That misconception did not last long. The new XV-inch Dahlgren smoothbores appeared in February 1863, on board the USS Montauk, destroying the CSS Nashville close to Fort McAllister, Georgia. And on June 17, 1863, four 11-inch and 15-inch shot from the USS Weehawken crushed the armor and wood backing of the CSS Atlanta, injuring or killing 17 men and causing the Atlanta to surrender shortly afterwards.23 More serious for the Confederates were the problems of the Virginia’s design and poor mechanical condition. The construction of the Virginia from the hulk of the USS Merrimack had two fatal flaws. First, the engines from the Merrimack were unreliable. In five sorties out of Gosport, the engines failed twice, rendering the Virginia vulnerable to destruction. 24 The Virginia’s designer and her chief engineer declared her to be unseaworthy before the Virginia was built up on her hulk, and the Virginia was therefore confined to operating in the Chesapeake Bay and surrounding rivers.25 Second, as built, the Virginia rode too high out of the water, even with an extra inch in the thickness of armor plate. When extra armor and ballast were added, the draft of the Virginia increased to more than 22 feet.26 Most of Hampton Roads and the Chesapeake Bay was much shallower than that. The Monitor, with a draft of only 14 feet, was able to stay in shallow waters away from the Virginia. The deep draft of the Virginia was ultimately her doom. When the Confederates were forced to abandon Gosport, the Virginia was ordered to steam up the James River. It was determined that the Virginia would have to lighten her draft to less than 18 feet to clear the channel, and efforts to lighten her got it to only 20 feet, 6 inches.27 Failing to lighten the draft sufficiently, losing the Virginia’s home port, and knowing that the Virginia was not seaworthy in open seas, Flag Officer Josiah Tattnall had her scuttled on May 11, an act for which he was later court-martialed and convicted of improvident conduct.28

The Siege of Fort Pulaski The siege of Fort Pulaski rang the death knell to a new system of brick forts that were being built by the U.S. government even as the Civil War began. Fort Pulaski was one of these new generation forts being built to defend America’s key coastal ports and gateways against foreign invasion. Others in this program included Forts Monroe, Morgan, Moultrie, and Sumter in the South, as well as Fort Hamilton, New York, and Fort Point, near San Francisco. At the time of the siege, Fort Pulaski was thought by many to be impregnable, even though it was armed with mostly obsolete 32-pounder smoothbores. It was built for the smoothbore era, and that era passed into history on April 10-11, 1862. Drawn up against it were some of the first large caliber rifles produced in the war. These included two James-rifled 42-pounders (7-inch), two James-rifled 32-pounders (6.4-inch), one James-rifled 24-pounder (5.82-inch), and five 4.2-inch (30-pounder) Parrott rifles. It was the heavy James rifles that made brick forts obsolete. In a 31-hour siege, the

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big guns breached the walls, set fire to the officers quarters, and endangered Pulaski’s powder magazine.29 The heavy James bolts and shells did massive damage to the brick structure. Union Gen. Quincy Gillmore praised the James guns and projectiles in his after-action report: “No better piece for breaching can be desired than the 42-pounder James.”30 The strategic damage to the brick fort system was fatal, and after the war, the U.S. government began to redesign its forts using reinforced concrete, iron, and steel.

Union Ironclad Attack on Fort Sumter The Union ironclad attack on Fort Sumter on April 7, 1863, disproved the erroneous Union tactical conclusions taken away from the Monitor-Virginia battle and from their attack on Fort Pulaski: that the Monitors were invulnerable and that brick forts could be quickly battered into surrender with a heavy artillery attack. Charleston was the highest priority for the ultimate test of this Monitor power. Its continuing open rebellion was an embarrassment to Northern politicians frustrated that senior Union Army and Navy officers had been unable to capture it early in the war.31 Under pressure from politicians and senior navy officials, Admiral DuPont, commander of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, ordered the attack on Fort Sumter, although he had earlier declared it impracticable.32 President Lincoln shared Admiral DuPont’s concern and had expressed the view that the Monitors attacking alone would be defeated.33 Notwithstanding their concerns, the political pressure mounted, driven by the overconfidence of knowing seven of the newer Passaic-class Monitors were now armed with the xv-inch Dahlgren smoothbores, and some with 8-inch Parrott rifles as well.34 Also, the Montauk had just returned from a successful sortie, sinking the CSS Nashville on February 27, 1863, while being pummeled without major effect by Fort McAllister, near Savannah. This attack came on a clear day with calm waters. Nine ironclads steamed into Charleston harbor determined to force a passage between Forts Sumter and Moultrie and take them from the rear, leaving the city open to direct attack. The fleet was led by eight Monitors: Catskill, Keokuk, Montauk, Nahant, Nantucket, Passaic, Patapsco, and Weehawken, and followed by the USS New Ironsides (DuPont’s command ship). The attack was a strategic and tactical blunder. The Union fleet faced two challenges it had not expected. First, chains, ropes, and other obstacles blocked the channel, so they could not have passed anyway.35 Quickly realizing they could not “run the gauntlet” and get beyond the concentrated fires from the Confederate defenses, the Monitors lined up between Sumter and Moultrie, thinking to batter the forts into submission.36 Second, they failed to recognize that at such close ranges, they were seriously outgunned, even with their huge smoothbores and powerful rifles, because of their slow rate of fire. In the two-hour battle, the Monitors and New Ironsides combined had fired only 139 projectiles, or fewer than five rounds per gun.37

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The Confederates’ large smoothbores and rifles went to work as soon as the Monitors came into range and quickly neutralized the ironclad fleet, scoring 344 hits on the Monitors as the New Ironsides stood off the battle line. Three of the Monitors were forced to retire from the line early and several others were badly mauled. The Keokuk, closest to the Confederate gunners, took 90 hits, 19 at or below the waterline, and sank the next day. Credit for the final fatal shot that sank the Keokuk was given to one of the 7-inch Brooke hybrid rifles, firing a wrought iron bolt.38 The Nahant took 36 hits. The Weehawken was hit 51 times. The Passaic was hit 35 times and her 11-inch gun was disabled. The Montauk was hit only 14 times, the Catskill 20 times. The Nantucket was hit 51 times and almost sank. And the Patapsco was hit 47 times and managed to fire only ten rounds in the action.39 In Admiral DuPont’s after-action report, he stated that “five of the eight ironclads were wholly or partially disabled after a brief engagement.” DuPont justified his decision by saying, “I determined not to renew the attack, for, in my judgment, it would have converted a failure into a disaster.”40 The myth of Monitor invincibility was shattered only a year after it was created. Admiral DuPont and several of his senior captains, all highly respected, battle hardened veterans, were later relieved of their commands, taking the blame that belonged to the politicians who forced the action.

The Union Bombardment of Innocent Civilians in Charleston At the time of the Monitor attack on Fort Sumter, the army commander for the Department of the South (which included Charleston) was Maj. Gen. David Hunter. Like Admiral DuPont, he was relieved of command after the failed ironclad attack (which had no active army support), and was replaced on June 12, 1863, by Maj. Gen. Quincy Gillmore. Gillmore had commanded the successful Union attack on Fort Pulaski. Gillmore immediately launched a campaign to capture Battery Wagner on the north end of Morris Island as a base for bombarding Fort Sumter. Major combined army-navy attacks were carried out on July 11 and July 18. Both failed.41 Gillmore was sternly criticized for his brash actions by General Henry W. Halleck, the Union Army chief of staff, and was told he would not receive the additional reinforcements he had requested of 8,000 men to enable him to take Fort Sumter.42 Stung by the defeats and censure from Washington, General Gillmore devised a plan to force the surrender of Battery Wagner and Fort Sumter by threatening to bombard civilians in the city of Charleston, unless Confederate forces surrendered. On July 21, General Gillmore ordered the construction of the “Marsh Battery” to bombard Charleston at long range.43 In the evening of August 21, with an 8-inch Parrott rifle in place in the Marsh Battery, Gillmore issued an unsigned ultimatum to General Beauregard, demanding the surrender of Battery Wagner and Fort Sumter within four hours.44 Beauregard was away from his headquarters and the unsigned note was returned to Gillmore’s headquarters for verification.45 In response, at approximately 1:30 A.M. on the 22nd, the notorious 8-inch

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Parrott rifle “Swamp Angel” began bombarding the city 8,000 yards away. The Swamp Angel burst after only 36 rounds, and Gillmore suspended the bombardment, but only temporarily. In December 1863, after the capture of Morris Island, Gillmore placed a 4.2inch (30-pounder) Parrott rifle on Cummings Point. Unlike the Swamp Angel, this rifle demonstrated remarkable endurance, firing 4,606 shells into the city in a 69-day period before it burst. In his reports, Gillmore clearly specified for senior Union military officials what he planned and had ordered done, but never identified specific military targets nor described tactical objectives achieved.46 Surprisingly, no documentation could be found that either praised or criticized these actions. Perhaps the reason was that Gillmore’s attacks accomplished no military or political purpose. And apparently, senior U.S. military and political leaders were content to punish the civilians of Charleston for their humiliation of Union forces as they seceded. The city was an open sore to Union politicians. Adm. C. R. P. Rodgers, Admiral DuPont’s chief of staff during the April 7 attack, later wrote that, “It was to South Carolina, and especially to Charleston, that the strong feeling of dislike was directed, and the desire was general to punish that city by all the rigors of war.”47 Wars in the twentieth century commonly included massive bombardments of military targets with collateral civilian casualties. However, only a few of these were deliberately targeted at the general civilian population. The German bombing of London and the British retaliatory firebombing of Dresden are certainly two, but there are few others, especially in the western world in the nineteenth century. By twentieth century standards, Gillmore’s actions might well have been judged a war crime. The docks and warehouses in downtown Charleston would have been legitimate targets, but the Swamp Angel could not have been aimed accurately enough at that range to hit them consistently in any event. The argument could not even be made later that the bombardment led to a surrender of Fort Sumter or the city. Sumter was never taken, and Charleston was never captured until Confederates abandoned it at the end of the war. What Gillmore accomplished was to create a bitterness and hatred over his actions that lingered well into the twentieth century.

The H. L. Hunley Torpedo Attack on the USS Housatonic On February 17, 1864, the H. L. Hunley48 wrote a new chapter in naval warfare, becoming the first submarine to sink an enemy warship. The victim was the USS Housatonic, and the setting was just outside Charleston harbor.49 The Confederates had experimented with both torpedo surface boats and submarines for several years, with mixed results. Early trial runs of the H. L. Hunley had ended disastrously, with two crews (including Hunley himself) being drowned. In the attack on the night of February 17, the intended target was the Housatonic, one of the strongest warships in the blockading fleet around Charleston.50 The H. L. Hunley never returned from the mission, although it apparently signaled to the shore after the

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attack for a fire to guide it back to the harbor.51 Having disappeared for 130 years, the H. L. Hunley was located in 1995 and recovered in 2000 just outside Charleston harbor, strangely on the ocean side of the Housatonic wreck site. Analysis of the wreck will yield much more information about the events that led to its sinking. Confederate torpedoes ultimately inflicted major losses on the Union fleet, sinking 43 Union warships including four Monitor-class gunboats, the USS Tecumseh, USS Osage, and USS Milwaukee in Mobile Bay and the USS Patapsco in Charleston harbor. This was a greater number than the total of Union warships sunk by Confederate artillery fire.52 The Union Navy belatedly developed its own torpedo capability, sinking the Confederate ironclad CSS Albemarle in October 1864.

The USS Kearsage-CSS Alabama Naval Battle This famous naval battle is second in fame only to that of the USS Monitor and CSS Virginia. However, it was strategically more important to the war’s outcome than the Monitor-Virginia clash. The hour-long battle was fought on June 19, 1864, about six miles off the coast of Cherbourg, France.53 The outcome was the sinking of the Alabama, heavily damaged by several well-aimed shots from the Kearsage’s 11-inch Dahlgren smoothbores. With its sinking, Confederate hopes for winning open support from European states for its war effort dimmed as these countries took more neutral positions.54 It was during this battle that perhaps the most famous artillery projectile of the war was fired—a 7-inch Britten shell that lodged in the stern post of the Kearsage, but failed to explode.55 A number of participants acknowledged that if that shell had exploded, it would probably have been fatal for the Kearsage.56 British and French naval support in mid-1864 (whether flying Confederate colors or their own) might have opened Southern ports for the desperately needed supplies that starved the Confederate war effort. Strong European support might have drawn the Union and Confederate politicians to seek a truce. However, it was late in the war and European governments might have perceived that the cause was lost.

The Fort Fisher Bombardment The Union attacks against Fort Fisher in December 1864 and January 1865 were the first use of truly massive heavy artillery fires to attack a heavily entrenched enemy. Two two-day attacks were made, each involving about 60 Union Navy warships mounting 630 mostly heavy cannon firing approximately 20,000 projectiles in each attack.57 “Massive” is certainly an appropriate term to use for these bombardments, for the weight of total projectiles fired by the Union fleet was estimated to be 2,927,937 pounds.58 Fort Fisher and Fort Caswell were located near the mouth of the Cape Fear River. They provided heavy covering fires that allowed blockade-runners to run in and out under their protection. Determined to close the last open blockade-running port at

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Wilmington and defeat Confederate forces at Fort Fisher, the Union Army and Navy studied the lessons of Charleston, and developed an attack plan that would usher in the age of massive artillery bombardments that became commonplace in the twentieth century. The first attack, conducted on December 24-25, 1864, failed when Union Army Gen. Benjamin Butler called off the assault after a reconnaissance ashore indicated that the naval bombardment had done little damage to the Confederate forces.59 Adm. David Porter mistakenly reported that Fort Fisher “was so blown up, burst up, and torn up that the people inside had no intention of fighting any longer. Had the army made a show of surrounding it, it would have been ours, but nothing of the kind was done.”60 Col. William Lamb, the commander of Fort Fisher, gave a completely contrary view, stating that, “The guns of Fort Fisher were not silenced. On account of the limited supply of ammunition I gave orders to fire each gun not more than once every thirty minutes. There were fortyfour guns. Only three guns were rendered unserviceable [on December 24]. Five guns were disabled [on the 25th]. In the first fight, the total casualties were 61.”61 Under Colonel Lamb’s orders, the Confederates fired only 672 projectiles the first day and 718 the second day.62 The Union Navy returned January 13-15, 1865. In a better targeted 20,000-round bombardment, they kept the Confederate gunners in the bombproofs while the Union Army landed and gathered for the assault.63 Even after the second massive bombardment, it took a bitter fight, described as “perhaps the most prolonged hand-to-hand engagement of the Civil War,” before the Union forces finally overwhelmed Confederate defenders.64 Without the massive bombardment, the attack would have surely failed. The idea of a massive bombardment at Fort Fisher was born out of a desperate need for an attacking force to break a formidable defense. In subsequent wars this became a staple of battlefield tactics, at places like Verdun, Stalingrad, Omaha Beach, Iwo Jima, and Berlin. But in every case, hand-to-hand fighting was the critical follow-up needed, and then the victories or defeats hung by the threads of the individual infantrymen’s determination. This lesson traces its origins to Fort Fisher.

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Navy ORs, series I, vol. 7, 42. Ibid., 22, 24. 3 Ibid., vol. 6, 777-80. 4 Ibid., vol. 7, 46. 5 Daniel and Gunter, 74-81. 6 Brooke, Brooke, 252 7 Navy ORs, series I, vol. 7, 28. 8 Brooke, Brooke, 252 9 Navy ORs, series I, vol. 7, 46. 10 Ibid., 38-39. 2

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Ibid., 25. Brooke attributed this oversight to the difficulty in getting rifled shells delivered, which was certainly a problem. However, original navy vouchers indicate that the bolts were ordered only on March 12, three days after the battle. Navy ORs, series I, vol. 7, 763. 13 Ibid., 751. 14 Navy ORs, series II, vol. 1, 786. 15 Ibid., series I, vol. 7, 222. 16 Ibid., 28. 17 Brooke, Brooke, 252. 18 Silverstone, 4-10. 19 Navy ORs, series I, vol. 7, 83. 20 Ibid., 220-21. 21 Silverstone, 4-10. 22 Ibid. 23 Navy ORs, series I, vol. 14, 265-66. 24 Ibid., vol. 7, 793. 25 Ibid., 758-59, 793. 26 Brooke, Brooke, 250. 27 Navy ORs, series I, vol. 7, 787-88. 28 Ibid., 787-99. 29 Army ORs, series I, vol. 6, 146, 166-67. 30 Ibid., 147. Early period documents referred to rifled 42-pounders as “84-pounder James rifles,” to rifled 32-pounders as “64-pounder James rifles,” and rifled 24-pounders as “42-pounder James rifles.” 31 C. R. P. Rodgers, “DuPont’s Attack at Charleston,” Battles and Leaders, vol. 4, 32. 32 Ibid., 34. 33 John Ericsson, “The Early Monitors,” Battles and Leaders, vol. 4, 30. 34 Ibid., 35; and Silverstone, 4-5. 35 Navy ORs, series I, vol. 14, 3-9. 36 Ibid., 6-7. 37 Ibid. 38 Brooke, Brooke, 270. 39 C.R.P. Rodgers, “DuPont’s Attack on Charleston,” Battles and Leaders, vol. 4, 39. 40 Navy ORs, series I, vol. 14, 3. 41 Army ORs, series I, vol. 28, part I, 12-16. 42 Ibid., part II, 29-30. 43 Ibid., part I, 17. 44 Ibid., series I, vol. 28, part II, 57-59. 45 Ibid., 59. 46 Ibid., series I, vol. 28, part I, 23, 28, and 32. 47 C.R.P. Rodgers, “DuPont’s Attack on Charleston,” Battles and Leaders, vol. 4, 32. 48 There is some debate about whether the Hunley should be designated as a “CSS.” It was not a commissioned ship in the Confederate Navy. Nonetheless, both the Navy ORs and Paul Silverstone’s definitive book on Civil War Navies, 1855-1883 lists it as the CSS Hunley. The CSS designation is not used in this book. 49 Navy ORs, series I, vol. 15, 332-37. 12

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29

Second footnote, by the Editors, Battles and Leaders, vol. 4, 6. Navy ORs, series I, vol. 15, 335. 52 Perry, 197. 53 Navy ORs, series I, vol. 3, 59. 54 Confederate diplomatic correspondence became increasingly pessimistic about prospects for active support from Europe for the Confederate cause after the Alabama was sunk. See Navy ORs series II, vol. 3, 1172-1277, and especially the letter from the British Foreign Office of November 25, 1864 on page 1246 and from the Vatican on page 1250 professing neutrality. 55 John M. Browne (Surgeon on the USS Kearsage), “The Duel Between the Alabama and the Kearsage,” Battles and Leaders, vol. 4, 623. The executive officer of the Alabama, Josh McIntosh Kell, stated afterwards that their entire supply of powder and fuzes was defective or damaged. Ibid., 609. 56 Ibid., 608-609, and 623. The shell, still embedded in part of the stern post of the Kearsage, is on display at the Washington Navy Yard Museum. 57 Moore, 71. 58 Ibid., 33 & 71. 59 Fonvielle, Wilmington, 189. 60 Navy ORs, series I, vol. 11, 261. 61 Col. William Lamb, CSA (Commander of Confederate troops at Fort Fisher), letter to editors of Battles and Leaders, editors’ footnote, Battles and Leaders, vol. 4, 657. 62 Ibid., 33. 63 Moore, 71. 64 Ibid. 51

Guide to Using Data Sheets ○

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For the convenience of users, the data sheets for projectiles and torpedoes use a standard format. Descriptions of the information in each category are provided below. Users should read this guide before using the data sheets.

Projectile Photos Most projectile data sheets have photographs of the side, top, and bottom of the projectile. The ruler scale applies only to the side view of the projectile. It is important to note that the scale does not include the height of the fuze, only the length of the projectile. The torpedo data sheets normally have only a side view and a close-up photo of the fuze or detonator mechanism. Most torpedo data sheets do not include a scale bar, because the torpedoes are too long for the scale numbers to be legible.

Projectile or Torpedo Identification Title The projectile identification provides several key pieces of information. It first identifies the origin of the projectile or torpedo. Origin defines who manufactured the projectile or torpedo: CS, British/CS, or US. Next it identifies the caliber (e.g., bore size) of the cannon that fires the projectile. Projectiles should be identified by the caliber of the cannon that fires them, not their diameter. The caliber is not the actual diameter of the projectile. The difference between cannon caliber and the projectile diameter is called “windage.” (See Glossary.)

Diameter This is the actual measured diameter of the projectile or torpedo at its widest circular point. The best way to measure diameter is with a “Pi” tape.1 This tape measures the circumference of the projectile and converts it into a diameter reading, usually to the nearest 1/100th of an inch. In measuring the diameter of a smoothbore projectile, be sure to measure along the absolute middle. For rifled projectiles, if unfired, measure the sabot circumference or diameter across the base; if fired, measure the shell body circumference at the thickest part (as on a bourrelet). This approach works for all projectiles except those with flanges (such as the flanged Blakelys or Sawyers) and the Whitworth shaped projectiles, where the flat sides must be measured instead of the rounded sides. For those projectiles, large calipers are required. The most common problem in caliber identification is inaccurate projectile measurement. Large calibers often run so close to each other that they deceive the eye.

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Large caliber rifled projectiles used in the war include (in inches): 4.0, 4.2, 4.4, 4.5, 4.62, 5.0, 5.1, 5.3, 5.82, 6.0, 6.4, 7.0, 7.5, 8.0, 8.25, 8.5, 9.0, 10.0, and 12.75 inches. The difference in caliber can make a significant difference in value. A 5.3-inch Tennessee shell closely resembles a 5.82-inch one. Both are rare, but the 5.3-inch is much rarer and more valuable. The 4.4-inch long Schenkl shell appears almost identical to the 4.5-inch Schenkl shell, and is almost always mistaken for it. The 4.4-inch Schenkl is much rarer, having been used only in 1864-65 in late war naval engagements, whereas the 4.5-inch Schenkl was used extensively throughout the war. Windage must be added to the actual measured diameter of the projectile in order to get the cannon caliber. Windage is the intended gap between the cannon bore diameter and the projectile diameter. It allows (a) ease in loading projectiles; and (b) flame to pass the shell body and light a time fuze. According to Confederate Ordnance Office instructions in May 1862, windage for rifled projectiles was to be 0.07 inches for projectiles ranging from 5.82 inches to 7.5 inches, and 0.05 inches for calibers under 5.82 inches2 . Actual windage varied considerably, from 0.03 inches to 0.1 inches. Thus, a 4.4-inch Schenkl shell should measure about 4.34 to 4.36 inches and a 4.5-inch Schenkl should measure about 4.44 to 4.46 inches. Smoothbore projectiles provided for more windage than rifled ones. The following specifications for smoothbore shell diameters (in inches) were provided in the Confederate Ordnance Manual of 1863 (which was based on the U. S. Ordnance Manual of 1861)3 : 15" 13" 12" 14.85 12.87 11.87

11" 10.87

10" 9.87

8" 7.88

42# 6.84

32# 6.25

24# 5.68

18# 5.17

12# 4.52

In matching the measured diameter to the projectile caliber, some allowance must be made for shrinkage or expansion of the projectile due to corrosion. Corrosion, especially from saltwater, can cause serious shrinkage in both the measured diameter of a projectile and in its weight. This can make it more difficult to determine caliber. Also, badly corroded saltwater shells sometimes also swell in the air as they crack, and badly corroded shells may have a thick crust distorting the actual diameter.

Length As indicated above, the measured length of a projectile does not include the length of any fuze inserted in the shell, because any number of fuzes of different heights could be used in many shells.

Gun This indicates the type of cannon the projectile was fired from or designed to be fired from. Some unfired projectiles could have been fired from several types of guns, but they were usually designed for one type, which is indicated here. This is determined by the

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weight and (for fired projectiles) the rifling of the projectile. For rifled projectiles, the weight of the projectile fired from a rifled smoothbore cannon was limited to 2.25 to 2.5 times the caliber weight. For example, a rifled 32-pounder (6.4-inch) smoothbore usually would not fire projectiles weighing more than 72 to 80 pounds. Also a rifled 32-pounder might have any number of rifling grooves, because these smoothbores were rifled early in the war by a number of foundries still experimenting with rifling. A 6.4-inch rifle would have either 9-groove (Parrott), 7-groove hook-slant (Brooke), or 5-groove (6.4inch rifled 10-inch Confederate Columbiad).

Sabot Type Determining the type of rifled projectile sabot aids in identifying the period of a projectile’s manufacture, and its design. Appendix C—Rifled Sabot Designs, provides more detailed information. Except where it was confusing or incorrect, traditional designations for sabot types used in earlier heavy artillery books have been used in this book. Generally the description identifies both the metal or other material the sabot is made of and indicates whether the sabot is a ring type, a band type (e.g., a wide ring), a cup, or a disk. For the brass/copper sabots of rifled projectiles, all Union sabots are designated as brass, and all Confederate ones are called copper. Some of the Confederate ones may actually be brass or some alloy other than pure copper, but it is not possible to determine that for individual projectiles without destructive testing.

Fuze This information applies to the specific projectile documented in the photograph. Other fuzes may also have been used in identical projectiles. For example, Parrott shells could be fitted with Parrott time fuzes, Parrott percussion fuzes, Schenkl percussion fuzes, Schenkl combination fuzes, and even navy watercap fuzes in bushings. (See Glossary for discussion on the use of “fuze” and “fuse.”)

Rifling The rifling section indicates whether the projectile was fired, and if so, the number of grooves in the rifling. By knowing the exact location where a projectile was recovered and consulting Appendix B—Cannon Rifling, a student of Civil War history may be able to trace the projectile to a specific cannon and perhaps to a specific ship, battery, or fortification. Such information enhances the value of the projectile.

Rarity Scale The rarity scale shown for each projectile is the result of an effort to standardize a measure of the relative scarcity of all Civil War projectiles. This scale is applicable not only to the projectiles in this book, but also to field artillery projectiles as well. It is an adaptation of the partial scale used in the Dickey-George books, Field Artillery Projectiles of the American Civil War.

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To establish this rarity scale to have general acceptance, the author coordinated an effort by a dozen experts and dealers with long experience and broad exposure to the recovery of field and large caliber projectiles. Based on this effort, this scale should be used going forward for all Civil War artillery projectiles. The rarity scale is as follows:

Rarity 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Number of Known Currently Surviving Identical Specimens 10,000–up 5,000–10,000 3,000–5,000 2,000–3,000 1,000–2,000 500–1,000 150–500 50–150 10–50 1–10

In most cases, no single individual, regardless of his experience, could possibly have personally seen every projectile of a single type. For this reason, in applying the scale to specific individual projectiles, the rarity ranking of each shell was based on a consensus of this group of experts. One should not be surprised that large artillery projectiles are generally quite rare compared to field artillery projectiles. There are several reasons for this. First, fewer were manufactured and used. Second, those that were used are usually more difficult to recover because they are deeper in the ground or water, and they are often in less accessible locations (such as marshes or underwater). Third, the surplus large projectiles were much more likely to have been sold in World War I and World War II scrap drives than field projectiles, which were much more widely dispersed. The good news is that the technology of locating and preserving these large projectiles has improved dramatically in the last few years, and there should be increases in the number of projectiles recovered in the future. The recovery of large caches of projectiles is still quite likely. Successful preservation is still a major factor in the number that survive and in determining value. Such recoveries will affect the rarity rating and should be noted by knowledgeable experts when modifying it.

Provenance The provenance indicates the location where the projectile was recovered (and usually who fired it). The provenance section indicates the best available information about

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where each projectile featured in the book was recovered. Provenance is often difficult to determine, because it is often difficult to get a digger to identify the exact location where the projectile was found. Nonetheless, in preparing this book, a major effort was made to identify provenance for each specimen in the book and for identical projectiles used elsewhere. In this effort, the author consulted with experts to identify locations where other specimens of projectiles in this book have been recovered. Unfortunately, provenance information has been lost for many important projectiles. Provenance and origin are more difficult to determine for smoothbore projectiles. A few shells are unique to the one side, and this is helpful. For example, the 15-inch smoothbore projectiles are unique to Union usage. Also, rifled and smoothbore 18-pounder (5.3-inch caliber) projectiles and rifled 24-pounder (5.82-inch caliber) are almost exclusively Confederate. Determining the origin and provenance of the rest of the large caliber smoothbores can be more challenging. For rifled projectiles, identification of origin is easier, facilitated by identifying the projectile and sabot designs (e.g., Sawyer, Brooke). However, some designs are so similar that a careful examination is required. This is particularly a problem with some Parrott, Confederate Parrott, Read, and Harding designs. It is useful to consult with an expert who has seen enough large caliber projectiles of each design to accurately identify subtle differences. Two approaches to identifying projectile provenance are useful: • Identify the battlefield where the projectile was recovered. Most diggers will tell you the battlefield where a projectile was recovered, even if they won’t identify the specific recovery site. Consulting local diggers and collectors is often most helpful in sorting this out. If possible, photograph the projectile before it is cleaned, because often the soil on the projectile and its corrosion appearance might indicate the battlefield. • Consult an expert knowledgeable about the deployment of cannon and the recovery of projectiles. For example, large caliber Sawyer shells have been recovered mostly from Mobile Bay, and a few from Mississippi River battle sites. Similarly, most 7inch Dyer shells have been recovered from Island No.10 and a few from Vicksburg and Fort Pillow. Three approaches are useful in identifying the origin of a projectile: • Identify the origin of the fuze. In most cases Confederate fuzes indicate shells of Confederate origin; same for Union fuzes. The major exception is for prewar U.S. Navy watercap fuzes. Confederate forces captured a large supply of prewar-dated navy watercap fuzes when hostilities began and used them for several years. Also, for rifled shells, the U.S. forces seldom used wooden fuze plugs (except in very early Parrotts and 7-inch Dyers). • Examine the quality of the projectile’s manufacturing. For large caliber smoothbore

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projectiles, this is a less reliable method, because Confederate ordnance officers were more careful to inspect large caliber projectiles than field caliber ones. Also, Confederate forces captured huge quantities of U.S. manufactured smoothbore projectiles and fuzes at the war’s outset and used them against Union forces in early engagements. • For rifled projectiles, examine the design carefully. This is the best approach to identification or origin. Careful examination of the sabot and shell body shape will usually determine origin and sometimes provenance. See Appendix C on sabot designs for more information. Other clues are described below. If the projectile has vertical marks on the sides, it probably means it was pushed through a sizing die. In that case it is almost certainly a Union shell. Most Confederate rifled projectiles were lathe-turned; in many cases, a lathe dog or lathe dimple will be visible on the projectile, indicating Confederate manufacture. The fact that a projectile has been lathe-turned does not always mean it is Confederate, however. A number of both early and late war Union-made projectiles were lathe-turned.

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“Pi” tapes are difficult to find. They are usually used in the forestry industry to measure the diameter of trees. The author has given away dozens that he buys from a forest products company. 2 Tredegar Order Book, Letter from W.N. Smith to J. R. Anderson and Co. of August 6,1862. 3 The Confederate Ordnance Manual, 29.

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ANCHORED TORPEDO—a torpedo (mine) designed to float under the water or rest on the bottom of a body of water, anchored in place by a weight, cables, or ropes. A defensive weapon. ARMY OFFICIAL RECORDS (“Army ORs” in footnotes)—officially named, War of the Rebellion Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. A 128-volume set, published from 1880 to 1901, containing original reports and other documents prepared during the Civil War by government and military officials on both sides relating to Union and Confederate Army actions. (See Bibliography) ARTIFACT—a man-made object, usually associated with a period, as in Civil War artifact. BANNERMAN’S—the major military surplus dealer who purchased huge quantities of leftover military ordnance after the Civil War, which they resold well into the twentieth century. Originally known as Francis S. Bannerman’s, later known as Bannerman and Sons. BASE—the bottom of a projectile or torpedo. BASE PLATE—a flat iron disk on the bottom of a canister, grape stand, or quilted grape. BLIND SHELL—a projectile designed to be detonated by the heat created when the shell penetrated a target, especially an armored target. Blind shells usually had no fuzes, and relied on a brass or copper pin to transfer the heat from the shell nose to the bursting charge. Some Dahlgren-designed blind shells contain no explosive charge, were filled with casting sand, and functioned as rifled hollow shot. BOLT—a solid iron or steel rifled projectile, designed to damage a target by its impact, not by explosion. Period documentation confirms that bolts were made of cast iron, wrought iron, and even semisteel and steel. BOTTLE TOP BOLT—a type of bolt that tapers up to a narrow flat top core. This core was often made of wrought iron, “chilled” iron, or steel to improve penetration of an ironclad or other hardened target. Some bottle top bolts had a steel plate on the nose. BOURRELET—a ring cast around the sides of some rifled Confederate projectiles. Most projectiles with bourrelets had both an upper and a lower bourrelet, which were the only part of the projectile besides the sabot that had to be machined to a specified diameter. BRASS SABOT—all brass-type Union rifled sabots are identified as brass, even though the alloys may have varied from a metallurgical specification for brass. Confederate sabots

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are described as “copper,” although many contain alloys similar to brass. These descriptions are consistent with historical document descriptions. BUSHING—a brass or copper adapter that screws into a threaded projectile fuze hole. The bushing in turn is threaded on the inside to receive a metal threaded fuze. Bushings are most commonly seen in use with navy watercap fuzes and naval percussion fuzes. CALIBER—the inside diameter of a cannon bore. For rifled cannon, the measurement is applied to the diameter between the lands of the bore, not the grooves. Civil War projectiles should be identified by their caliber, not by their diameter. CALIPERS—a tool to measure the diameter of large objects. CANISTER—a nonexplosive cylindrical projectile consisting of a base plate, a top plate, and sheet metal or thin iron sides, filled with small iron or lead balls or other objects. Some canister had wood or lead bases. Upon firing, the canister disintegrated, spreading the contents and plates over a wide area in front of the cannon. “Canister” is both the singular and plural form of the word. CANNON—a metal device too heavy to be hand-held when firing projectiles using an explosive charge. “Cannon” is both the singular and plural form of the word. As used in the Civil War, cannon consisted of three types and several subtypes. The three basic types are, guns (“unchambered cannon” in the navy), howitzers (“chambered cannon” in the navy), and mortars. See descriptions of each in this glossary. CARCASS—a spherical shell, usually with four or more holes, containing an incendiary mixture ignited by the firing of a cannon. Did not explode on impact, but burned intensely enough to set fire to any nearby flammable objects. Carcasses were largely obsolete by the beginning of the war, but ordnance records indicate the Confederates ordered a number manufactured during the war. CASE SHOT—a thin-walled spherical or rifled projectile containing a small bursting charge and a number of small iron or lead round shot held in place by a matrix of sulfur or asphalt. Usually detonated in an air burst over enemy troops. CAST IRON—molten iron poured into a form to make projectiles or cannons. CHAMBER PRESSURE—the force or pressure that builds up in a cannon when it is fired, before the projectile leaves the muzzle. In rifled cannon the chamber pressure was much greater than in smoothbore cannon and sometimes caused the cannon to burst. COCOON—a coating of metallic oxide (usually iron or brass) mixed with sand, clay, sea shells, or other detritus that covers projectiles and cannon that have been immersed in saltwater or damp environments for a long period. COLUMBIAD—heavy seacoast howitzer or gun capable of firing shot and shell with heavy charges and at high angles of elevation. In some calibers, Columbiad shells have thicker walls than common shells, mortar shells, and case shot, to withstand the heavier firing charge.

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COPPER SABOT—the term used for all Confederate copper and copper alloy sabots. Many Confederate copper-type sabots were actually made of alloys similar to brass, but as alloying metals became difficult to obtain, pure copper was used. Confederate documentation generally refers to the metal as “copper.” CORED SHOT—smoothbore spherical shot with a small hollowed-out cavity in the center to reduce weight. Lighter weight shots or bolts achieved higher velocities at short ranges than the heavier ones. Lighter weight projectiles caused less strain on the cannon, which would reduce the risk of it bursting. CULOT—a flat section cast into the interior of a spherical shell to balance the weight of the reinforced fuze hole on the opposite side of the shell. Also known as a shell cap. DIAMETER—the actual measured width of the circular part of a projectile. The diameter of a projectile is not the caliber of the cannon. The difference between the cannon caliber and the projectile diameter is called windage. DRIFTING TORPEDO—a torpedo (mine) designed to float on the water and move with the tide or current, striking an enemy ship or obstacle; an offensive weapon. EARS—for Civil War projectiles, this term applies to holes bored or cast a fraction of an inch into a smoothbore projectile to accommodate the use of tongs for lifting the projectile. Earlier these holes had been rings that stuck out from the side of the projectile, thus the name “ears.” The only known Civil War vintage projectile with protruding ears is the British-made 12.75-inch Blakely shell. FINS—long, wide ribs cast onto or attached to a smoothbore projectile to give it an aerodynamic character. The intent was to keep the projectile pointed forward so it impacted on its nose. This concept did not work effectively. FLANGE—a long spiral rib on a rifled projectile. Three or more flanges were cast or attached to a projectile to make it turn with the rifling. FRAME TORPEDO—a torpedo attached to a beam that in turn is attached to a wooden frame that can be raised and lowered in a channel to allow friendly ships to pass or to sink enemy ships. Frame torpedoes were considered defensive weapons. FRIENDLY FIRE—a term applied to casualties caused unintentionally by one’s own artillery or musketry. This was a particular problem with the sabots of rifled projectiles. They tended to separate from the projectile body soon after firing, falling among friendly forward troops. Rifled shells also tended to explode prematurely as they came out of the barrel. FUSE—Civilian term for fuze. For example, this spelling is found on Patent Office filings and patent drawings. During the Civil War the terms “fuse” and “fuze” were sometimes used interchangeably. However, the military tended to use the spelling of “fuze,” which has been adopted for this book. This “fuze” spelling is seen on period packages of fuzes as well as correspondence between ordnance officers. FUZE—see Fuse above.

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FUZE PLUG—a metal or wooden device designed to securely hold a paper time fuze when inserted into a shell or case shot. Fuze plugs were screwed or driven into the projectile. GRAPE STAND—a nonexplosive projectile designed to damage ship sails, rigging, and equipment, and to cause casualties among exposed enemy personnel. A grape stand usually consisted of three rows of three grape shot, top and bottom plates, two retaining bands, and a retaining bolt. The retaining bands might be either circular or square in cross section. GUN—a type of cannon that does not have a smaller chamber in the base of the bore for a powder bag. Guns were originally designed for direct fire, doing their damage by a shot striking one or more targets. By the time of the Civil War, guns were beginning to replace howitzers on the battlefield, performing both functions. There are several types of heavy guns, including shell guns, originally designed to fire only the lighter weight shells; shot guns, designed to fire both shot and shell; and Columbiads, designed to fire both shot and shell at high angles or velocities. GUN BLOCK—a cast, forged, or welded assembly of metal parts ready to be machined into a cannon barrel. HEAVY PROJECTILES—projectiles fired from guns too heavy to take into the field to support infantry; specifically, smoothbore projectiles of a 32-pound (6.4-inch) caliber and rifled projectiles with a 4.0-inch or larger caliber. HOLLOW SHOT—a rifled bolt that has a hollow core to lighten its weight. Hollow shot were designed to either (a) reduce the firing charge needed to reach a target, reducing the chance of a cannon bursting; or (b) achieve a higher initial velocity for hitting close-in targets. Same concept as a smoothbore cored shot. HOOK-SLANT RIFLING—a type of rifling groove that slants from a deep side to the land diameter. Used mostly by Confederates. Also called saw-tooth rifling, Scott rifling, and Brooke rifling. In Brooke rifling, the long side of the saw tooth was curved. (See Big Guns for more detail.) HOWITZER—a type of cannon that has a smaller chamber in the base of the bore for a powder bag. Howitzers were originally designed to fire a shell at a high angle of fire to achieve an air burst or hit a target behind some obstruction. By the time of the Civil War, guns that performed both functions were replacing howitzers. HYBRID RIFLE—a rifled cannon design based on a smoothbore cannon modified (e.g., banded) and rifled. Hybrid rifles were a common Confederate design very early in the war, using prewar or early war smoothbore cannon designs. LATHE-TURNED—most Confederate and some Union projectiles were finished to diameter specifications by turning them individually on a lathe. Marks perpendicular to the long axis of the projectile can usually be seen when it has been done. LUG, LUGGED PROJECTILE—a stud sticking out of a projectile or up or in from a

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sabot; a type of projectile that had copper, brass, or lead studs affixed to the projectile in a spiral shape to take the rifling of a gun. Most lugged projectiles were British Armstrongs. MINE—an explosive device used underwater against ships and boats or underground against troops or vehicles. These were called torpedoes during the Civil War. MORTAR—a type of smoothbore cannon that during the Civil War fired a spherical shell at a very high angle of fire, allowing its rapid fall from altitude to add to its velocity to achieve better target penetration. Large Civil War-period mortars had ranges of between 2,000 to 4,200 yards, the latter being the 13-inch Model 1861 seacoast mortar. MUZZLE— the front end of a cannon (or musket) barrel. NAVY OFFICIAL RECORDS (“Navy ORs” in footnotes)—officially named Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion. A 31-volume set, published 1894-1927, containing original reports and other documents prepared during the Civil War by government and military officials on both sides relating to naval actions. See Bibliography for more details. NOMINAL—in the data sheets on projectiles, some projectiles that are sectioned, fragmented, or badly corroded show a nominal weight and dimensions as guides to a normal projectile’s weight and dimensions. NONBATTLEFIELD—having no battlefield provenance; also describes items in “as manufactured” condition, with some aging but no corrosion. ORs—Official Records; two different sets: Army ORs and Navy ORs. OGIVE—the tapered nose section of a rifled shell or bolt. ORDNANCE—military weapons, ammunition, explosive devices, and other military supplies. Usually applied more specifically to ammunition, artillery projectiles, mines, and torpedoes. ORIGIN—indicates who or which side manufactured an item. Sometimes also refers to the point from which a projectile was fired. PAPIER-MACHÉ SABOT—a type of sabot invented by John P. Schenkl, composed of wood pulp and a secret formula glue. PERCUSSION CAP—the same type of percussion cap that detonates the firing charge of a percussion musket; used in the sliders of percussion fuzes for artillery projectiles. POUND—the nominal weight of a smoothbore shot of a specific caliber, as “a six-pound (3.67-inch caliber) shot.” POUNDER—the caliber of a cannon that fired a shot of that weight, as a 12-pounder (4.62-inch caliber) Napoleon gun. PROOF—to test, or a test, as in proof shot. PROOF SHOT—an elongated shot that weighs twice as much as a regular shot for a given caliber cannon; used to test the cannon during proof firings.

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PROVENANCE—the location where an item was used or recovered. Usually applies to a specific location or battlefield. It does not include the identification of origin. QUILTED GRAPE—an inert projectile designed to damage or destroy ships’ rigging and sails and to cause casualties among personnel on the decks of ships. It consists of a base plate with a bolt or pipe in the center, with four or more rows of balls, held together in a canvas (navy) or burlap (army) wrapping, secured with a heavy wire. RABBET—lugs sticking up or inward from a sabot to fit into notches in a projectile body to grip the projectile to spin as the sabot engages and rotates with the rifling. RAM—a ship fitted with a hardened, pointed bow or bow addition, designed to ram into enemy ships and sink them by causing major leaks below the water line. Also refers to the hardened pointed bow addition itself. REBATE, REBATED AREA—an area in which the outer surface of a rifled projectile has been cast or lathe-turned to be smaller than the rest of the side. Bourreleted projectiles have outside rebated surfaces. RELIC—a dug artifact. RIFLE—in the context of this book and in artillery documentation, a rifled cannon. Also a term referring to a rifled musket. RIFLED SMOOTHBORE—a cannon originally designed or manufactured as a smoothbore that was later rifled with the same bore diameter or caliber. RIFLING—grooves cut into the bore of a cannon; these grooves were cut in a spiral shape to force rifled projectiles to spin-stabilize themselves as they came out of the cannon so the nose would always be pointed to the front. SABOT—a device attached to a projectile. Smoothbore shells used wooden sabots and straps to keep the fuze pointed away from the firing charge. Rifled projectiles used sabots to take the rifling, forcing the projectile to spin as it left the cannon barrel. Four types of rifled sabots were used during the War: ring, cup, disk, and band. See Appendix C for more information. SAW-TOOTH RIFLING—see Hook-slant Rifling above. SHELL—an explosive smoothbore or rifled projectile, designed to cause the maximum damage from the blast when the shell explodes. Shells have thicker casings than case shot of the same design and caliber, and, when emptied of explosives, weigh less. SHELL CAP—see Culot above. SHELL GUN—a cannon designed to fire only explosive shells, not bolts. SHOT—a solid spherical projectile designed to cause damage by the force of it hitting a target. Similar to a bolt for rifled cannons. SHOT GUN—a cannon designed to fire both shot and shell. SHOULDER—the part of a rifled projectile where the cylindrical side meets the ogive. SIDE LOADER—a smoothbore or rifled case shot that has a hole or plug in the side; used to pour in a liquid matrix around iron shot to hold them in place during firing.

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SLEEVE—a thin layer on the side of a rifled projectile that ends abruptly at the shoulder. On Confederate projectiles the lathe-turning process often eliminated the sleeve, but in some cases the projectile was not turned down that far. SLIDER—the movable cylindrical part of a percussion fuze that holds a percussion cap on its nose and slides back in upon firing (usually to a rebated shelf in the shell fuze hole or in the base of the fuze plug), then slides forward to strike the anvil cap when the shell impacts, detonating the explosive charge. SMOOTHBORE—a cannon without any rifling in the bore. These cannon fired spherical projectiles, canister, and grape. SPAR TORPEDO—a type of torpedo that was fixed onto a long pole, or spar, and rammed into an enemy ship by a torpedo boat or submarine. Spar torpedoes were considered offensive weapons. STEEL—an alloy of iron, carbon, and other metals to make the metal harder and less brittle than iron. Steel was not available in any substantial quantity or high enough quality to manufacture large numbers of cannon during the Civil War. However, it appears that both sides used steel or semisteel in rifled bolts to penetrate ironclad ships or hardened targets. STRIKER—see Slider above. SUB-CALIBER—a type of projectile in which the diameter of the body of the projectile is substantially less than the caliber of the cannon. Mainly applied to certain rifled projectiles such as Staffords. TOP PLATE—an iron disk that fits on the top of a canister or a grape stand. On canister, the top plate is usually thinner than the bottom plate. On grape stands and canister, a rope or handle is attached to lift the canister or stand of grape. TORPEDO—an explosive device designed to detonate against a ship or under the weight of a horse, wagon, or soldier. During the Civil War, this definition included mines as we currently define them. TRAJECTORY—the path of a projectile’s flight when fired from a cannon. Viewed from the side, projectile trajectories are always curved, and described in terms of degrees of cannon elevation. UNDER PLUG—a copper, brass, or iron disk that screws into a spherical shell or case shot to support a Bormann fuze. WINDAGE—a space designed between the cannon bore diameter and the projectile diameter. This space permitted easier loading, allowed the firing charge to ignite time fuzes, and permitted excessive pressures from the cannon firing to escape. WROUGHT IRON—a hammered or rolled malleable iron that is more resistant to shattering; used throughout the war by both sides as a metal for sabots and for armor and armorpunching bolts.

Section 1

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Shot, Shell, and Case Shot Smoothbore projectiles are generally classified in six categories, according to their design and proposed use. Shot, shell, and case shot are discussed in this section. Canister, grape stands and quilted grape will be discussed in the sections that follow.

Characteristics Shot—are usually spherical in shape. These projectiles were designed to crush the target by the momentum of impact. As ships and fortifications became more formidable in their defenses, shot became more important projectiles for damaging or destroying them. Some shot were elongated, to increase the weight of the projectile being fired. Almost all of these were proof shot, fired to ensure the ability of the cannon to withstand the pressures of firing. A few (almost all Confederate) were elongated and designed for use at very short ranges against ironclad targets before the shot started to tumble. Maury and Brooke shot are the best known of this type. (Maury shot are covered in the rifled projectile section because of their traditional association with rifled projectiles.) Bar and chain shot were not used in large caliber guns. With few exceptions, shot are not photographed for this book, because of their lack of visually distinctive features. Weight and dimension data is provided on the first data sheet for that smoothbore caliber. Shell—are always spherical in shape. These projectiles were designed to damage or destroy a target by the force of the explosion of the shell, not just by impact. Shells were particularly effective against wooden ships and fortifications, and more effective than shot for damaging sand and rubble fortifications. Case Shot—contain iron or lead balls that disperse over a wide area when the case shot explodes. They were designed to kill or injure enemy personnel at the longest ranges the cannon could fire. In case shot the lead or iron balls are held in place by a sulfur or asphalt matrix. Some case shot were filled with miscellaneous lead bullets or cut pieces of a lead rod. The use of case shot was much rarer in large caliber smoothbore projectiles than in field calibers. It is significant that case shot was manufactured and used even in the 1543

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inch caliber by the Monitor-type gunboats.1 Ironically, no 15-inch navy case shot has been identified in modern times. They probably have survived, but no one has carefully inspected the interior to determine if the projectile is case shot or shell.

Overview As an overall perspective, it is clear that smoothbore technology reached its full potential during the war, holding position equal to or even preferred over the emerging rifled cannon technology. This was especially true for the Union and Confederate Navys, for several reasons: • The navy tended to position itself at closer ranges to the enemy during attacks than the army, mainly because of the problem of accuracy in firing from the water, but also because of their confidence in their ironclad armor. • The awesome power of the Union Navy’s XI-inch and XV-inch Dahlgren smoothbore guns was a match for the best in rifled cannon at close ranges. The Union Army never got to use its 15-inch smoothbores in actual battle, and was more attracted to the long-range destructive power it saw in the 7-inch, 8-inch, and 10-inch rifled cannon. • The navy was much more sensitive to the problem of cannons bursting than the army, partly because of the implication for sinking their own ships. Both the Union Army and Navy had disastrous experiences with the large Parrott rifles bursting, especially during prolonged usage, but the navy reacted more negatively to it than the army did. (See Introduction.) Nonetheless, everyone knew, even before the war, that the day of the smoothbores was ending. In 1859 the U.S. Government appointed a board of officers to supervise and evaluate experiments in rifled cannon and projectiles. In their report they said, “from the results obtained, the conclusion is inevitable that the era of smoothbore artillery has passed away, and that the adoption of rifled cannon for siege and garrison service cannot be remote.”2 The XV-inch Dahlgren smoothbores gave the navy what it needed: a powerful destructive capability to meet its needs until heavy rifled cannon technology was perfected. That would be another 20 years.

1

National Archives, Union Navy Box 137, unpublished untitled inventory document of four Monitor-type gunboats as of December 1863-January 1864. 2 Virginia Historical Society, Report of the Commonwealth of Virginia Ordnance Board 1861, 2.

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SHOT, SHELL, AND CASE SHOT

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US Prewar 32-pounder Shot on Iron Sabot Diameter: 6.29 inches Length: 8.50 inches Weight: 38 pounds Gun:

Sabot: Wrought Iron Fuze: None

Rarity: 10

32-pounder Smoothbore Gun

Provenance: West Point test range. No other known recoveries. Comments: This is a prewar experimental shot from early testing of rifling concepts. The hole in the bottom of the sabot may have been designed to bolt the shot to the sabot, but they appear to be heat welded together. A rifled 24-pounder Read pattern conical bolt with a similar iron sabot was also recovered there. This may have been one of Dr. John Read's or Robert Parrott's early rifled projectiles.

SHOT, SHELL, AND CASE SHOT

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CS 32-pounder Shell Diameter: 6.26 inches Weight: Gun:

25 pounds 32-pounder smoothbore gun

Sabot: Wood (missing) Fuze: CS Navy Watercap

Rarity: 8

Provenance: Unknown. Battlefield recoveries from Charleston, Vicksburg, and Fort Fisher. Comments: This shell was misidentified by a seller as a Union shell. Careful inspection by the buyer confirmed that the fuze is unmarked, indicating CS manufacture. A crude casting seam also confirms its Confederate origin. Most 32-pounder Confederate shells had wood fuzes. Only Confederate Navy shells have the unmarked navy watercap fuze.

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SHOT, SHELL, AND CASE SHOT

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US/CS 42-pounder Shell Diameter: Weight: Gun:

6.83 inches 31 pounds 42-pounder Smoothbore Gun

Sabot: Wood (missing) Fuze: Wood Plug, Paper Time

Rarity: 8

Provenance: Unknown. Battlefield recoveries are from lower Missisippi River and Savannah areas. Comments: 42-pounder smoothbore projectiles are rare. The caliber was obsolete and saw limited use in the war. Confederates deployed forty 42-pounder smoothbores in the New Orleans defenses. Five each were aboard the CSS Bienville and the CSS Carondelet on Lake Pontchartrain. 42-pounders have also been documented at Savannah and Fort McAllister.

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SHOT, SHELL, AND CASE SHOT

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US 8-inch Mortar Shell Diameter: Weight: Gun:


7.88 inches 48 pounds 8-inch Mortar

Sabot: Wood (missing) Fuze: Seacoast

Rarity: 8 (with seacoast fuze) 3 (with wood fuze)

Provenance: Unknown. Battlefield recoveries include Charleston, Petersburg, and Vicksburg. Most surviving specimens are nonbattlefield from Bannerman's. Comments: Mortars provided effective indirect fire, but were heavy and difficult to move and were generally used only in siege situations. These shells are more commonly recovered with wood fuze plugs instead of seacoast fuzes. Both fuzes work in the shell. The 8-inch mortar shell wall is 1.37 inches thick.

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CS 8-inch Mortar Shell Diameter: Weight: Gun:


7.87 inches 43 pounds 8-inch mortar

Sabot: None Fuze: Wood (missing)

Rarity: 9 - CS and marked











Provenance: Unknown. Battlefield recoveries from Charleston, Petersburg, and Fort Fisher. Comments: This Confederate mortar shell is marked with the letter "D," visible near the fuze hole. The "D" mark has not been identified with certainty, but some believe it represents a Confederate government foundry in Atlanta or Charlotte, both of which had ordnance works. Both the Union and Confederate forces used 8-inch mortars in siege and seacoast operations.

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CS 8-Inch Incendiary Shell Diameter: 7.88 inches (nominal) Weight: 56 pounds (nominal) Gun: 8-inch Smoothbore Gun

Sabot: Wood (missing) Fuze: CS Incendiary/Navy Watercap

Rarity: 10

Provenance: Folly Island, SC. One other battlefield recovery has been reported from the same area. Comments: This badly corroded shell contains the largest fuze plug known from the war: 2.3-inch head diameter. The fuze in the center is an 1859-dated U.S. Navy watercap fuze, many of which were captured by Confederates in 1861. The bursting charge was sealed in the tin can, with a liquid incendiary mixture filling the shell cavity. This provenance indicates CS origin.

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SHOT, SHELL, AND CASE SHOT

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US 9-inch Shell with Ears Diameter: 8.84 inches Weight: 68 pounds Gun:
9-inch Dahlgren Smoothbore Gun

Sabot: Unknown Fuze: Seacoast

Rarity: 9 (with ears)

Provenance: Grand Gulf, Mississippi. No other known recovery sites (shell with ears). Comments: This shell was manufactured for use in one of the sixteen 9-inch Dahlgren smoothbores ordered in 1861 to be delivered to the Union Army in St. Louis. The navy did not use the seacoast fuze, preferring the navy watercap fuze.

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SHOT, SHELL, AND CASE SHOT

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Courtesy of the United States Military Academy Museum

US 9-inch McIntyre Double Repeating Shell Diameter: 8.90 inches Weight: 42 pounds (84 nominal) Gun:
9-inch Dahlgren Smoothbore Gun

Sabot: Wood (missing) Fuze: Missing

Rarity: 10

Provenance: Nonbattlefield. General Abbot reported that 24-pounder and 10-inch calibers were tested before the Richmond lines in 1865, but the only surviving specimens are in the 9-inch caliber. Comments: This exotic shell provided double time-delayed explosions in an air burst, designed to generate more fragments among enemy troops. McIntyre obtained patent # 32702 for his repeating shells on July 7, 1861. The shell was probably tested for the army Dahlgren gun.

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Courtesy of the United States Military Academy Museum

US 9-inch McIntyre Triple Repeating Shell (Inner Sections) Diameter: 8.90 inches Weight: 45 pounds (90 nominal) Gun:
9-inch Dahlgren Smoothbore Gun

Sabot: Wood (missing) Fuze: Missing

Rarity: 10

Provenance: Nonbattlefield. No known surviving battlefield recoveries. Comments: This photo shows the inner sections of a triple repeating McIntyre shell. The outer casing is the same as in the photograph on the previous page. The parts were cast in half sections then heatwelded together, an expensive process. This was probably tested for the army Dahlgren gun.

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US 9-inch Pevey Shell Diameter: 8.84 inches Length: 10.12 inches (with sabot) Weight: 72 pounds Gun:


Sabot: Wood Fuze: Navy Watercap

Rarity: 10

9-inch Dahlgren Smoothbore Gun

Provenance: Nonbattlefield. General Abbot reported testing 8- and 10-inch Pevey shells in the Petersburg siege. However, battlefield recoveries from that area and the only two known surviving complete shells are in the 9-inch caliber. Fragments of an unknown caliber are also reported from Fort Jackson, near Savannah. Comments: The Pevey shell was a late war design, marked "P.V." near the fuze hole, as shown above. The lead plug was for the insertion of the outer bursting charge. See next page.

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Courtesy of the Atlanta History Center

US 9-inch Pevey Shell Fragment Diameter: 8.80 inches Weight: 78 pounds (nominal) Gun:
9-inch Dahlgren Smoothbore Gun

Sabot: Wood (missing) Fuze: Navy Watercap (missing)

Rarity: 10

Provenance: Unknown. Battlefield recoveries from Petersburg and Savannah. Comments: This fragment is a great example of the design and function of the Pevey shell. The outer layer was cast on to the inner layer, welding the two together. Small round shot and a second bursting charge were inserted into the space between the layers of the shell to increase the lethal effect. In this specimen, only the outer layer exploded (or burst upon impact). Both surviving complete Pevey shells are 9-inch caliber.

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US 9-inch Dahlgren Case Shot Diameter: Weight: Gun:


8.90 inches 70 pounds IX-inch Dahlgren smoothbore gun

Sabot: Wood (missing) Fuze: Underplug Only

Rarity: 7

Provenance: Fort Fisher. Most recoveries with only underplugs in place are case shot and are from Fort Fisher. A few are also known from the Charleston area. Comments: The use of case shot with underplugs at Fort Fisher was based on an order by Admiral Porter to fire only shot at Fort Fisher when the landing party approached the fort during the January assault. Apparently some ships had exhausted their shot supply and substituted case shot with the underplug in place.

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US/CS 10-inch Columbiad Shell Diameter: 9.88 inches Weight: 101 pounds Gun:
10-inch Columbiad

Sabot: Wood (missing) Fuze: Wood (missing)

Rarity: 6

Provenance: Unknown. Battlefield recoveries from Charleston, Vicksburg, Richmond and Petersburg. Also, recoveries from period and postwar dumps in Atlanta and Columbia, South Carolina. Comments: Columbiads were guns that could fire shell or shot using direct or indirect fire, using a bigger powder charge — 20 pounds vs.12.5 pounds for the standard shell gun. For this reason, the shells had to be made thicker and heavier. This shell wall is 3 inches thick. Some Columbiad shells have lifting ears.

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SHOT, SHELL, AND CASE SHOT

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US 11-inch Shell Diameter: 10.87 inches Weight: 126 pounds Gun:
XI-inch Dahlgren Smoothbore

Sabot: Wood (missing) Fuze: Navy Watercap

Rarity: 7

Provenance: Unknown. Battlefield recoveries from Fort McAllister, Charleston, the James River area, the Mississippi River area and the Wilmington area — anywhere early Monitor gunboats operated. Comments: This shell bears two markings, shown above. "JM" above the fuze hole (upside down) is probably the mark of the manufacturer or inspector. "BY" is the mark of either the Brooklyn Navy Yard or the Boston Navy Yard. The shot in this caliber weighs 165 pounds.

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US 11-inch Case Shot Half-Section Diameter: 10.87 inches 132 pounds (nominal) Weight: Gun:
XI-inch Dahlgren Smoothbore

Sabot: Wood (missing) Fuze: US Bormann

Rarity: 8

Provenance: Unknown. Union case shot were used everywhere the early Monitor gunboats with XI-inch Dahlgren smoothbores operated. Comments: Both sides used sulfur matrix and iron balls in large case shot. However, the Confederates developed the 11-inch Brooke smoothbore only in 1864, after they had abandoned use of Bormann fuzes.

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SHOT, SHELL, AND CASE SHOT

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SHOT, SHELL, AND CASE SHOT

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US Army 15-inch Shell Diameter: 14.78 inches Weight: 330 pounds Gun:
15-inch Rodman Smoothbore

Sabot: Wood (missing) Fuze: Wood (missing)

Rarity: 5

Provenance: Nonbattlefield. No known battlefield recoveries. Most recoveries are from Bannerman's, the West Point test range, or from postwar sites such as Fort Moultrie. Comments: The navy did not use wood fuzes in their 15-inch shells. These were designed for army use. The Union Army never used its 15-inch Rodman smoothbores in actual battle, so this type of 15-inch shell does not have battlefield provenance. The shell wall has the same thickness as the Navy shell: 2.88 inches.

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SHOT, SHELL, AND CASE SHOT

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US Navy 15-inch Triple-Fuzed Shell Diameter: 14.80 inches Weight: 329 pounds Gun:
XV-inch Dahlgren Smoothbore Gun

Sabot: Wood (missing) Fuze: Three Navy Watercaps

Rarity: 9

Provenance: Nonbattlefield. Battlefield recoveries from Fort McAllister, Georgia, Wilmington, Charleston, and James River areas. Comments: Introduced in 1863, the triple-fuzed design allowed rapid changes in fuze times, as ranges to targets changed. With shore bombardments, the range was often fixed, so gunners sometimes inserted three fuzes of the same burn time to increase reliability. This proved to be very effective, with few intact recoveries.

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Canister Canister are always cylindrical. They were designed as antipersonnel projectiles used at short range against enemy troops or naval crews. Canister contain no explosive charge. They are usually made with thin sheet metal sides that disintegrate as the canister is fired. At very close ranges, cannon crews might be ordered to use double canisters for each firing, creating a deadly wall of balls and metal debris directed against enemy troops. However, canister did virtually no serious damage to enemy guns, ships, or equipment. By the beginning of the Civil War, canister was recognized as the most deadly form of short-range antipersonnel weapon. Charges of double canister were even more deadly. The larger number of smaller canister shot created a wide cone of destruction immediately in front of the cannon. For example, a single 7-inch canister contained 112 iron shot 1.3 inches in diameter compared to 9 shot 3.15 inches in diameter for a 7-inch grape stand.1 In large calibers, the canister shot used were iron. Miscellaneous ammunition records found by the author2 confirm that canister was carried for each of the cannon aboard the Monitor gunboats, including the XI-inch Dahlgrens, the XV-inch Dahlgrens, and the 8-inch Parrott rifles. According to Ripley,3 shot for navy canister were standardized at 1.3 inches, except for the 12-pounder caliber where they were 1 inch. The size (in inches) of shot in army canister varies with the caliber, as shown below: 8-inch 42-pdr. 32-pdr. 24-pdr. 18-pdr. 12-pdr. 6-pdr. Gun 1.84-1.87 2.22-2.26 2.20 - 2.06 1.84 - 1.87 1.67 - 1.70 1.46 - 1.49 1.14 - 1.17 Howitzer .46 - 1.49 1.32 - 1.35 1.05 - 1.08 Surviving large caliber canister are rare, because of the fragile nature of the sheet metal sides. A number of 7-inch canister were recovered some years ago in the Trent’s Reach area of the James River in excellent condition. However, these were not conserved well and many have deteriorated badly. Others in the 32-pounder size were recovered from Drumgould’s Bluff in Mississippi, but these were in poorer condition. Almost all of the surviving nonbattlefield large caliber canister are in collections of the army at West Point and of the navy at the Naval Academy. However, the most impressive surviving canister is the 15-inch canister in the collection of the Atlanta History Center. The only canister that required wooden sabots were canister for the 8-inch siege howitzer and the 8-inch seacoast howitzer. The former specified a hemispherical wooden sabot, and the latter a tapered sabot.4

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1

91

Author’s count of a disintegrated 7-inch canister. “Ammunition Inventory Records, USS Passaic, USS Nahant, USS Catskill, and USS Lehigh, December 1863 to January 1864,” US Navy Box 137. 3 Ripley, 379. 4 Confederate Ordnance Manual, (a modified reprint of the U.S. Ordnance Manual of 1861), 270. 2

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CANISTER

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Courtesy of the United States Naval Academy Museum

CS 6.4-inch Canister Diameter: 6.29 inches Length: 8.25 inches Weight: 34 pounds Gun:

Sabot: None Fuze: None

Rarity: 10 (nonbattlefield)

32-pounder Rifled or Smoothbore Gun or 6.4-inch Brooke Rifle

Provenance: Nonbattlefield. Battlefield recoveries of canisters in this caliber from the CSS Neuse, the USS Cairo and from Drumgould's Bluff, Mississippi.

Comments: This crudely made canister is Confederate. It lacks a bottom plate and the bottom is sheet metal so thin that the canister balls have made an indentation in it. The top is wood and lacks a handle. The skin is firmly soldered on to the base plate. The markings on top were added after the war.

CANISTER

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Courtesy of the United States Military Academy Museum

US/CS 7-inch Canister Diameter: 6.85 inches Length: 8.25 inches Weight: 48 pounds Gun:

Sabot: None Fuze: None

Rarity: 10 (nonbattlefield)

42-pounder Smoothbore Gun, Rifled 42-pounder Gun, or 7-inch Brooke Rifle

Provenance Nonbattlefield. Probably CS origin. Battlefield recoveries from the James River at Trent's Reach, where the CSS Richmond ran aground in 1865. Recoveries are likely from the CSS Peedee. Comments: The tinned sheet metal side is soldered to the base plate but only crimped over the top. This canister is identical to the 7-inch CS canisters recovered from the Trent's Reach area on the James River. One of the Trent's Reach 7-inch canisters had 112 iron shot in it, averaging 1.3 inches in diameter.

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CANISTER

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Courtesy of the Atlanta History Center

US 15-inch Canister - continued Diameter: 14.85 inches Length: 17.00 inches Weight: 400 pounds Gun:

Sabot: None Fuze: None

Rarity: 10

XV-inch Dahlgren Smoothbore

Provenance: Unknown. See previous page. Comments: The construction of this canister is surprising, given its weight. The iron rod in the center has only a narrow square washer on the bottom as reinforcement. There is no reinforcing metal disk on the top or bottom wooden plates. Recently discovered documents confirm that the Monitors with XV-inch Dahlgrens carried a large supply of these on board.

Grape Stands and Quilted Grape For both smoothbore and rifled artillery, grape stands and quilted grape served a different purpose from case shot and canister. Quilted grape and grape stands were designed to damage ships’ rigging and spars or fortification equipment, with the fragments from this damage causing major casualties to gun crews. Some confusion exists about the use of grape stands and quilted grape. As general antipersonnel weapons, grape stands and quilted grape in field calibers had been largely replaced by canister by the time the war began. It appears that early in the war grape stands replaced quilted grape for calibers below 8 inch. Quilted grape were used in all calibers above 8 inches, including the 15-inch size, which has been documented aboard Monitor-type gunboats1 and in postwar Bannerman catalogs.2 However, the Confederates captured a large supply of 32-pounder quilted grape when the Southern states seceded and had others manufactured during the early years of the war. These were deployed to river and coastal gun positions. A number of these 32-pounder quilted grape were excavated near Fort Huger, North Carolina, some years ago, and others reportedly were recovered in gun positions along the Mississippi and elsewhere over the years. Prior to the war, quilted grape had been the primary form of grape used. They were made in calibers up to 11 inches and down to 1.75 inches.3 One consisted of a base plate and a center bolt or pipe, surrounded by rows of four to six balls, stacked three to five rows high. Sailcloth (navy) or burlap (army) inserted between the base plate and the first row of grape shot was then pulled around the balls and it was tightened by cord or wire running diagonally between the balls. The top was wired tightly together around the core bolt or pipe. The navy then painted or tarred the sailcloth to keep it from rotting in the dampness and salt air. Based on a review of period photographs, it appears that the army did not paint theirs. One of the quilted grape documented in this book is painted white. This conforms to the 1860 Navy Ordnance Instructions.4 However, all other quilted grape noted have been painted black. One 12-pounder navy canister has also been noted painted white.5 Both Union and Confederate ordnance manuals specified the use of tapered wooden sabots for grape stands for the 8-inch seacoast howitzer, providing however that the sabots could be attached with a bolt through the sabot and stand or using a separate wooden sabot.6 Grape stands consisted of two plates the diameter needed for the caliber of the cannon, a long bolt, three or four rows of three iron grapeshot, and two rings to hold the grape shot in place. The rods for most rings were circular in cross section. However, about forty 32-pounder Confederate square-banded grape stands were recovered from Drumgould’s

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Bluff near Vicksburg a number of years ago. Others in that caliber have been recovered elsewhere. One square-banded 18-pounder grape stand without battlefield provenance has been documented. Also, a 12-pounder grape stand with square bands has been documented as well. These are not known in any other caliber. Grape shot for quilted grape and grape stands had to be cast precisely to fit within the diameter of the projectile. The standards published for these grape shot were as follows7 : 15" Grape Stand # Balls Max. diameter Min. diameter Avg. wt. (lbs.) Quilted Grape # Balls Unk. Avg. diameter Unk. Avg. Wt. (lbs.) Unk.

11"

15 3.55 6.0

10"

15 3.34 4.9

9"

18 2.80 2.9

8"

42#

32#

24#

18#

12#

9 3.60 3.54 6.1

9 3.17 3.13 4.2

9 2.90 2.86 3.2

9 2.64 2.60 2.4

9 2.40 2.36 1.8

9 2.06 2.02 1.1

18 2.50 2.1

12 2.50 2.1

As mentioned in the Preface, this section on grape stands has been expanded to cover the field calibers, because they were not comprehensively covered in the earlier field artillery reference texts.

1

“Inventory of USS Passaic, USS Nahant, USS Catskill, and USS Lehigh, January 1864,” U.S. Navy Records Box 137. 2 1927 Bannerman’s Catalog. 3 McKee and Mason, 132. 4 Kerksis and Dickey; 234. 5 Naval Academy collection, Annapolis, Maryland. 6 The Ordnance Manual for the Use of Officers of the Confederate Army 1863 (“The CS Ordnance Manual”), (based on The Ordnance Manual for the Use of Officers of the United States Army, 1863 [“The US Ordnance Manual”]), 270. 7 Grape stand data from the CS Ordnance Manual, 31. Quilted grape data is from Ripley, 379.

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US/CS 24-pounder (5.82-inch) Grape Stand Diameter: 5.69 inches Length: 7.25 inches Weight: 30 pounds Gun:

Sabot: None Fuze: None

Rarity: 10

24-pounder Smoothbore or Boat Howitzer, Rifled 24-pounder, or 5.82-inch Rifle

Provenance: Unknown. A number of 5.82-inch grape stands were recovered in the Charleston area in 2002. Comments: 24-pounders saw only limited action during the war. Grape stands and canister are rarer in this caliber and the 18-pounder caliber than other large caliber sizes. The rope handle is a reproduction. The standard grape shot diameter for this caliber is 2.62 inches.

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GRAPE STANDS AND QUILTED GRAPE

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US/CS Navy 9-inch Quilted Grape Diameter: 8.65 inches Length: 10.75 inches Weight: 77 pounds Gun:

Sabot: None Fuze: None

Rarity: 10 (with complete cover)

IX-inch Dahlgren Smoothbore Gun

Provenance: Nonbattlefield. No known intact battlefield recoveries. Comments: Quilted grape were used throughout the war by both sides. The Navy Ordnance Instructions of 1860 stated that shrapnel (case shot/ grape) were to be painted white. However, every other surviving navy quilted grape noted is painted black. The standard grape shot diameter in this caliber is 2.80 inches.

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GRAPE STANDS AND QUILTED GRAPE

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Courtesy of the United States Naval Academy Museum

US/CS 10-inch Quilted Grape Diameter: 9.72 inches Length: 11.87 inches Weight: 94 pounds Gun:

Sabot: Iron Disk Fuze: None

Rarity: 10

10-inch Smoothbores or Rifles

Provenance: Nonbattlefield. No known intact battlefield recoveries. Comments: The 10-inch smoothbores were one of the most common large caliber workhorse guns in Union and Confederate seacoast fortifications and navies. All documented navy quilted grape noted were painted to prevent rotting and corrosion in a saltwater environment. The standard grape shot size for this caliber is 3.34 inches.

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Section 2

Introduction to Rifled Projectiles ○

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In this section each type of rifled projectile is described in two parts. First, an introductory narrative section discusses details about the designer, the manufacturing, and performance of the projectiles. The second part is composed of data sheets on projectiles in ascending caliber order. For each caliber the data sheets are sequenced to cover bolts first, then shells, case shot, and finally any special purpose projectiles (e.g., incendiary shells). The reader should note that when describing sabot materials, all Union sabots made of a brass-type material are referred to as “brass,” and all Confederate sabots are referred to as “copper.” This is consistent with the actual metallic composition of most of their sabots, and consistent with the terminology used in period source documents. It is likely that some Confederate sabots are brass or some other copper alloy, and not pure copper. Determination of the actual material is not possible without destructive testing. Fuzes other than the one shown in a shell or case shot might be used in the same projectile. These are not considered to be different projectiles. For example, Schenkl navy fuzes were made specifically to fit into Parrott shells. Similarly, Parrott percussion and time fuzes were made to fit into the same shells, as were Confederate Navy percussion and navy watercap fuzes. Note: the length of rifled projectiles does not include any of the fuze. Weight data are based on the actual weight of the specimen. If the actual length or weight varies significantly from the original weight, a nominal value is provided.

113

Absterdam John Absterdam patented a number of projectile designs in 1862 and 1864. The Union Army Absterdam shells were made in the 3-inch and 4.5-inch calibers. Two of these 4.5inch designs are included in the book, having been used in the 1864-65 RichmondPetersburg siege. There are three designs of Absterdam projectiles: Type 1 has a lead cup sabot and two lead bourrelets; Type 2 has a lead cup sabot and one (upper) lead bourrelet; and Type 3 has a brass ring sabot with no bourrrelets. A hybrid Type 2/3 is documented in this book, with a brass ring sabot and one upper lead bourrelet. Absterdam had contracts with at least three foundries in addition to his own foundry to manufacture his projectiles: Dickson & Zane of Philadelphia; Chase, Sharp & Thompson of Philadelphia; and A.J. Smith.1 The first 3-inch Absterdam shells were ordered by the Union Ordnance Department from Chase, Sharp & Thompson on July 28, 1863, and delivered on February 8, 1864.2 The first 4.5-inch Absterdam projectiles were ordered by the Union Ordnance Department through Dickson & Zane on March 17, 1864, and delivered on September 27, 1864.3 Gen. Henry L. Abbot conducted extensive tests of Union projectiles during the siege of Petersburg in 1864-65. According to him, the 4.5-inch Absterdam was an “utter failure,” with 144 of 239 shells fired tumbling in flight and 90 of the 239 either bursting in the gun or not at all.4

1

Mowbray, 719, 741, 743, and 968. Ibid., 740. 3 Ibid., 743. 4 Abbot, 96. 2

114

ABSTERDAM

115

Courtesy of the Atlanta History Center

US 4.5-inch Absterdam Type 1 Shell Diameter: 4.46 inches Length: 10.50 inches Weight: 31 pounds

Sabot: Lead Cup Fuze: Missing

Rifling: Unfired

Gun:

Rarity: 5

4.5-inch Siege Rifle




Provenance: Nonbattlefield. Battlefield recoveries mainly from Petersburg siege lines. Comments: This is the first pattern Absterdam shell, manufactured only in 1864. Cast into the base is the following: "AUG-12-62," the patent date. In tests during the Petersburg siege, General Abbot pronounced that this shell was "an utter failure."

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US 4.5-inch Absterdam Type 2/3 Shell Diameter: 4.40 inches Length: 10.25 inches Weight: 20 pounds

Sabot: Brass Ring (Lead Upper Ring) Fuze: HotchkissTime

Rifling: Unfired

Gun:

Rarity: 7




4.5-inch Siege Rifle




Provenance: Unknown. Most battlefield recoveries are from late war Richmond-Petersburg lines. Comments: This shell is a hybrid between the Type 2 shell that had one upper lead bourrelet and a lead cup sabot and the Type 3 shell, which had no lead bourrelets and a brass ring sabot. Like the Type 3 sabot, there are six saw cuts in the sabot.

Archer Credit for the design of the Archer projectiles and the Archer safety fuzes is being changed in this book. Cdr. John Brooke’s papers and Charles Dews’ authoritative book on the Tredegar Foundry clearly indicate that credit for the design of both the Archer projectiles and the Archer safety fuzes should go to Dr. Robert Archer. The confusion that arose in earlier books about whom to credit is the result of three Dr. Archers being associated with Confederate cannon manufacturing: Dr. Junius Archer of Bellona Foundry, near Richmond; Dr. Edward Archer, a superintendent at the Tredegar Foundry; and Dr. Robert Archer, a partner of Joseph Anderson in the Tredegar Foundry. Brooke identified Dr. Robert Archer as the designer of both projectiles and fuzes.1 Charles Dew indicated that Dr. Robert Archer was an inventor of some distinction, having designed rifle shot for Tredegar cannon and a safety device to prevent premature explosion of cannon shell.2 The Archer shells and bolts have a lead band sabot placed just behind the center of the shell body as it tapers towards the base. Used at the very beginning of the war at First Manassas and in at least one large caliber at Island No. 10, Archer projectiles were discredited as ineffective. They are seldom recovered from battlefields dating after 1862. It is likely that Dr. Robert Archer also designed the projectiles identified in this book as “Tredegar.” However, no documentation has been found yet to confirm that these specific designs are attributable to Archer. Archer shells and bolts appear to have been made in several calibers from 3.0-inch through 3.67-inch, and the 6.4-inch caliber. To date, only four 6.4-inch Archer projectiles are known to have been recovered—three bolts and one shell—all from Island No.10. It is not known where the 6.4-inch Archer projectiles were manufactured. According to the Navy Official Records, the Confederates had twelve rifled 32-pounders at Island No.10, so it is likely that eventually more will be recovered. Equally intriguing, the Confederates had two rifled 24-pounders there, and one might wonder if they were supplied with Archer projectiles as well.3

1

Brooke, Ironclads, 47-48. Dew, 97. 3 Navy ORs, series I, vol. 22, 747-48. Ten of the rifled 32-pounders were on the mainland in Batteries #2 (three), #3 (three), #4 (three), and #5 (one). One (the “Belmont”), in Battery #1 on the island, burst early in the action, and one was on the floating battery New Orleans at the northeast corner of the island. The two rifled 24-pounders were in Battery #3 on the island. See also maps facing page 748 in this reference. 2

117

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RIFLED PROJECTILES

ARCHER

119

Armstrong Sir William G. Armstrong designed a family of rifles and projectiles in the 1850s that were highly prized by the British government. In fact the British government controlled the company that produced the rifles and projectiles—Elswick Ordnance Company—and would not allow any to be sold to foreign countries until they completed their rearmament program in 1861–1862.1 The British government withdrew from the company in 1862, and Confederates began to buy Armstrong rifles and projectiles.2 In 1864, the Confederates acquired several large caliber Armstrong rifles and projectiles. Included in these shipments were two 8-inch Armstrong rifles, which were mounted at Fort Caswell and Fort Fisher. Each rifle weighed nearly eight tons.3 Tests done in England indicated these rifles would pierce the armor of the Monitor-type gunboats.4 With the Armstrong rifles came an impressive array of advanced projectiles, including shell, segmented shrapnel, armor-piercing bolts, and armor-piercing shells. The Armstrong projectiles used a shunt rifling system with brass lugs mounted in a spiral shape along the length of the projectile body. According to Col. William Lamb, the commanding officer of Fort Fisher, the 8-inch Armstrong rifle was “the most effective gun in the work” at Fort Fisher, but the Confederates had only 13 of the British-made shells prior to the first attack in December 1864.5 Local Confederate foundries manufactured two kinds of bolts before the second attack, which Colonel Lamb described as “useless.”6 These bolts eliminated the shunt rifling lugs, probably due to manufacturing difficulties. General Abbot misidentified one of these kinds of bolts as for the 8-inch Blakely rifle. However, all recoveries of both patterns of Confederate-made bolts were from the Armstrong rifle site (Purdie’s Battery) at Fort Fisher, and none was recovered from the Northeast Bastion position of the Blakely rifle. At least two designs of Armstrong field artillery projectiles were supplied to the Confederacy late in the war. One was from a breech-loading rifle that fired into General Abbot’s position near Bermuda Hundred, Virginia.7 A cache of shells for this rifle was found in the twentieth century at High Bridge, Virginia, along the Appomattox retreat route. The Confederates also obtained a complete battery of muzzle-loading shunt-type 12-pounder rifles at the very end of the war, which was apparently captured in the retreat from Richmond without ever being fired.8 General Abbot had a high opinion of the large caliber Armstrong rifle. In his book, he stated, “This gun [the 8-inch Armstrong rifle at Fort Fisher] was the most elegantly finished off artillery I ever saw. With its mate, captured at Fort Caswell, it no doubt constituted a valued present to the confederacy, whose waning fortunes transferred it to our hands.”9 Confederate agents in London purchased a 10-inch and two 8-inch Armstrong rifles

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ARMSTRONG

121

and projectiles for the CSS Stonewall, a formidable ironclad ram built in France.10 Because of various embargoes, the Stonewall left Spain only on March 24, 1865, and got only as far as Havana by the end of the war.11 The Cuban government turned the Stonewall over the U.S. government in November 1865. The Stonewall was also armed with one 10-inch (300-pounder) Armstrong rifle and two 8-inch (150-pounder) Armstrong rifles.12 Based on projectile documentation, the Stonewall may also have been armed with one or more 6.4-inch Armstrong rifles. On board the Stonewall were the best types of Armstrong’s projectiles. These are documented in this book. Had the Stonewall reached the western Atlantic before the war ended, it could have had a devastating impact on both the blockading fleet and the Monitor-type gunboats. As fate would have it, the Stonewall arrived in Havana for refueling after the war ended.

1

Ripley, 138. Ibid. 3 Navy ORs, series II, vol. 2, 741. 4 Ibid. 5 William Lamb, “The Defense of Fort Fisher,” Battles & Leaders, vol. 4, 647. 6 Ibid. 7 Abbot, 106. 8 Ibid. 9 Ibid. 10 Ibid., 267. 11 Silverstone, 151f. 12 Navy ORs, series II, vol. 1, 267. 2

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ARMSTRONG

123

CS 8-inch Armstrong Convex Base Bolt Diameter: 7.90 inches Length: 13.25 inches Weight: 155 pounds Gun:

8-inch Armstrong Rifle

Sabot: None Fuze: None
Rifling: None Rarity: 9

Provenance: Fort Fisher. No other battlefield recovery sites known. Comments: This 8-inch Armstrong bolt is of local Confederate manufacture. The convex base copies the British shell base design. Records indicate the Armstrong rifle had only about a dozen bolts and a dozen shells when the battle at Fort Fisher began. In the first two days of action, it fired only four rounds, one of which went through the boiler of the USS Malvern, Admiral Porter's command ship.

124

RIFLED PROJECTILES

ARMSTRONG

125

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RIFLED PROJECTILES

ARMSTRONG

127

Courtesy of the Washington Navy Yard Museum

British/CS 10-inch Armstrong Hollow Nose Bolt Diameter: 9.96 inches Length: 19.75 inches Weight: 275 pounds

Sabot: Lug System Fuze: None
Rifling: 8-groove

Gun:

Rarity: 10

10-inch Armstrong Rifle

Provenance: CSS Stonewall. No other known wartime usage. Comments: The CSS Stonewall was armed with one 10-inch and two 8-inch Armstrong rifles and was supplied with a variety of sophisticated projectiles. This hollow nose bolt was designed to be fired a long distance with an aerodynamic shape to reduce drag, then collapse immediately into a flat top bolt, a design that had proved effective against Union ironclads. Note five lugs per column. See half-section on next page.

128

RIFLED PROJECTILES

ARMSTRONG

129

130

RIFLED PROJECTILES

ARMSTRONG

131

Courtesy of the Washington Navy Yard Museum

British/CS 10-inch Armstrong Segmented Case Shot Diameter: 9.94 inches Length: 19.13 inches Weight: 288 pounds Gun:

10-inch Armstrong Rifle

Sabot: Lug System Fuze: Unknown (missing)
Rifling: 8-groove Rarity: 10

Provenance: CSS Stonewall. See previous pages. No other known wartime usage. Comments: This segmented case shot was one of the most modern and destructive antipersonnel projectiles designed during the war. The segmented blocks were precut to fly into pieces when the bursting charge exploded. They were arranged in a casing that was inserted into the base of the projectile. (See the half-section on the next page.)

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RIFLED PROJECTILES

Courtesy of the United States Naval Academy Museum

10-inch Armstrong Segmented Case Shot Half-Section Diameter: 9.92 inches Length: 19.13 inches Weight: 288 pounds (nominal) Gun:

10-inch Armstrong Rifle

Sabot: Lug System Fuze: Unknown (missing)
Rifling: 8-groove Rarity: 10

Provenance: CSS Stonewall. No other known wartime provenance. Comments: The shrapnel core was inserted into the thin-walled shell base. The powder chamber is lead lined. The core insert and individual blocks are visible in the photograph. This very modern design would have been a deadly antipersonnel weapon in actual battle usage, but the Stonewall arrived in western Atlantic waters too late to engage the Union fleet.

Blakely Capt. Theophilus Alexander Blakely, a British inventor, designed a number of rifles and projectiles in a wide variety of calibers, which were sold before the war to individual Southern states and later to the Confederacy. At least two batteries of Blakely rifles were also sold to Union units. It is well known that South Carolina had acquired a 3.5-inch Blakely rifle before the war, which participated in the initial bombardment of Fort Sumter.1 Less well known is the fact that Virginia had acquired a 7.5-inch Blakely rifle just before or after hostilities began. That rifle fired some 900 rounds at Union forces at Shipping Point at the mouth of the Potomac River before being abandoned by Confederate forces in mid-1862.2 It survives today and is located in the gun park at the Washington Navy Yard. Most Blakely-designed rifles used projectiles designed by Sir Bashley Britten, who received a British patent on the design in 1855, but was unable to obtain a U.S. patent until after the war. Britten’s projectiles are described in the next section. The Blakely rifles firing Britten projectiles used conventional square land and groove rifling. Two other projectile designs—both flanged—were used in Blakely rifles that used the shunt system of rifling. Both are actually Blakely designs, but one is called the Preston-Blakely design and the other is known as the flanged Blakely. Battlefield recoveries of the PrestonBlakely design have been noted in 3.5-inch and 4-inch calibers. In addition, an 8-inch Preston-Blakely blind shell without provenance was discovered in the Naval Academy’s projectile collection. It could also be fired from the 8-inch Blakely rifles.3 Flanged Blakely projectiles have been recovered in three calibers: 4.5-inch, 8-inch and 12.75-inch. For some unknown reason, General Abbot credited the projectile design to Scott.4 Certainly the most famous of the Blakely rifles and projectiles are those associated with two 12.75-inch rifles imported in 1863 and deployed at White Point Gardens (now known as the South Battery) in Charleston. None of these projectiles was used in actual engagements, and few were ever fired. Upon abandoning Charleston in 1865, the Confederates blew up the rifles. The largest pieces were photographed in place at the South Battery and at the Charleston Arsenal yard after the war and are now part of the West Point Museum collection. Some South Battery photographs also show four types of projectiles that seem to be 12.75-inch caliber. Two of these types are not known to have survived to modern times. Most surviving 12.75-inch projectile specimens are in the U.S. Navy collections. One, a Confederate made shell, is in a private collection. Many of these 12.75-inch projectiles were left over after the war. Union Navy officers took some home as war trophies. For example, a shell and a bolt are visible in a photograph of the deck of the Monitor USS

133

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RIFLED PROJECTILES

Catskill in Charleston immediately after the war. Also, a postwar photograph of the Citadel in Charleston shows at least 27 of the bolts around a monument. These are believed to have been destroyed in a wartime scrap drive. Two 8-inch Blakely rifles are known to have been deployed by Confederates, one at Fort Morgan, Alabama, and one at Fort Fisher. Less than a half-dozen projectiles are known to have been recovered, all from the Fort Fisher area. The 8-inch shell included in this book has a unique fuze not previously seen by the author. Battlefield provenance for the 4.5-inch flanged Blakely projectile was not established until recently, and the shells were assumed to be either experimental or postwar. However, a fired one was dredged up off the coast of Fort Fisher in a beach restoration project, confirming its use in that area. Only a few 4.5-inch flanged Blakely shells are known to have survived. General Abbot also had a high opinion of the flanged Blakely projectiles. “These [8inch Blakely] projectiles were captured at Fort Fisher, North Carolina, where the gun to which they belonged was the most efficient of the Confederate armament, and was taken marked by our shot and stained with the blood of its cannoniers.”5

1

Hazlett, Olmstead, and Parks, 199. Tredegar Order Book. 3 In The Big Guns, by Olmstead, Stark, and Tucker, the caliber of this Blakely rifle is indicated as 8.12inch. However, the diameters of all Blakely projectiles in this caliber support a caliber of 8.0-inch, not 8.12inch. 4 Abbot, 107. 5 Ibid. 2

BLAKELY

135

136

RIFLED PROJECTILES

BLAKELY

137

138

RIFLED PROJECTILES

BLAKELY

139

140

RIFLED PROJECTILES

CS 12.75-inch Flanged Blakely Shell Diameter: 12.50 inches
Length: 24.50 inches Weight: 470 pounds (estimated) Gun: 12.75-inch Blakely Rifle

Sabot: Flange System Fuze: Wood (missing)
Rifling: 4-groove Rarity: 10

Provenance: Charleston. No other provenance. Only known surviving specimen. Comments: This Confederate-made shell has copper flanges. Missing for many years, it was reportedly found in an antebellum townhouse in southeast Washington, DC, close to the Navy Yard. The engraving reads "English Blakely XIII inch Shell, Charleston 1865." Two of these shells can be seen in a postwar photo at the Charleston Arsenal. (See dust jacket front cover.) Note the freeze crack bulge in the shell base.

Britten Sir Bashley Britten designed a lead-cupped rifled projectile and received a British patent on it in August 1855.1 Britten was unable to get an American patent on his projectile design until after the war. Some experts suspect that the U.S. Government’s anti-British sentiment caused this delay. It may also be due to efforts by Alexander Dyer, a senior officer and eventually the Chief of the Union Army Ordnance Department. After a trip to England just before the war, Dyer designed a very similar shell, which the Union Army Ordnance Department purchased in large numbers, even though most large caliber Dyer shells failed to explode. It is noteworthy that Britten was allowed a U.S. patent on his design after the war, when his design was considered obsolete. It is also noteworthy that Dyer never obtained a patent on his design. Britten’s design (and Dyer’s) had a lead cup sabot that was bonded onto the iron shell body with a hot zinc coating. The base of the shell body is rounded and often shows through the bottom of the sabot. Britten projectiles were sold to both the Union and Confederacy, although only the Confederacy purchased large caliber Britten projectiles. Apparently one of the first shipments of Britten shells received by the Confederacy came into Savannah aboard the blockade-runner Fingal on November 12, 1861. Aboard were four rifled naval guns and 800 Britten projectiles.2 The Fingal was later converted into the ironclad CSS Atlanta.3 When the Union blockade shut down most Southern ports, the Confederates manufactured Britten projectiles locally. The best known of the Confederate-made Britten shells were used in the Charleston area, reportedly manufactured by Eason Brothers. Many of these Eason-made Britten shells were fired without fuzes or explosive charges. Almost all had a hand-carved stick in the fuze hole that ran the length of the shell cavity. These shells are known locally as “Eason hollow shot.” Britten bolts and shells have been recovered in a variety of calibers—2.5-inch, 2.9inch, 3.0-inch, 3.5-inch, 3.6-inch, 3.67-inch, 4.62-inch, 5.82-inch, 6.4-inch, and 7-inch— creating a nightmare of logistical support. Britten shells enjoy the distinction of being used by the two most famous Confederate warships in the war: the CSS Virginia and the CSS Alabama. In the case of the CSS Virginia, Lt. John Brooke had designed some shells based on the Dahlgren pattern for use in the 6.4-inch and 7-inch rifled guns aboard the Virginia. However, problems with the manufacturing of both the shells and the sabots led to a decision by Lt. Catesby Jones, the Virginia’s executive officer, to use Britten shells.4 Lt. Robert D. Minor, Flag Officer Buchanan’s aide, confirmed this decision the day before the first attack on the Union fleet on March 8, 1862.5 141

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RIFLED PROJECTILES

The most famous shell of the entire war may be a 7-inch Britten shell fired by the CSS Alabama. It failed to explode when it impacted in the rudderpost of the USS Kearsage. This shell is on display at the Washington Navy Yard Museum (and documented in this book). Had that shell exploded, the Alabama would have likely won the battle, with significant repercussions for the Confederacy’s efforts to obtain open European support for the Southern cause.

1

Melton and Pawl, 269. Brooke, Ironclads, 224, footnote 11, quoting Luraghi, Confederate Navy, 200. 3 Ibid., 64, and footnote 11, 224. 4 Ibid., 70. 5 Ibid., 71. 2

BRITTEN

143

144

RIFLED PROJECTILES

BRITTEN

145

146

RIFLED PROJECTILES

BRITTEN

147

148

RIFLED PROJECTILES

BRITTEN

149

British/CS 6.4-inch Britten Round Nose Shell Diameter: 6.14 inches Length: 11.25 inches Weight: 46 pounds Gun:

Sabot: Lead Ring Fuze: Preston Percussion
Rifling: Unknown Rifled 32-pounder or 6.4-inch Rifle Rarity: 10

Provenance: Fort Morgan, Alabama. Other recoveries from other Mobile Bay locations. Comments: This shell is similar to most Britten shells except that it has a lead ring sabot instead of a lead cup. This may be simply a sabot casting flaw. It might be of Confederate manufacture, but has a Preston fuze, indicating British origin. Note that this shell has a much rounder nose and is more crudely cast than the other British-made shell.

150

RIFLED PROJECTILES

BRITTEN

151

152

RIFLED PROJECTILES

Shell Photo Courtesy of the Washington Navy Yard Museum

British/CS 7-inch Britten Shell Diameter: 6.92 inches Length: 11.50 inches Weight: 64 pounds

Sabot: Lead Cup (missing) Fuze: Unknown (broken off)
Rifling: Unknown

Gun:

Rarity: 10

7-inch Blakely Rifle

Provenance: CSS Alabama. Other battlefield recoveries from Fort Fisher and Hampton Roads. Comments: These two photos highlight the shape of the rear area of the shell body and the massive size of the 11-pound lead sabot designed for 7-inch Britten projectiles. The sabot is from another 7-inch Britten shell. This is probably the type of shell used aboard the CSS Virginia in its duel with the USS Monitor.

Brooke Cdr. John Mercer Brooke, CSN, is best known for his designs of rifled cannon and projectiles for the Confederacy. He also designed the torpedoes and armor for the CSS Virginia and oversaw its manufacture by Tredegar Foundry.1 Brooke was so highly regarded by both sides that Union Adm. David Porter said he only regretted the loss of two officers to the Confederacy from the United States Navy: Brooke and Catesby Jones.2 Porter did not mean to be flattering with that comment. After the war he said that Brooke had done more harm to the North than any other man in the South.3 Like his early work in designing cannon, Brooke’s early projectile patterns were modified versions or outright copies of existing designs. For example, in working on projectiles for the CSS Virginia, Brooke asked for designs from the Gosport Navy Yard ordnance officer, then modified the Dahlgren pattern for a shell design. He wrote in his notes, “200 shells are being cast at the Tredegar—of my design—Dahlgren pattern serving as the basis.”4 A number of experiments were conducted using Brooke’s Dahlgren designs, Reads, Tennessee, and Brittens. On March 5, 1862 (three days before the CSS Virginia’s historic two-day battle began with the Union Navy fleet in Hampton Roads), Catesby Jones, the executive officer of the Virginia, wrote to Brooke. Jones told him that Britten shells were going to be used on the Virginia because of manufacturing problems with Brooke’s and the Gosport designs.5 This was confirmed by Lt. Robert D. Minor, Flag Officer Buchanan’s flag lieutenant on the Virginia, in a letter to Brooke on March 7.6 These Britten shells had been brought in from England aboard the blockade-runner Fingal, which was later converted to the ironclad CSS Atlanta.7 Even the cannon on CSS Virginia hybrid original Brooke designs. The IX-inch smoothbores were Dahlgren patterns. The 7-inch rifles were IX-inch Dahlgren gun blocks bored to 7-inch caliber and rifled. The 6.4-inch rifles were 32-pounder smoothbore guns, rifled and banded according to Brooke’s directions.8 Based on recently published drawings from his journal and from reports and correspondence found in the National Archives, we now know that Brooke designed three successful projectile types: the milled base bolt and shell, the ratchet disk sabot shell and bolt, and the ratchet ring sabot shell and bolt. Surprisingly, all three were used concurrently, from the time of their design through the end of the war. Brooke developed these successful designs only after conducting numerous experiments. He was initially resistant to the use of copper or brass as a sabot material, and continued to experiment with and order lead saboted projectiles until at least January 1863.9 Most of Brooke’s early original bolt or shell designs were not adopted.10 The first

153

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RIFLED PROJECTILES

successful original Brooke design was the milled base wrought iron bolt. Drawings of this design first appear in Brooke’s journal in March 1862. Later entries reported on test results. Final approval for its use appears on drawings in November 1862.11 Brooke’s ratchet disk sabot projectiles are his best known. The design was first tested in October 1862 and put in service in December 1862, in parallel with additional orders for lead-saboted shells.12 At great expense to the Confederacy, each of these large-caliber Brooke ratchet sabots (and the Tennessee projectile sabots) consumed three to eight pounds of scarce copper. But Confederate ordnance officers did not trust ring sabots and used them only when there was an inadequate supply of copper. Brooke indicated that he designed rifled cannon and projectiles only for the 6.4-inch, 7-inch, and 8-inch calibers. But Brooke pattern ratchet disk sabot shells and bolts have been recovered in 3-inch, 3.67-inch, 4.2-inch, and 4.62-inch calibers. Brooke pattern projectiles are not known in the 5.82-inch caliber. The history of the ratchet ring sabot has not been well known until recently. Documents found at the National Archives confirm that Brooke designed the ratchet ring pattern in November 1863 specifically for the Selma Foundry’s use, after Selma lost its major copper supply at Cleveland, Tennessee. In a letter dated December 9, 1863, Brooke forwarded a drawing of the ratchet ring sabot design he had developed, noted the loss of the copper supply, and ordered Lt. Catesby Jones, the Commander of the Selma Naval Gun Foundry, to use the ratchet ring design on all future projectiles.13 Ratchet ring sabot shells and bolts are known to have been manufactured only in the 6.4-inch and 7-inch calibers. Almost all recoveries of ratchet ring sabot shells and bolts have been from Mobile Bay, which was supplied primarily by Selma. Both Brooke’s original design and Jones’ modification to the Brooke design shown in Appendix C have been recovered from Mobile area battle sites. Brooke also suggested that Jones cast a groove on the shell just in front of the ratchet ring sabot one inch long and one-tenth of an inch deep to reduce the chipping and spalling.14 One shell of this design has also been documented in this book. Despite Brooke’s design of the ratchet ring sabot in late 1863, and despite the overall copper shortage, Confederate Navy foundries other than Selma appear to have continued to manufacture the ratchet disk sabots until the end of the war. The least known and rarest of projectile designs attributed to Brooke is the so-called Type 1 “stair-step” disk sabot design. Brooke declared that he designed projectiles only in the 6.4-inch, 7-inch, and 8-inch calibers for his rifled cannon. This stair-step design has been seen in only the 4.62-inch caliber by the author and is not known in any of the calibers Brooke designed for. Thus, it appears to have been an experimental pattern perhaps designed by Brooke and tested prior to the design of the ratchet disk sabot, or by someone else at a different time.

BROOKE

155

Brooke shell bodies and sabots were difficult to cast and mate with each other.15 For this reason, Brooke had expressed a desire to bring all ordnance production under the navy management.16 However, period documentation shows orders for a number of private foundries to manufacture Brooke bolts and shells.17 Brooke also strongly urged the use of wrought iron bolts against ironclads, after experiments showed that the cast iron bolts shattered on impact against the Monitor-type armor. The naval works at Charlotte were originally assigned the responsibility for wrought iron bolt manufacturing, but the work was quickly dispersed to any foundries that could produce the wrought iron.

1

Brooke, Brooke, 233, 239 Ibid., p. 226. From the Kate Corbin Brooke Diary, 11 September 1874. Jones commanded the CSS Virginia during its battle with the USS Monitor and later set up and managed the Selma Naval Gun Foundry. 3 Ibid., 290. From the Kate Corbin Brooke Diary, 10 June 1874. 4 Brooke, Ironclads, 48, and 51. 5 Ibid., Lt. Catesby Jones letter to Brooke of 5 March 1862, 70-71. 6 Ibid., Lt. Robert D. Minor letter of 5 March 1862 to Brooke, 71-72. 7 Brooke, Ironclads, footnote 11, 224. The Fingal’s cargo included four rifled naval guns and 800 Britten projectiles 8 Olmstead, Stark, and Tucker, 125-126. 9 Brooke, Ironclads, 79; and M1091, various Confederate Navy payment vouchers to Tredegar Foundry through January 1863, including pages 352 and 355. These vouchers to Tredegar Foundry detailed each type of item purchased monthly. 10 Brooke, Ironclads, 45, 79, 111, 115, and 126. 11 M1091, Roll 10, 135. 12 Brooke, Ironclads, 116-117; M1091, Roll 10, 352-53, 355, and 373-74; Confederate Navy payment vouchers to Tredegar Foundry detailed each type of item purchased monthly. 13 M1091, Roll 10, 937. 14 Ibid., Brooke’s letter of August 15, 1864 to Jones approving the change in sabot design. 15 The ratchet disk sabots were cast separately from the shell and then mated to the shell body, requiring a perfect fit in the ratchet patterns. The ratchet ring projectiles were even more difficult to manufacture, with the sabot cast first, then the shell or bolt body cast on the sabot. This required very precise temperature control to keep the molten iron from melting or deforming the sabot. Brooke was specific in describing the ratchet ring projectile casting technique in his letter of December 9, 1863, to Catesby Jones, M1091, Roll 10, 937. 16 Brooke, Ironclads, 153. 17 M1091, Rolls 9, 10, and 11, multiple payment vouchers to various private foundries. 2

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CS 4.2-inch Brooke Tall Shell Diameter: 4.11 inches Length: 13.00 inches Weight: 26 pounds Gun:

4.2-inch US or CS Parrott Rifle

Sabot: Ratchet Disk Fuze: CS Time (missing)
Rifling: Unfired Rarity: 9

Provenance: Unknown. Most 4.2-inch (30-pounder) Brooke shells have been recovered from the 1864-65 Richmond-Petersburg battlefields. Comments: The Confederates captured one 4.2-inch Parrott rifle at First Manassas, and Tredegar reportedly manufactured 22 of them. The sabot on this shell is unmarked.

BROOKE

157

158

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BROOKE

159

160

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BROOKE

161

162

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BROOKE

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164

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BROOKE

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BROOKE

167

CS 6.4-inch Brooke Short Bolt Diameter: Length: Weight:

6.34 inches 10.25 inches 74 pounds

Sabot: Ratchet Disk Fuze: None
Rifling: Unfired

Gun:

Rifled 32-pounder Gun

Rarity: 8

Provenance: Fort Fisher. Other recoveries from the Charleston and James River areas. Comments: This bolt resembles those on the next two pages; however, it is shorter and weighs significantly less. It was made for a rifled 32-pounder, which could not withstand the greater chamber pressure caused by firing a heavier projectile. Fort Fisher had a mixture of rifled 32-pounders and 6.4-inch Brooke rifles, so both types of bolts have been recovered there. The sabot is unmarked.

168

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CS 6.4-inch Brooke Medium Bolt Diameter: Length: Weight:

6.34 inches 12.25 inches 93 pounds

Sabot: Ratchet Disk Fuze: None
Rifling: Unfired

Gun:

6.4-inch Brooke Rifle

Rarity: 7

Provenance: Vicksburg. Other recoveries from Fort Fisher, the James River, Charleston, and CSS Neuse. Comments: This longer, heavier bolt would have been fired only from the 6.4-inch Brooke rifle. There is some variation in the length of this pattern projectile, ranging from 12 to 12.75 inches and in weight from 89 to 99 pounds. Hammer marks are often found on Brooke ratchet sabots, where the sabots were hammered to fit the sabot ratchets into the shell base ratchets. These do not detract from the projectile value.

BROOKE

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CS 6.4-inch Brooke Ratchet Ring Bolt Diameter: Length: Weight:

6.23 inches 9.75 inches 71 pounds

Sabot: Ratchet Ring Fuze: None
Rifling: 7-groove

Gun:

Rifled 32-pounder gun

Rarity: 9

Provenance: Mobile Bay, Alabama. No other known recovery areas. Comments: Ratchet ring Brooke sabots were designed in late 1863 specifically for manufacture by the Selma Naval Gun Foundry, as a result of Selma's loss of its primary copper source in Cleveland, Tennessee. Selma provided most of the projectiles for Mobile Bay defenses. It should be noted that none of the Brooke ratchet ring projectiles has bourrelets.

BROOKE

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BROOKE

173

174

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BROOKE

175

176

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BROOKE

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178

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BROOKE

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CS 7-inch Brooke Double Bourrelet Bolt Diameter: 6.93 inches Length: 11.50 inches Weight: 95 pounds

Sabot: Ratchet Disk Fuze: None
Rifling: Unfired

Gun:

Rarity: 9

Rifled 42-pounder or 7-inch Rifle

Provenance: Fort Morgan, Alabama. Other known recoveries limited to Mobile Bay and Charleston areas. Comments: This bolt differs from the one on the previous page in having a thin upper bourrelet. This appears to have been cast this way, not turned down by lathe. Note that the sabot has been turned down to a thin edge.

BROOKE

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BROOKE

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Courtesy of the Atlanta History Center

CS 7-inch Brooke Short Shell Diameter: 6.90 inches Length: 13.00 inches Weight: 68 pounds

Sabot: Ratchet Disk Fuze: Brooke Time
Rifling: Unfired

Gun:

Rarity: 7

Rifled 42-pounder or 7-inch Rifle

Provenance: Mobile Bay. Other recoveries from Charleston, Vicksburg, Fort Fisher, and James River areas. Comments: Many of these shells threw their sabots upon firing, although the heavier bolts in the same caliber usually did not. Few of the sabots on these shells have any stampings on them, indicating they were made in private foundries. Note the thin lower bourrelet and the lathe-turned shoulder of the ogive. Also note the Brooke time fuze, which indicates late war usage.

BROOKE

185

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CS 7-inch Brooke Smooth Shell Diameter: 6.90 inches Length: 14.00 inches Weight: 93 pounds

Sabot: Ratchet Disk Fuze: CS Time or Percussion (missing)
Rifling: Unfired

Gun:

Rarity: 9

Rifled 42-pounder

Provenance: Unknown. Comments: This was probably a sleeved shell, but was turned down more, which eliminated the sleeve. Unfortunately there is no provenance data on this shell. The absence of bourrelets indicates that this was manufactured late in the war.

BROOKE

187

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BROOKE

189

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BROOKE

191

CS 7-inch Brooke Ratchet Ring Shell - Exploded Diameter: 6.90 inches Length: 13.00 inches Weight: 99 pounds (nominal)

Sabot: Ratchet Ring Fuze: CS Time
Rifling: 7-groove Brooke Hook-Slant

Gun:

Rarity: 8

7-inch Brooke Rifle

Provenance: Mobile Bay, Alabama. Other recoveries from the Charleston area. Comments: This is a rare recovery of a nearly complete exploded large shell from deep in a bank on a hillside. It shows the tremendous destructive effect of such shells. This one burst into at least 24 fragments, many of which were sizable enough to cause major structural damage to a fortification or ship. The 7-groove Brooke hook-slant rifling identifies the gun as a Brooke rifle.

192

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BROOKE

193

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CS 8-inch Brooke Milled Base Bolt Diameter: 7.95 inches Length: 11.50 inches Weight: 155 pounds

Sabot: Milled Base Fuze: None
Rifling: Unfired

Gun:

Rarity: 10

8-inch Brooke Rifle

Provenance: Unknown. Only known surviving specimen. Comments: This is a late war bolt. Tredegar produced only four 8-inch Brooke rifles, in April and May 1864. One was put aboard the CSS Virginia II and another was sent to Battery Dantzler on the James River. Brooke's initials "JMB" are stamped into the base of the bolt.

BROOKE

195

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Broun Lt. Col. William L. Broun became commander of the Richmond Arsenal in June 1863. It appears that he soon began to work on the redesign of rifled bolts and shells with copper ring sabots to improve their performance (and to reduce the consumption of scarce copper). Shells attributed to Broun’s designs appear on 1864 battlefields. These designs simplified the manufacturing process by eliminating the lower bourrelet on the shell body, replacing it with a copper sabot that was wider than the shell base diameter. He attempted to improve the sabot effectiveness with lugs that were cast about one-half inch into the shell to hold the sabot firmly to the body. There is some evidence that these changes produced better performance, and manufacturing was simplified. Large-caliber Broun shells have been recovered from two areas. The 4.2-inch caliber Brouns have been recovered from late war Richmond-Petersburg lines and from Mobile Bay. The larger calibers, 6.4-inch and 7.0-inch, are known to have been recovered only from the Mobile Bay area. This latter fact became a puzzle that has not yet been solved. First, logistically, there was no reason for the Richmond Arsenal to be making shells to support Mobile. That responsibility had been assigned to Atlanta and Selma. Second, even if they were made elsewhere, why do the 6.4-inch and 7-inch Broun projectiles show up only in Mobile? Certainly Charleston often shared the same sources of ammunition supply with Mobile. And we now know that the Selma Naval Gun Foundry was under strict orders during this period to manufacture only the Brooke ratchet ring projectiles. Further research is needed on this puzzle.

197

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Courtesy of the United States Military Academy Museum

CS 4.2-inch Broun Shell Diameter: Length: Weight:

4.12 inches 12.50 inches 25 pounds

Gun:

4.2-inch US or CS Parrott Rifle

Sabot: Copper Ring Fuze: Wood (missing)
Rifling: 5-groove Rarity: 9

Provenance: Unknown. Most recoveries are from the late war Richmond and Petersburg battle sites. Comments: The sabot on this shell was cut at West Point to determine the method of sabot attachment. Large Broun shells usually kept their sabots, and the horizontal lug system was a key to this success. (See bottom left photo above.) The 3-inch Brouns had three wide lugs. The 4.2-inch Brouns had seven short square lugs.

BROUN

199

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BROUN

201

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CS 7-inch Broun Single Bourrelet Shell Diameter: Length: Weight:

6.91 inches 16.12 inches 113 pounds

Sabot: Copper Ring Fuze: Wood (missing)
Rifling: Unfired

Gun:

7-inch Brooke Rifle

Rarity: 10

Provenance: Mobile Bay, Alabama. No other known recovery areas. Comments: Most 7-inch Brouns came from one cache found many years ago. Others were reportedly fired by the CSS Tennessee during the Battle of Mobile Bay. As with the 6.4-inch Broun bolt, the sabots of 7-inch Broun bolts and shells are lathe-turned inside and out. Note that the sabot is wider than the shell body. It serves as the lower bourrelet.

BROUN

203

Cochran J. Webster Cochran was a longtime inventor of weapons and projectiles.1 He designed 2 and was granted patents on projectiles and fuzes from the 1850s through at least 1863. His only success in terms of government purchases appears to be the family of Cochran projectiles and fuzes purchased and used very early in the war by the Union Navy. These were produced in navy calibers only, except for a 3.8-inch bolt that is in the West Point collection. The navy calibers documented for Cochrans were 3.4-inch, 5.1-inch and 6inch. There are no known surviving specimens in the 5.1-inch caliber. Cochran designed a convex brass ring sabot that screwed on to the projectile. The sabot contained a grease ring and had numerous small holes around it. As the sabot squeezed into the rifling upon firing, grease was squeezed out to lubricate the barrel. Fired specimens appear to have taken the rifling well and retained their sabots. It is not clear why Cochran failed to get follow-on contracts with the navy, but the complicated design probably made the Cochran shells too costly. The few battlefield recoveries have been limited to 1861-62 sites where the Union Navy bombarded Confederate shore positions in coastal South Carolina and North Carolina.

1 2

204

Ripley, 174. U.S. Patent Office Records.

COCHRAN

205

Courtesy of the Atlanta History Center

US 6-inch Cochran Flat Bottom Shell Diameter: 6.15 inches Length: 14.25 inches Weight: 48 pounds (59 nominal) Gun:

Sabot: Cochran Brass Ring Fuze: Unknown

Rifling: 12-groove 6-inch (80-pounder) Dahlgren Rifle Rarity: 10

Provenance: Roanoke Island, North Carolina. Battlefield recoveries also near Hilton Head, South Carolina. Comments: This shell is different from the one on the next page in that the base is flat instead of convex and there is no upper or lower bourrelet. Both shells have lathe dimples, indicating they were hand finished. This shell has suffered from saltwater corrosion, causing it to swell significantly beyond its original diameter and to lose substantial weight.

206

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Dahlgren Adm. John A. Dahlgren was the leading pioneer of Union Navy cannon development in the Civil War. He designed both smoothbore cannon and rifles as well as rifled projectiles. For example, he designed IX, X, XI, and XV-inch smoothbore guns, as well as 12- and 24pounder smoothbore boat howitzers. He also pioneered in the development of small and large caliber rifled cannon, including the 3.4-inch boat howitzer, and 4-, 4.4-, 5.1-, and 6inch rifles. Dahlgren was continuously focused on both the performance and the safety of large cannon, limiting the firing charge and designing lightweight shells and cored shot, to reduce the risk of the cannons bursting. These concerns led to Dahlgren ordering a firing charge for use by the USS Monitor that was too light for the Monitor’s 11-inch guns to have any destructive effect on the CSS Virginia. When one of his 6-inch rifles burst during the Union attack on Roanoke Island on February 7, 1862,1 the Navy Ordnance Board ordered an inspection of all three calibers of his new rifles, and condemned some or all of the 6-inch and 4.4-inch rifles.2 Dahlgren immediately ordered their recall. Later it was determined that the foundry iron was inferior. Any not condemned were withdrawn from service and did not appear again until mid-1863.3 The Union Navy was running short of cannon to simultaneously support the sieges of Vicksburg, Port Hudson, and Charleston. They dealt with the problem of questionable manufacture by having Schenkl manufacture some very lightweight shells for the 4.4-inch Dahlgren rifles used at Port Hudson and similarly lightweight Hotchkiss 6-inch shells for the attack on Vicksburg. Shortly after the Port Hudson and Vicksburg sieges, these guns were withdrawn again from service.4 Then, in 1864 a new model of 4.4–inch Dahlgren rifle was put into service, firing the heavier Schenkl 4.4-inch shell (often mistaken for the 4.5-inch Army Schenkl) and the 4.4-inch Dahlgren shell.5 Dahlgren did not redesign his 6-inch rifles and they were replaced by 6.4-inch Parrotts and phased out again. Dahlgren’s shell design was based on the use of a heavy lead cup sabot. These projectiles were tested before the war and the design was patented in August 1861. Confederate Navy ordnance officers knew about Dahlgren’s shell very early in the war, conducting a test of their own version of Dahlgren-style projectiles in August 1861. In those tests, their Dahlgren design compared favorably to the Read design.6 Confederate Dahlgren shells were made in both 6.4-inch and 7-inch calibers. There are no known Union Dahlgren projectiles in these calibers. Commander Brooke’s journal indicates that he designed some or all of the Confederate versions of the Dahlgren shells.7 Based on battlefield recoveries, it appears that the

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Confederates stopped manufacturing Dahlgren projectiles in mid-1862, because of the shortage of lead. However, they were used until the supply was exhausted, which extended at least through the Vicksburg campaign. The Union Navy used the Dahlgren projectiles throughout the war, even at Fort Fisher. They appear to have performed well, even though many threw their sabots. Two of the unanswered questions about Dahlgren projectiles are: why were so many blind shells used instead of regular shells? And why are almost all Dahlgren blind shells filled with casting sand instead of a bursting charge? It may be that Dahlgren’s blind shells were intended to be simply lightweight bolts.

1

Navy ORs, series I, vol. 6, 559. RG74, Rear Admiral John A Dahlgren Letters, July 23, 1862- June 24, 1863. 96-97. 3 Navy ORs, series II, Vol. I, 27-246. 4 Ibid. 5 Olmstead, Stark, and Tucker, 187. 6 Navy ORs, series I, vol. 6, 773. 7 Brooke, Ironclads, 51. 2

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209

US 4-inch Dahlgren Blind Shell Diameter: 3.95 inches Length: 9.00 inches Weight: 48 pounds Gun:

Sabot: Lead Cup Fuze: Brass Pin

Rifling: 3-groove 4-inch (20-pounder) Dahlgren Rifle Rarity: 7

Provenance: Fort Fisher. According to the Naval ORs, the USS Kansas and the USS Sassacus each had two 4-inch Dahlgren rifles on board during the Fort Fisher bombardment.

Comments: Most Dahlgren blind shells are filled with casting sand instead of explosive black powder. The reason is not known, but they may have served as lightweight bolts or hollow shot.

210

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DAHLGREN

211

212

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DAHLGREN

213

Courtesy of the Atlanta History Center

US 5.1-inch Dahlgren Flat Top Blind Shell Diameter: 5.00 inches

Sabot: Lead Cup

Length: Weight:

9.00 inches 36 pounds

Fuze: Brass Pin

Rifling: Unfired

Gun:

5.1-inch Dahlgren Rifle

Rarity: 10

Provenance: No known battlefield recoveries. Comments: Although this has been previously identified as a bolt, it is in fact a blind shell. The brass pin has been flattened on the nose but is completely intact. The design would support its use as an armorpiercing shell, but no other recoveries are known. Note the concave base and the grease groove cording.

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DAHLGREN

215

CS 6.4-inch Dahlgren Shell Diameter: 6.37 inches Length: 12.00 inches Weight: 61 pounds Gun:

Sabot: Lead Cup Fuze: Navy Watercap (missing)

Rifling: Unfired

6.4-inch Brooke or Rifled 32-pounder Rarity: 10

Provenance: Vicksburg. No other known battlefield recovery areas. Comments: The Confederates deployed 6.4-inch Dahlgren shells in late 1861, before engagements with the Union Navy would have provided specimens for study and test. They may have obtained the design from drawings at the US Patent Office, where Dahlgren received a patent on August 6, 1861. Union Dahlgren projectiles were not made in the 6.4-inch and 7-inch calibers, so all in these calibers are Confederate.

216

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DAHLGREN

217

Courtesy of the United States Military Academy Museum

CS 6.4-inch Dahlgren Shell Diameter: 6.32 inches Length: 12.00 inches Weight: 54 pounds

Sabot: Lead Cup Fuze: Navy Watercap (missing)

Rifling: Unfired

Gun:

Rarity: 10

Rifled 32-pounder Gun

Provenance: Unknown. Battlefield recoveries from Charleston and Hampton Roads, Virginia. Comments: The 6.4-inch and 7-inch CS Dahlgren shells may have been designed for the CSS Virginia for its deployment in March 1862, but they were not used by the Virginia. This shell base is different from the original Dahlgren pattern, in that it has a flat bottom, instead of a rounded base. The grooves through the bourrelets are hand chiseled. The sabots were sectioned at West Point to study how they were attached.

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Courtesy of the United States Military Academy Museum

CS 7-inch Dahlgren Shell Diameter: 6.93 inches Length: 16.75 inches Weight: 53 pounds (nominal 60) Gun:

Sabot: Lead Cup Fuze: Navy Watercap (missing)

Rifling: Unfired

7-inch Rifled IX-inch Dahlgren Gun Rarity: 10

Provenance: Unknown. No known modern battlefield recoveries. Comments: This shell may be the type designed by Lt. John Brooke for the new 7-inch rifles aboard the CSS Virginia. The Union Navy did not make Dahlgren shells in the 6.4-inch and 7-inch calibers. The sabot was cut for study by Union ordnance officers.

Dyer Prior to the war, Alexander B. Dyer was a junior ordnance officer in the U.S. Army. Before the war he went to England and observed the performance of Britten projectiles being fired from Blakely rifles. Upon his return home, Dyer designed a very similar projectile. He soon was promoted to captain and became chief of ordnance at Fort Monroe.1 It was while he was in that post that the Union Army began purchasing projectiles of his design. The ordnance officer who recommended the purchase of Dyer shells stated that the Dyer design differed only slightly from the Dimick projectile2 and was almost identical to the design of John A. Dahlgren.3 The Dyer design, like Britten’s and Dahlgren’s, had a heavy lead cup sabot cast on to the shell base. For field caliber shells, Dyer used the same method for sabot attachment as Britten. The rounded shell base was tinned, then a lead cup sabot was cast on to the tinned shell base. For the large caliber projectiles, Dyer designed the shell body with a flat base and used notches in the side of the shell base to hold the sabot in place, differing from the Britten design. Four different foundries manufactured projectiles of Dyer’s design during the war: Calvin Adams; Pennock Hart & Co; Robinson, Menis & Miller; and Smith Park & Co. As an army ordnance officer, it is unlikely that Dyer was compensated for his design by them or by the U.S. Government. In 1862 Dyer became superintendent of the Springfield Armory, and by 1864 had been promoted to brigadier general and chief of ordnance of the Union Army.4 It may well be that Dyer’s position was an important factor in Sir Bashley Britten not being able to obtain a U.S. patent for his design until after the war. Anti-British sympathies in the North for England’s support of the Confederacy were probably another factor. It is noteworthy that Dyer never obtained a patent on his design. The first contract for Dyer projectiles was for six hundred 7-inch (42-pounder) shells, purchased on December 31, 1861.5 These were probably the shells used by the Union Navy at the siege of Island No.10, March 15–April 7, 1862. Almost all were duds, with the sabots sealing off the flame so quickly that the fuzes did not light. An effort was made to chop the sides of the sabots to create a flame groove, but this was generally ineffective. Despite their miserable showing at Island No.10, Dyer received huge follow-on contracts on April 28 and 30, 1862, and the following June 30, as follows: 14,195 shells in 7-inch (rifled 42-pounder); 6,169 bolts and shells in 6.4-inch (rifled 32-pounder); and 14,495 bolts and shells in 4.5-inch.6 Apparently, the poor performance of Dyer’s shells at Island No.10 was eventually recognized, because no more orders for large Dyer projectiles were placed after June 30, 1862.

219

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Prior to the suspension of orders for Dyer projectiles, Union forces at Hampton Roads were greatly concerned in March and April 1862 about the possibility of the CSS Virginia attacking Fort Monroe and breaking out to the Atlantic Ocean. As a defensive move, they ordered some 12-inch Dyer bolts and shells for a 12-inch Rodman experimental rifle on site there. A total of two hundred and ninety-seven 12-inch Dyer bolts and shells were purchased between April 30 and June 30,1862.7 None of these 12-inch Dyer bolts or shells is known to have survived to modern times. Two 7-inch Dyer-style bolts have been recovered that are reported to have been from Norfolk and to be Confederate. There is no record of 7-inch Dyer bolts being ordered by Union forces, so these two bolts are either Confederate as reported, or experimental rounds tested at Fort Monroe. Existing inventories of large caliber Dyer projectiles were used only in the western theater until towards the end of the war, when an effort was made to use up the 4.5-inch caliber shells at the siege of Richmond and Petersburg. General Abbot tested the 4.5-inch caliber Dyers during the Petersburg siege and gave the following report on their poor performance, “Only about eighty per cent took the grooves, and the sabot was generally torn off and thrown in fragments in front of the battery to the peril of advanced troops.”8 Within the last 30 years a large cache of 4.5-inch Dyer shells was recovered from the Savannah River in Augusta, Georgia, where an even larger cache of obsolete Union ordnance had been dumped.

1 2

Dickey and George, 413.

The author examined a Dimick shell at the U.S. Military Academy Museum; it bore little resemblance to either the Dyer or Dahlgren designs. 3 Army ORs, series III, vol. 1, 295-96. 4 Army ORs, series III, vol. 4, 1035. 5 Mowbray, 929. 6 Mowbray, 721, 855-56, 929, and 976. 7 Mowbray, 976 8 Abbot, 95.

DYER

221

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DYER

223

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Harding The designer of the Harding family of projectiles has proved to be the most elusive of any of the designers of Civil War projectiles. The author searched in vain at the National Archives, the Museum of the Confederacy, the Library of Virginia, and talked with librarians at the Charleston Historical Society and the Charleston Museum. No information was found to identify Harding. This family of projectiles owes its “Harding” name to a series of photographs taken at the Charleston Arsenal shortly after the war. In preparing projectiles to be photographed, someone had meticulously assembled about 50 pieces of heavy artillery projectiles and torpedoes and painted the names and calibers on most of them. Among those, were more than a dozen projectiles labeled “Harding.” (See front of dust jacket.) During modern times some 11 different types and calibers of projectiles from this family have been recovered in various locations around Charleston and along the South Carolina coast. Based on their recovery locations, Harding projectiles may have appeared as early as 1863, certainly by 1864. They continued to be used until Confederate forces abandoned Charleston as General Sherman began to move north from Savannah towards Wilmington. Many of the Harding shells and bolts have short, smooth Parrott-like shell bodies, but with more pointed noses, and several Harding designs have Parrott-like rabbeted sabots. However, several late war designs were truly innovative. This included the 7-inch and 8inch shells with the wood base covering thin tapered bases. And one of the best known is the 10-inch dumbbell bolt photographed at the Charleston Arsenal. This bolt was mistakenly identified in earlier books as a Brooke bolt. However, a close inspection of this bolt in the West Point collection confirms it is a Harding.

225

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HARDING

227

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CS 6.4-inch Harding Hollow Shot Diameter: 6.33 inches Length: 11.75 inches Weight: 56 pounds (64 nominal)

Sabot: Copper Ring Fuze: None
Rifling: 13-groove

Gun:

Rarity: 9

Rifled 32-pounder Gun

Provenance: Combahee River, South Carolina, from the January 1865 Confederate attack on the USS Dai Ching. No other known recovery sites.

Comments: Most known recovered specimens were fired by a rifled 32-pounder gun with 13-groove rifling. The iron base plug screws into the hole. See next page for cross-section.

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229

CS 6.4-inch Harding Hollow Shot Half-Section Diameter: 6.33 inches Length: 11.00 inches Weight: 26 pounds (68 nominal)

Sabot: Copper Ring Fuze: None
Rifling: 13-groove

Gun:

Rarity: 9

Rifled 32-pounder Gun

Provenance: Combahee River, South Carolina. No other battlefield recovery sites known. Comments: This cross-section demonstrates that this hollow shot was intended to be very light in order to achieve high initial velocities for short-range engagements. The attack on the USS Dai Ching in January 1865 was exactly the kind of engagement this design was suited for. Note the threaded iron plug in the base of the bolt.

230

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HARDING

231

CS 7-inch Harding Shell Diameter: Length: Weight:

6.83 inches 11.37 inches 49 pounds (70 nominal)

Sabot: Copper Ring Fuze: Wood/Girardey (missing)
Rifling: 8-groove

Gun:

Rifled 42-pounder Gun

Rarity: 9

Provenance: Charleston area. No other known recovery sites. Comments: The 7-inch caliber shell is much rarer than the 6.4-inch caliber. Few rifled 42-pounders were deployed in the Charleston area. Most shells were fired from Confederate batteries on James Island or along that defensive line. This shell has lost some of its weight in the saltwater environment prior to recovery. Most 7-inch Harding shells threw their sabots. At least one 7-inch Harding bolt is reported to have been recovered.

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Courtesy of the United States Military Academy Museum

CS 7-inch Harding Wooden Base Shell Diameter: Length: Weight: Gun:

6.90 inches 24.50 inches 90 pounds

Sabot: Copper Ring (and wood) Fuze: CS Lead Percussion
Rifling: Unfired 7-inch Brooke or Rifled 42-pounder Rarity: 10

Provenance: Unknown. Almost certainly from Charleston. Only two specimens known. Comments: This shell is probably not an armor-piercing design. It is lightweight and aerodynamically shaped, features intended to achieve high speed at short range. No known battlefield recoveries. This shell is one of those photographed at Charleston Arsenal just after the war.

HARDING

233

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HARDING

235

Courtesy of the Washington Navy Yard Museum

CS 10-inch Harding Flat Top Bolt Diameter: 9.93 inches Length: 15.00 inches Weight: 225 pounds

Sabot: Copper Ring Fuze: None
Rifling: Unfired

Gun:

Rarity: 10

Rifled 10-inch CS Columbiad

Provenance: Charleston. Mistakenly engraved as a Fort Fisher pick-up. Comments: Charleston was the only Confederate area with 10-inch rifles: two 10-inch rifled Columbiads. An engraving on the bolt reading "Captured at Fort Fisher" is incorrect. It is likely that a Union gunboat picked up war trophies at both Charleston and Fort Fisher and mislabeled the bolt's provenance.

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HARDING

237

Hotchkiss Andrew Hotchkiss of Connecticut developed the Hotchkiss family of projectiles and was granted his first patent on October 16, 1855. He improved the design and was granted subsequent patents on July 24, 1860, and May 14, 1861.1 The dates cast into many of his projectiles—October 9, 1855, and May 14, 1861—are somewhat confusing. The October 9 date is the date the first patent was applied for, not the date granted.2 The initial design was a smooth-sided projectile, now classified as Type I. Flame grooves were added for the Type II shells, which improved the performance of time fuzes, and for some unknown reason, they were also added to bolts. A flat-nose version with a rounded base cup was developed for case shot, identified as Type III. At the very end of the war, a flat base cup was added to the flat-nose case shot, a wooden disk was inserted between the cup and the shell, and the Wright 14-second or 16-second time fuze was added. This is known as Type IV. In all four types, the base cup pushed into the lead band sabot, forcing it into the rifling. Because of this design, however, the base cup and the sabot often separated, creating major friendly fire hazards to forward troops. Nonetheless, in the 3-inch caliber, the Hotchkiss was the preferred projectile for the 3-inch Ordnance Rifle and saw widespread use through the end of the war and afterwards. Friendly fire was not a problem for the Union Navy. Admiral Dahlgren favored the use of the Hotchkiss projectiles, and authorized their use in all rifles of his design: 3.4inch, 4-inch, 4.4-inch, 5.1-inch, and 6-inch. Battlefield recoveries indicate that Hotchkiss shells were used about as frequently as Dahlgrens, except in the 4-inch caliber, a very late war development. After great frustration with Parrott’s projectiles exploding prematurely, Dahlgren authorized the use of Hotchkiss projectiles in the 3.67-inch and 4.2-inch Parrott rifles in May 1863. This in itself was a risk, because Hotchkiss projectiles sealed the barrel so quickly that it was felt they created increased chamber pressures in the large Parrott rifles. However, they appear to have performed better than the Parrott projectiles. Only three 6.4-inch Hotchkiss projectiles are known. One is a shell front end from the Charleston area. A second is a uniquely shaped bolt recovered at Fort Darling at Drewry’s Bluff. And the third is a 6.4-inch Hotchkiss cup fragment recovered from the West Point test range. Two projectiles are documented in this book. None is shown as ordered by the Union Army. However, Executive Order 99 indicates that several hundred bolts and shells were ordered in the 4.62-inch, 5.82-inch, and 7-inch calibers. 1 2

238

US Patent Office, patents Nos. 13679, 29272, and 32293. Melton and Paul, 122, 125, and 132.

HOTCHKISS

239

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US 4-inch Hotchkiss Type I Shell Diameter: Length: Weight:

3.89 inches 8.75 inches 21 pounds

Sabot: Lead Band Fuze: Hotchkiss Percussion

Rifling: Unfired

Gun:

4-inch Dahlgren Rifle

Rarity: 9

Provenance: Nonbattlefield. No known battlefield recoveries. Comments: The 4-inch bronze Dahlgren rifle was developed in 1863, but saw little action until Fort Fisher. The rifles were designed to arm shallow-draft boats and ships patrolling rivers and bays. Hotchkiss, Dahlgren, and Schenkl projectiles were supplied for use with these rifles. All known battlefield recovered projectiles have been Dahlgrens.

HOTCHKISS

241

US 4-inch Hotchkiss Type IV Shell Diameter: Length: Weight:

3.94 inches 8.50 inches 19 pounds

Sabot: Lead Band Fuze: Wright 14-second Combination

Rifling: Unfired

Gun:

4-inch Dahlgren Rifle

Rarity: 10

Provenance: Nonbattlefield. No other known specimens. Comments: This is probably a postwar projectile. The patent for this design was issued on May 16, 1865. However, shells of this design in the 3-inch caliber have reportedly been recovered from two late war battlefields: Petersburg and Bentonville, North Carolina. This Type IV specimen has no flame grooves.

242

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US 4.2-inch Hotchkiss Type I Shell Diameter: Length: Weight:

4.15 inches 9.88 inches 27 pounds

Sabot: Lead Band Fuze: Schenkl Navy Percussion
Rifling: 5-groove

Gun:

4.2-inch US Parrott Rifle

Rarity: 8

Provenance: Vicksburg. Other battlefield recoveries in the Mississippi River area. Comments: Robert Parrott insisted that only Parrott projectiles should be fired in Parrott rifles. For this reason, very few Hotchkiss projectiles were purchased. Army ordnance records indicate only 8,372 shells, 4,788 bolts, and 288 case shot were purchased. In 1863 Admiral Dahlgren ordered that Hotchkiss shells be used in the navy's 4.2-inch Parrott rifles, but battlefield recoveries indicate they were not actually widely used.

HOTCHKISS

243

Courtesy of the Atlanta History Center

US 4.4-inch Hotchkiss Type I Shell Diameter: 4.34 inches Length: 10.87 inches Weight: 30 pounds Gun:

Sabot: Lead Band Fuze: Iron West Point Percussion
Rifling: Unfired 4.4-inch (30-pounder) Dahlgren Rifle Rarity: 7

Provenance: Unknown. Battlefield recoveries from Roanoke Island, North Carolina, and along the south Atlantic coast. Other recoveries from the Fort Monroe test range. Comments: The first batch of 4.4-inch Dahlgren rifles was made in 1861. They were condemned in 1862, then returned to service briefly in 1863 for service at Port Hudson. This shell is an early war design for use by the first 4.4-inch Dahlgren rifles.

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Courtesy of the Atlanta History Center

US 4.5-inch Hotchkiss Type I Bolt Diameter: 4.45 inches Length: 10.00 inches Weight: 31 pounds

Sabot: Lead Band Fuze: None

Rifling: 9-groove

Gun:

Rarity: 9

4.5-inch Siege Rifle

Provenance: West Point test range. No known battlefield recoveries. Comments: A number of 4.5-inch Hotchkiss Type I and II bolts have been recovered from the West Point test range. This specimen is a Type I (no flame grooves) and has a convex bottom. The 4.5-inch siege rifle was introduced in December 1861. Only 113 were made. It did not compare well to the 30-pounder Parrott rifle, but was used by the army intermittently until the end of the war.

HOTCHKISS

245

246

RIFLED PROJECTILES

HOTCHKISS

247

Courtesy of the Atlanta History Center

US 4.5-inch Hotchkiss Type II Case Shot Diameter: 4.42 inches Length: 10.50 inches Weight: 32 pounds

Sabot: Lead Band Fuze: Pewter Hotchkiss Time

Rifling: Unfired

Gun:

Rarity: 8

4.5-inch Siege Rifle

Provenance: Unknown. Battlefield recoveries from Fredericksburg, Petersburg, and Vicksburg. Comments: There are two differences between the shell and the case shot. The case shot is heavier (32 vs. 26 pounds) and it has a more rounded nose. The Type II designation indicates that the case shot has flame grooves and a convex base. This is an early war specimen with the early pewter Hotchkiss time fuze.

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Courtesy of the United States Military Academy Museum

US 4.5-inch Hotchkiss Type IV Shell Diameter: Length: Weight:

4.44 inches 9.12 inches 25 pounds

Sabot: Lead Band Fuze: Wright 16-second Combination

Rifling: Unfired

Gun:

4.5-inch Siege Rifle

Rarity: 10

Provenance: Nonbattlefield. No other known specimens. Comments: This is probably a postwar projectile. The patent for this design was issued on May 16, 1865. However, shells of this design in the 3-inch caliber have reportedly been recovered from two late war battlefields: Petersburg and Bentonville, North Carolina.

HOTCHKISS

249

250

RIFLED PROJECTILES

HOTCHKISS

251

US 6-inch Hotchkiss Type I Shell Diameter: 5.90 inches Length: 11.00 inches Weight: 54 pounds Gun:

Sabot: Lead Band Fuze: Iron West Point Percussion

Rifling: 12-groove 6-inch (80-pounder) Dahlgren Rifle Rarity: 9

Provenance: Roanoke Island, North Carolina. Other battlefield recoveries from Vicksburg and Port Hudson. Comments: This shell has the early iron West Point percussion fuze. Only 32 of the 6-inch Dahlgren rifles were made. The first 14 were condemned in February 1862, after one burst during the bombardment of Roanoke Island. The remaining rifles saw use on the Mississippi River in 1863, when all available guns were put into use for the Charleston, Vicksburg, and Port Hudson campaigns.

252

RIFLED PROJECTILES

Courtesy of the Atlanta History Center

US 6.4-inch Hotchkiss Bottle Top Bolt Diameter: 6.30 inches Length: 15.75 inches Weight: 84 pounds Gun:

Sabot: Lead Band (missing) Fuze: None

Rifling: Unknown 6.4-inch (100-pounder) Parrott Rifle Rarity: 10

Provenance: Drewry's Bluff, Virginia. Probably fired by the USS Galena. A Type II base cup has been recovered from the West Point test range.

Comments: This odd bolt has a Type I nose section and a Type II base cup. There is no patent data on the base cup.

HOTCHKISS

253

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RIFLED PROJECTILES

Courtesy of the Washington Navy Yard Museum

US 12-inch Hotchkiss Type II Shell Diameter: Length: Weight: Gun:

11.80 inches 28.00 inches 450 pounds (estimated)

Sabot: Lead Band Fuze: Brass Hotchkiss Time

Rifling: Unfired 12-inch (600-pounder) Dahlgren Rifle Rarity: 10

Provenance: Fort Monroe test range (probable). Only known surviving specimen. Comments: This monstrous shell was part of late war or postwar tests of 12-inch rifles. Three Dahlgren 15-inch and three Rodman guns were bored and rifled to a 12-inch caliber with three types of rifling: Parrott, Rodman, and Atwater. This one was probably for the Atwater. The Atwater rifle was tested at Fort Monroe's test range. The shell has a regular Hotchkiss time fuze and 5 flame grooves.

James Charles T. James was a retired general in the Rhode Island Militia and a former U.S. senator from Rhode Island. In 1856 he patented the famous “bird-cage” projectile, currently designated as Type I. The sabot of this projectile was made of three layers: an inner layer of lead cast on to the shell body; a thin tin sheet middle layer; and a rough canvas outer covering. James’ second design was patented in 1862, and purchased only in the 3.8inch caliber. The sabot of the Type II design was a lead band sabot cast onto a heavily ribbed shell body.1 In December 1860, James was awarded a contract to rifle half the smoothbore cannon in U.S. Army forts and arsenals, and as many bronze smoothbore cannon as the U.S. Army delivered to him in Chicopee, Massachusetts.2 Based on the list of “guns fit for service” attached to that letter agreement, James was to rifle 922 cannon, of which 91 would be 42-pounders, 427 would be 32-pounders, and 335 would be 24-pounders. This contract was underway at the time of the outbreak of hostilities. James benefited enormously from this contract, gaining other contracts for the manufacture of thousands of his projectiles for use in those rifles. The Union Army also awarded James a contract to produce bronze cannons in the 3.67-inch and 3.8-inch calibers. At least 158 of these rifles still survive.3 James projectiles were used extensively in the early part of the war in the western theater, particularly in the 3.8-inch and 4.62-inch calibers. Most recoveries in these calibers have occurred at the Shiloh battlefield. Nonetheless, they were used in such far-ranging actions as Vicksburg and Gauley Bridge, West Virginia. Although shells were made and used in the 3.67-inch caliber, documented recoveries have been rare in this caliber. The big James rifles and projectiles wrote a new chapter in the history of artillery during the siege of Fort Pulaski, which guarded the mouth of the Savannah River near Savannah, Georgia. Only five of these rifled smoothbores were deployed for action—two rifled 42-pounders, two rifled 32-pounders, and one rifled 24-pounder—along with five 4.2-inch Parrott rifles and 26 smoothbores.4 In a brief three-hour siege, the James rifles fired 1,042 shot and shell into the fort at a range of 1,650-1,670 yards. In short order they breached the fort’s walls and set the wooden structures afire, forcing the fort’s surrender.5 In that brief time, they rendered the entire American fortification system obsolete, and wrote the end to the construction of brick forts. Union Gen. Quincy Gillmore praised the James projectiles in his after-action report: “No better piece for breaching can be desired than the 42-pounder James.”6 Elsewhere, there was criticism of the performance of the James projectiles and of the bronze field caliber rifles, whose rifling quickly wore down in actual use. In large calibers, James

255

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projectiles are seldom recovered from battlefields later than early 1863. Nonetheless, the Union Army Ordnance Department continued to order them and the 3.8-inch projectiles in large quantities until mid-1864.7 Part of the decline in the popularity of James projectiles may have been political. James obviously used political connections to gain his rifle and projectile contracts. The decline in the popularity of his projectiles coincides with the time he was killed in October 1862 in an accidental shell explosion.8

Period Map of the Siege of Fort Pulaski. The James Rifles were in Batteries McClellan and Sigel.

1

Dickey and George, 181. The James Agreement. 3 Olmstead, Stark, and Tucker, 301-5. 4 Army ORs, series I, vol. 6, 154. 5 Ibid., 145. 6 Ibid., 147. 7 Mowbray, 704-5. 8 Hazlett, Olmstead, and Parks, 147. 2

JAMES

257

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RIFLED PROJECTILES

JAMES

259

US 5.82-inch James Shell Diameter: 5.75 inches Length: 10.90 inches Weight: 42 pounds Gun:

Rifled 24-pounder Gun

Sabot: Lead/Tin/Canvas Sleeve Fuze: West Point Percussion
Rifling: Unfired Rarity: 8

Provenance: Unknown. Known battlefield recoveries from Fort Pulaski, Hilton Head, and Port Hudson. Comments: This is one of three calibers of James projectiles used in the Fort Pulaski bombardment. The single 5.82-inch James rifle there fired 133 shot and 116 shells at Fort Pulaski. After proving the superiority of rifled guns over masonry forts, James projectiles were made obsolete by newer designs.

260

RIFLED PROJECTILES

JAMES

261

US 7-inch James Bolt Diameter: 6.91 inches Length: 13.00 inches Weight: 77 pounds Gun:

Rifled 42-pounder Gun

Sabot: Lead/Tin/Canvas Sleeve (missing) Fuze: None
Rifling: Unknown Rarity: 9

Provenance: Fort Pulaski. Other battlefield recoveries in Charleston and along the South Carolina coast. Comments: The painted message reads: "Navy Battery on Tybee Island SENDS GREETING To Fort Pulaski on Cockspur Island, April 11, 1862." The Navy Battery was part of Battery McClellan on Tybee Island. It was armed with two James-rifled 42-pounder guns and two James-rifled 32-pounder guns. The rifled 42-pounders fired 190 bolts and 207 shells at Fort Pulaski in the two-day siege.

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RIFLED PROJECTILES

JAMES

263

Courtesy of the United States Naval Academy Museum

US 8-inch James Shell Diameter: 7.98 inches Length: 13.75 inches Weight: 94 pounds Gun:

8-inch Parrott Rifle

Sabot: Lead/Tin/Canvas Sleeve Fuze: West Point Percussion Rifling: Unfired
Rarity: 10

Provenance: Nonbattlefield. No other known specimen. Comments: There is no record of James manufacturing an 8-inch shell, although there is a record of the Union Army ordering 100 8-inch James shot. The canvas cover on the sabot is painted. This caliber of James projectile has 12 slanted ribs.

Lynall Thomas Not much is known about Lynall Thomas, an Englishman credited with the design of complicated rifled shells of doubtful effectiveness supplied to the Confederacy. The shell consisted of a narrow shell body with a very large head. Behind the head a lead sleeve and lead disk were cast and a midshell thick iron band put on the outside of the lead sleeve. Another lead disk separated the midshell iron band from a thick rear iron band. Upon firing, the iron bands were forced forward on the lead sleeve, squeezing the lead disks into the rifling. Shells of this design have been recovered in three calibers: 4.62-inch, 5.82-inch, and 6.4-inch. Almost all the shells in each caliber come from only a single area. The 4.62inch shells come from Awendaw and Charleston, South Carolina. The single 5.82-inch shell is from the West Point collection, and all of the 6.4-inch Lynall Thomas shells come from the areas around Fort Fisher and nearby Fort Caswell. Only one complete fired specimen has been noted (the 6.4-inch shell documented in this book). It appears to have taken the rifling effectively.

264

LYNALL THOMAS

265

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RIFLED PROJECTILES

Courtesy of the United States Military Academy Museum

British/CS 5.82-inch Lynall Thomas Shell Diameter: Length: Weight:

5.75 inches 9.40 inches 32 pounds

Sabot: Lead Disks Fuze: Wood (missing)
Rifling: Unknown

Gun:

Rifled 24-pounder Gun

Rarity: 10

Provenance: Unknown. Known battlefield recoveries of other calibers of Lynall Thomas shells are from North Carolina and South Carolina.

Comments: This shell is missing the rear iron ring and both lead disks that would have separated the rear and center iron rings from the front section. See the next page for a photo of a complete shell. The fuze hole appears not to have been finished, but used as received.

LYNALL THOMAS

267

Maury General Abbot attributes two designs of large caliber bolts to Maury.1 This probably refers to Matthew F. Maury, a Confederate naval officer involved in the design and construction of Confederate gunboats.2 However, the author has not found a definitive connection between him and the design of the projectiles, except for General Abbot’s description and similar descriptions of a Maury bolt in other period documents. The Maury bolts were first ordered for production in 1863 and orders continued to be placed until 1864, so they must have seen some action, probably along the James River.3 Both designs documented by Abbot are for smoothbore cannons and do not have sabots. One has a smooth side surface. The other has bourrelets. They have the form of a rifled bolt, and were probably intended for use in smoothbores by navy forces at short range where rifling would not be critical to flight stability. Both designs have a sizable hole from the base through the nose of the bolt. Its purpose can only be to reduce the chamber pressure on the bolt to prevent the cannon from exploding. Both types of Maury bolts have been documented for this book. One is in the Naval Academy Museum collection in Annapolis, and the other is in the U.S. Military Academy Museum collection. Neither specimen has provenance. In his report on smoothbore projectiles, General Abbot indicated that Maury projectiles were supplied for both the 8-inch and 10-inch smoothbores,4 although none in the 10inch caliber seems to have survived to modern times. Abbot also reported that the Maury bolts had been tested by the Confederate ordnance department, with favorable results.5

1

Abbot, Plate I, Figures 4, 5, & 6. Navy ORs, series I, vol. 5, 25; and Navy ORs vol. 6, 634. 3 M1019, Rolls 9, 10, and 11. 4 Abbot, 51. 5 Ibid. 2

268

MAURY

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RIFLED PROJECTILES

Parrott Robert Parker Parrott was both the most successful and the most controversial designer and founder of rifled cannon and projectiles of the Civil War. His West Point Foundry was located in Cold Spring, New York, across the Hudson River from the United States Military Academy at West Point. During the war, Parrott and the West Point Foundry produced over 3,100 cannon, twice as many as the combined cannon production of all Confederate foundries and 33 percent more than any other Union foundry.1 Parrott also produced more rifled projectiles for the Union military forces than any other foundry. Parrott got a head start in producing rifled cannon and projectiles because of his experimental work in the late 1850s. Parrott worked on rifled cannon designs in cooperation with Dr. John Read of Alabama, who worked on projectile designs.2 By 1861 they had already worked out many of the practical problems of integrated rifle-projectile design for field caliber artillery. Parrott was already selling field caliber rifles to individual states before the war began.3 With the war, he moved quickly into the design and production of large calibers. He produced the first 4.2-inch (30-pounder) rifle in June 1861, in time for use at First Manassas, where one was captured by Confederates.4 The first 6.4-inch (100-pounder) Parrott rifles were delivered in October 1861, the first 8-inch rifles in April 1862, and the first 10-inch rifles in June 1863.5 The Introduction discusses the problems of Parrott rifles, which had a tendency to burst. Lacking other sources, the Union Army and Navy continued to take deliveries of the larger Parrott guns, and they became the standard rifled cannon in both the navy and army. However, by the end of the war, they were almost completely discredited. In the large calibers, almost all Parrott projectiles had either high band brass sabots (Type II) or low band brass sabots (Type III). None of the Parrott projectiles in the 4.2inch caliber and larger had iron sabots (the Read-Parrott design). A limited number of 4.2-inch Parrott projectiles had the Type I corrugated brass sabots, and even fewer had the triangular rabbets on high brass bands (known as Type IIB). The Union Navy preferred the Type II sabot and never adopted the Type III for their use. The Union Army used all types of Parrott sabots, eventually adopting the Type III sabot for its Parrott rifles, except the 10-inch rifle. Based on documented recoveries, it appears that Parrott periodically shipped Type III sabots to the navy, probably because those projectiles were on hand when the navy urgently needed projectiles. The army and navy also loaned each other ammunition, leading to puzzling battlefield recoveries.6 In the 4.2-inch and smaller calibers, the Type II sabot did not take the rifling well, and chisels had to be used to separate the sabots enough from the shell body for them to

271

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expand into the rifling. Parrott even acknowledged the problem in an 1863 document recommending the chisel use to separate the sabot from the shell base.7 In the larger calibers, Parrott shells and bolts appear to have taken the rifling, but usually threw the sabots, causing both erratic trajectories and friendly fire problems. General Gillmore commented that he had to add two men to each gun at Morris Island just to chisel the sabot apart from the projectile body. Parrott had even larger projectiles than the 10-inch caliber under development at the end of the war. A test was conducted late in the war of 12-inch rifles manufactured from 15-inch Dahlgren castings by Fort Pitt Foundry. Three rifling patterns were tested: Parrott, Hotchkiss, and Rodman. All proved to be miserable failures, and work was suspended.8 All three of these projectiles have been documented and are included in the book.

1

Olmstead, Stark, and Tucker, 112. Abbot, 92. 3 Hazlett, Olmstead, and Parks, 109. 4 The Union lost a total of 25 cannon at the Battle of First Manassas; seventeen were rifles: one 4.2-inch (30-pounder), eight 2.9-inch (10-pounder) Parrotts, seven 3.8-inch James rifles, and two rifles of undetermined type; plus eight field caliber smoothbores. Army ORs, series I, vol. 2, 328. 5 Olmstead, Stark, and Tucker, 215, 217, 241, 258. 6 In one transfer in late 1863, the Navy sent forty 3.67-inch Parrott shells with Schenkl fuzes and thirty 4.2-inch Parrott shells with Schenkl fuzes to the army. “Telegram of November 12, 1863 from Chief of Ordnance Bureau to Capt. Percy Drayton in New York,” U.S. Navy Box 137. 7 Parrott, 18. 8 Olmstead, Stark, and Tucker, 97. 2

PARROTT

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US 4.2-inch Parrott Type II Bottle Top Bolt Diameter: 4.10 inches Length: 10.12 inches Weight: 28 pounds Gun: 4.2-inch (30-pounder) Parrott Rifle

Sabot: Type II Parrott Fuze: None
Rifling: 5-groove Rarity: 7

Provenance: Vicksburg. Other battlefield recoveries include Wilmington, Charleston, and other Mississippi River battle sites. Comments: The Type II bottle top bolt is rare in this caliber, and even rarer as a fired round. TheType II sabot could indicate either army or navy usage, which is consistent with this shell's Vicksburg provenance.

PARROTT

275

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RIFLED PROJECTILES

PARROTT

277

278

RIFLED PROJECTILES

PARROTT

279

280

RIFLED PROJECTILES

PARROTT

281

282

RIFLED PROJECTILES

PARROTT

283

284

RIFLED PROJECTILES

PARROTT

285

286

RIFLED PROJECTILES

PARROTT

287

288

RIFLED PROJECTILES

PARROTT

289

US 5.82-inch Parrott Type II Shell Diameter: 5.78 inches Length: 11.50 inches Weight: 47 pounds Gun: Rifled 24-pounder Gun

Sabot: Type II Parrott Fuze: Missing Rifling: Unknown Rarity: 10

Provenance: West Point test range. Only known surviving specimen. Comments: Original records indicate that the Union Army Ordnance Department ordered 5,645 bolts, 15,145 shells, and 2,086 case shot in the 24-pounder (5.82-inch) caliber in 1864 and 1865. None is known to have been used in battle. The narrow unfinished fuze hole on a large Parrott shell is definitive evidence of test round status. The sabot is a replacement. Notice lathe marks where this shell was lathe-turned.

290

RIFLED PROJECTILES

PARROTT

291

292

RIFLED PROJECTILES

PARROTT

293

294

RIFLED PROJECTILES

PARROTT

295

296

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US 6.4-inch Parrott Type II Bottle Top Bolt Diameter: 6.32 inches Sabot: Type II Parrott Length: 13.65 inches Fuze: None
Rifling: Unfired Weight: 93 pounds Gun: 6.4-inch (100-pounder) Parrott Rifle Rarity: 6 Provenance: Bannerman's. Battlefield recoveries include Charleston, Fort Fisher, and Mississippi River sites.

Comments: This is the standard 6.4-inch Parrott navy bolt. It has a steel or chilled iron core and a cast iron body. Although Union Navy inventories were almost exhausted by the Fort Fisher expeditions, they were well resupplied by the end of the war, with many of the surplus projectiles being sold to Bannerman's.

PARROTT

297

298

RIFLED PROJECTILES

PARROTT

299

300

RIFLED PROJECTILES

PARROTT

301

302

RIFLED PROJECTILES

PARROTT

303

304

RIFLED PROJECTILES

PARROTT

305

306

RIFLED PROJECTILES

PARROTT

307

308

RIFLED PROJECTILES

PARROTT

309

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US 8-inch Parrott Type II Bottle Top Bolt Diameter: 7.92 inches
Length: 16.12 inches Weight: 150 pounds Gun: 8-inch (150-pounder) Parrott Rifle

Sabot: Type II Parrott Fuze: None
Rifling: Unfired Rarity: 8

Provenance: Bannerman's. Battlefield recoveries from Charleston, Fort Fisher, and possibly Mobile Bay. Comments: The 8-inch bottle top bolt has a chilled iron or steel core surrounded by cast iron. Its purpose was to penetrate ironclad vessels. It also worked equally well for battering masonry forts and wood ships, so was preferred by the Union Navy over the flat top bolt. A number were left unfired at Fort Moultrie in the Charleston area after the war. The Union Navy had 8-inch Parrott rifles during the Mobile Bay attack.

PARROTT

311

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RIFLED PROJECTILES

PARROTT

313

314

RIFLED PROJECTILES

PARROTT

315

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RIFLED PROJECTILES

PARROTT

317

Courtesy of the United States Military Academy Museum

US 10-inch Parrott Type II Bottle Top Bolt Diameter: 9.84 inches
Length: 16.50 inches Weight: 223 pounds Gun: 10-inch (300-pounder) Parrott Rifle

Sabot: Type II Parrott Fuze: None
Rifling: Unfired Rarity: 9

Provenance: West Point. The only battlefield recoveries are from Charleston. Comments: 10-inch Parrott rifles were used in battle only by the Union Army and only on Morris Island. The main targets were Battery Wagner and Fort Sumter. Until recently only three 10-inch bolts were known to have survived, all fired in Charleston. Twelve more were identified at West Point.

318

RIFLED PROJECTILES

PARROTT

319

Courtesy of the Washington Navy Yard Museum

US 12-Inch Parrott Type II Bottle Top Bolt Diameter: Length: Weight: Gun:

11.90 inches 23.12 inches
600 pounds (estimated) 12-inch (600-pounder) Dahlgren Rifle

Sabot: Type II Parrott Fuze: None Rifling: 17-groove Rarity: 10

Provenance: This bolt was probably recovered at the Washington Navy Yard test range, where it was fired in a test of 12-inch rifles, shells, and bolts some time after 1863. Comments: Both the army and the navy conducted tests of 12-inch rifled projectiles, the navy using Dahlgren 15-inch guns bored and rifled to 12-inch caliber. The 17-groove rifling is a logical progression in the Parrott system. The Dahlgren-Parrott test gun used by the navy burst on the 27th round.

Preston-Blakely Credit for sorting out the confusing story of the so-called “Preston” shells goes to Warren Ripley. In his classic book, Artillery and Ammunition of the Civil War, Ripley traces the history of the Preston name. “Preston” is painted on several shells photographed at the Charleston Arsenal in 1865, undoubtedly by Union Army officers who recovered them and labeled them as such. The label probably relates to the use of the shells in Blakely rifles. The particular ones with the flanged rifling were made in the Fawcett, Preston and Co. foundry in Liverpool, England.1 Ripley diligently checked surviving Confederate records, but could find no references to Preston in the 3.5-inch and 4-inch caliber. He did find a reference to Blakely in those calibers in the records, and confirmed that the 4-inch Blakely rifle had 6groove rifling that matched the “Preston” shape. Subsequent research has confirmed that the patent for the “Preston” design of rifle and projectile was actually awarded to Blakely in 1863.2 The Preston-Blakely shell has no sabot and uses a flange-shunt system with six flanges somewhat similar to the flanged Blakely projectile pattern. The Preston design has been documented in three calibers: 3.5-inches, 4-inches, and a recently discovered 8-inch blind shell at the Naval Academy Museum. The 8-inch PrestonBlakely blind shell appears to have been designed for the 8-inch Blakely rifle. The Confederates had two such rifles, one at Fort Fisher and the other at Fort Morgan, Alabama.3

1

Olmstead, Stark, and Tucker, 136. Patent # 3087, issued by the British Patent Office in 1863. Dickey and George, 517. 3 Olmstead, Stark, and Tucker, 138-39; and Abbot, 107. 2

320

PRESTON-BLAKELY

321

322

RIFLED PROJECTILES

PRESTON-BLAKELY

323

Read Dr. John Read was an early pioneer in the design of rifled projectiles. Working with Robert Parrott at West Point and independently at Fort Monroe with the army, Read experimented with several designs, before developing and patenting a shell with a ring sabot in 1856 (No. 15999). Later, but before the war began, he improved the design with a safety groove to eliminate the chipping problem on the shell body base.1 Both wrought iron and copper2 were used for making his ring sabots. Early in the war large caliber Read projectiles almost universally used wrought iron. However, a shell documented in this section confirms the shift to copper sabots some time before April 1862. While field-caliber Read projectiles performed satisfactorily, large-caliber Read projectiles did not perform well, for several reasons: (a) the iron sabots were too thick on many Read projectiles and would not take the rifling; (b) many of the copper sabots on Read shells were too thin and would tear off before the projectile took the rifling; and (c) a design weakness in the shell base where the sabot was attached caused frequent premature explosions in the cannon barrel, in a number of cases causing the gun to burst. Despite these problems the Confederate Army continued to order and use large caliber Read projectiles until late in the war. The navy, however, had a strong negative opinion about Read projectiles, so much so that Brooke refused to authorize their use in navy rifled cannon.3 There was a long history of navy tests of Read shells in navy guns and they had performed poorly. In tests performed in August 1861, Read shells performed much more poorly than the Confederate Dahlgren and English Britten shells, missing the target by a quarter mile. 4 The Confederate Navy ordnance officer responsible for manufacturing projectiles for the CSS Virginia, stated he would not use Reads for the CSS Virginia, but would manufacture either Dahlgren or Tennessee Sabot shells instead.5 And in a review of an army Brooke 6.4-inch rifle that burst in 1864, the navy put the blame squarely on the Read shells.6 Read projectiles do not appear to have been produced in any significant numbers above the 4.62-inch caliber. Many of those recovered from mid- and late-war battlefields, including Vicksburg, Mobile Bay, and Fort Fisher are unfired. In the 4.2-inch caliber and smaller, the Read design appears to have performed more satisfactorily and was manufactured and used until the end of the war.

1

This determination of timing is based on the author’s examination of prewar test rounds recovered from

the West Point test range. 324

READ

2

325

Throughout this book, the term “copper” is used to describe Confederate sabots. This is consistent with the description in period documents, even though some actual “copper” sabots were made of copper alloys that were similar or identical to brass. The actual metal composition of a sabot in a specific projectile cannot be determined without metallurgical testing. 3 Brooke, Ironclads, 172. 4 Navy ORs, series I, vol. 11, 772. 5 Ibid., series I, vol. 6, 773. 6 Brooke, Ironclads, 175.

326

RIFLED PROJECTILES

READ

327

328

RIFLED PROJECTILES

READ

329

CS 4.2-inch Read Long Iron Sabot Shell Diameter: 4.12 inches Length: 12.62 inches Weight: 28 pounds

Sabot: Iron Ring Fuze: Wood (missing)
Rifling: 5-groove Hook-Slant

Gun:

Rarity: 5

4.2-inch CS

Provenance: Charleston. Other recoveries from late war Richmond-Petersburg lines. Comments: This pattern shell has been recovered with both iron and copper sabots. Tredegar reportedly made only 22 Parrott-style 4.2-inch rifles, of which only three are known to have survived.

330

RIFLED PROJECTILES

Courtesy of the United States Military Academy Museum

CS 4.2-inch Read Tall Copper Sabot Shell Diameter: 4.12 inches Length: 12.63 inches Weight: 25 pounds

Sabot: Copper Ring Fuze: Missing
Rifling: 5-groove

Gun:

Rarity: 8

4.2-inch CS or US Parrott Rifle

Provenance: Unknown. Most battlefield recoveries are from the late war Richmond-Petersburg lines. Comments: Confederate projectiles in this caliber are rare, because the Confederates had so few 30pounder Parrott rifles in service. Confederate projectiles in this caliber also include Brooke, Selma, and Tennessee patterns.

READ

331

332

RIFLED PROJECTILES

CS 4.62-inch Read Long Bolt Diameter: 4.57 inches Length: 11.70 inches Weight: 27 pounds (36 nominal) Gun:

Sabot: Copper Ring Fuze: None
Rifling: 5-groove Hook-Slant

4.62-inch Gibbon & Andrews Rifle Rarity: 10

Provenance: Combahee River, South Carolina. No other known recovery sites. Comments: Only a half dozen of these 4.62-inch Read bolts have been recovered, all from the site where Confederate forces ambushed and sank the Union Gunboat USS Dai Ching in January 1865. The four bolts inspected had chipped badly upon firing. This pattern bolt was originally thought to be a Harding design, but the distinctive convex sabot pattern identifies it as a Read. Also, Harding projectiles do not have bourrelets.

READ

333

334

RIFLED PROJECTILES

READ

335

336

RIFLED PROJECTILES

READ

337

338

RIFLED PROJECTILES

READ

339

340

RIFLED PROJECTILES

Prewar 5.82-inch Read Experimental Blind Shell Diameter: Length: Weight:

5.73 inches 9.50 inches 34 pounds

Sabot: Flanged System Fuze: Blind Shell Pin
Rifling: 6-groove (pre-engraved)

Gun:

Rifled 24-pounder Gun

Rarity: 10

Provenance: Fort Monroe test range. No other specimen known.
Comments: This blind shell is similar in concept to the 3.67-inch experimental blind shell Read patented in 1857. The main difference is that in the 3.67-inch blind shell, the six air vents were intended to force a thin wrought iron band in the middle of the shell into the rifling grooves. In this shell, the air vents were intended to expand the six thin flanges into the rifling grooves. There is no evidence that this system worked.

READ

341

342

RIFLED PROJECTILES

READ

343

344

RIFLED PROJECTILES

READ

345

346

RIFLED PROJECTILES

READ

347

348

RIFLED PROJECTILES

CS 6.4-inch Read Iron Sabot Shell Diameter: 6.36 inches Length: 10.00 inches Weight: 43 pounds Gun:

Rifled 32-pounder Gun

Sabot: Iron Ring Fuze: CS West Point fuze
Rifling: Unfired Rarity: 8

Provenance: Mobile, Alabama. Others recovered from Wilmington and James River areas.
Comments: This shell may have been made at Selma, which is thought to have made the percussion fuze with the flattened nose. The workmanship on the shell and sabot are excellent. Recovered from a building undergoing renovation, this shell retained most of the surface black paint . This shell is identical to the shell on the next page except for the sabot. Selma lost its primary copper supply in December 1863.

READ

349

350

RIFLED PROJECTILES

CS 7-inch Read Iron Sabot Shell Diameter: 7.00 inches Length: 10.25 inches Weight: 50 pounds Gun:

Rifled 42-pounder Gun

Sabot: Iron Ring Fuze: Wood (missing)
Rifling: Unfired Rarity: 9

Provenance: Louisiana or Mississippi. Other recoveries from Mississippi River and Mobile Bay areas. Comments: This shell was probably not used because it was too large for the bore. It may not have been lathe-turned. Except for the iron sabot here, it is the same pattern as the shell on the next page.

READ

351

352

RIFLED PROJECTILES

READ

353

Courtesy of the United States Military Academy Museum

CS 8.25-inch Read Bolt Diameter: 8.20 inches Length: 11.75 inches Weight: 98 pounds Gun:

Unknown

Sabot: Copper Ring Fuze: None
Rifling: 13-groove Rarity: 10

Provenance: Unknown. No other specimen known.
Comments: No gun is known for this unique caliber of Read bolt. The design is similar to prewar and early war Read shells. However, this sabot has a later Read-designed safety groove between the sabot and bolt base.

Sawyer Sylvanus Sawyer and his brother Addison M. Sawyer developed and patented a system of rifles, projectiles, and fuzes that were highly regarded early in the war. They had a 5.86inch rifle and projectiles under test at Fort Monroe in Hampton Roads in 1859.1 It may have been the same rifle that in 1861 earned Sawyer that high regard. Sawyer’s rifle was the only cannon available to the Union Army that could hit the Confederate batteries defending Hampton Roads from the Rip Raps, an island about 2,000 yards south of Fort Monroe.2 Three Sawyer shell designs are known. The most common is the flanged model. Instead of a sabot, the iron shell body has six flanges and is covered completely with a lead sleeve. A second design has the lead sleeve cover only the flanged cylindrical sides of the shell body but not the base or ogive. The third design has a smooth sided shell body completely encased in lead. There are no known battlefield recoveries of this model in large calibers. All three designs are reported to have had a brass foil over the lead sheath to reduce the lead fouling the rifling. One flanged specimen has been documented in the West Point Museum collection with this brass foil largely intact. Battlefield recoveries of the flanged design are known in the 3.67-inch, 5-inch, and 5.86-inch calibers. In addition, one 4.2-inch rifle and 250 projectiles were manufactured (presumably for testing purposes).3 No battlefield recoveries in this caliber have been documented, although one has been reported. A nonbattlefield specimen of this shell is included in this book. A 4.62-inch Sawyer rifle is the only known surviving Sawyer cannon,4 but there are no known surviving projectiles. Only four recoveries of the smooth sided 3-inch caliber are known, all from a battlefield test range near Fredericksburg, Virginia. However, 4,000 of the shells were ordered by the Union in a series of orders from October 1861 through January 1863,5 which indicates continuing usage. Based on this data, more recoveries should be possible from other areas, perhaps in the western theater. A smooth-sided 3.67-inch Sawyer was also recovered from Petersburg. Almost all Sawyer recoveries are from the western theater, with recoveries from Port Hudson in the 3.67-inch caliber and from Mobile Bay and Port Hudson in the 5-inch and in Mobile Bay and Grand Gulf, Mississippi, in the 5.86-caliber.

1

Ripley, 173. Dickey and George, 413. 3 Mowbray, 943. 4 Ripley, 173. 5 Mowbray, 944. 2

354

SAWYER

355

US 4.2-inch Sawyer Shell Diameter: Length: Weight:

4.16 inches 8.50 inches 16 pounds

Sabot: Flange System Fuze: Sawyer Percussion

Rifling: 6-groove (Pre-engraved)

Gun:

4.2-inch Sawyer Rifle

Rarity: 8

Provenance: Unknown. No known battlefield recoveries. Comments: The Union Army ordered one 4.2-inch Sawyer rifle and 250 shells in 1861, probably for testing and evaluation. There is no documented battlefield usage, although one was reportedly recovered in the trans-Mississippi area. "15 14/16" refers to the bursting charge weight.

356

RIFLED PROJECTILES

US 5-inch Sawyer Case Shot / Shell Diameter: Length: Weight:

4.94 inches 9.75 inches 26 pounds (24 pounds for shell)

Sabot: Flange System Fuze: Sawyer Percussion

Rifling: 6-groove (Pre-engraved)

Gun:

5-inch Sawyer Rifle

Rarity: 8

Provenance: Mobile Bay. Other battlefield recoveries from Port Hudson. Comments: Large Sawyer case shot and shells have been recovered almost exclusively from Mississippi and Gulf of Mexico naval engagements. The patent marking is on the shell ogive instead of on the base, which is more common. It reads, "Patented Nov. 13, 1855." Also a "40" is stamped in the same area, indicating the number of ounces of gunpowder for the bursting charge.

SAWYER

357

358

RIFLED PROJECTILES

Schenkl John P. Schenkl designed extremely effective rifled projectiles and percussion fuzes that were favored by both the Union Army and Navy. The shell body strongly tapers to the rear, maintaining a forward center of gravity that is helpful to flight stability. The sabot is unique among Civil War projectiles: a papier-maché cup that covered the tapered portion of the shell except the last inch on the base knob. For some reason, Schenkl was unwilling or unable to obtain a patent on the projectile and sabot design. Perhaps it was his concern about someone copying the formula. In any event, he kept the formula secret and it was apparently not even known by his wife or the foundry that cast the shells, Cyrus Alger. The secret formula gave the papier-maché a structure that would firmly take the rifling, but would not generally absorb excessive amounts of moisture and swell up so the shell could not be rammed down the barrel. The Schenkl projectile was popular for several reasons. General Abbot reported that it flew smoother and more accurately than the Parrott, and that the sabot provided no danger to forward troops.1 The fuze was also prized by Union Navy and Army troops. Surprisingly, Abbot’s tests did not rank it as highly as the Parrott percussion fuze.2 In a growing dispute between Admiral Dahlgren and Robert Parrott about Parrott’s cannon and projectile performance, Dahlgren in May 1863 ordered that Schenkl fuzes and Schenkl projectiles replace Parrott projectiles in the 6.4-inch and 8-inch calibers of Parrott projectiles. (See discussion in the Parrott section.) Schenkl was killed accidentally in 1863 when an experimental fuze exploded. Afterwards, it was reported that the quality of the papier-maché sabots deteriorated badly, being either rock hard and not taking the rifling or being too soft and swelling badly in the moisture.3 Nonetheless, the navy continued to use Schenkl shells until the end of the war. It is not clear whether the navy was working off old inventory, but the large 5.1-inch and 6.4-inch Schenkl shells saw heavy action very late in the war. The army continued to order Schenkl projectiles in the 3-inch and 4.5-inch calibers until March 1865.4 However, most army Schenkl recoveries are from midwar battlefields, with the exception of a number recovered from the Atlanta campaign battlefields. Battlefield recoveries in large calibers include 4.2-inch, 4.4-inch, 4.5-inch, 5.1-inch, 6.4-inch and 8-inch. The 4-inch Schenkl was introduced late in the war for the new Dahlgren bronze 4-inch rifle, but there are no known battlefield recoveries of this caliber. The Union Army also purchased shells in the following calibers, for which there are no known battlefield recoveries: 3.8-inch, 4.62-inch, 5.82-inch, and 7-inch. This is surprising because, for example, they purchased over 32,000 3.8-inch Schenkl shells in a series of orders from October 1861 through July 1864. It may be that collectors have not

359

360

RIFLED PROJECTILES

carefully measured their shells, and some shells thought to be the 3.67-inch caliber are actually 3.8-inch. Similarly, the Union Army purchased about 7,000 4.62-inch (12-pounder) Schenkl projectiles over an extended period from November 1861 through May 1863.5 None of these is known to have survived either.

1

Abbot, 94. Ibid., 112. 3 Abbot, 94. 4 Mowbray, 713. 5 Mowbray, 706-713 2

SCHENKL

361

362

RIFLED PROJECTILES

SCHENKL

363

364

RIFLED PROJECTILES

SCHENKL

365

366

RIFLED PROJECTILES

SCHENKL

367

US 5.1-inch Schenkl Shell Diameter: Length: Weight: Gun:

5.05 inches 13.50 inches
36 pounds 5.1-inch (50-pounder) Dahlgren Rifle

Sabot: Papier-maché (missing) Fuze: Schenkl Navy Percussion Rifling: Unknown Rarity: 8

Provenance: Charleston. Other battlefield recoveries from Roanoke Island, North Carolina, Suffolk, Virginia, the midwar Mississippi River battle sites.

Comments: This is the standard pattern for the 5.1-inch Schenkl. Note the hook-slant ribs and the forward or "shoulder" bearing surface. Most 5.1-inch recoveries are from saltwater environments. Preservation efforts did not yield good results until recently, and most shells are in poor condition. This one is a fine exception.

368

RIFLED PROJECTILES

SCHENKL

369

Courtesy of the United States Military Academy Museum

US 5.82-inch Schenkl Shell Diameter: Length: Weight: Gun:

5.76 inches 10.15 inches 30 pounds Rifled 24-pounder Gun

Sabot: Papier-maché Fuze: Schenkl Navy Percussion
Rifling: Unfired Rarity: 10

Provenance: Nonbattlefield. Only specimen known in this caliber. Comments: This is probably an experimental shell produced very early in the war, before the army and navy standardized on the Dahlgren 6-inch rifle and Parrott 6.4-inch and 8-inch rifles. However, it could be a proposed shell for the contract that was given to Parrott to produce shells for the rifled 24-pounders and rifled 42-pounders in 1863-1865. The fuze has nine threads to the inch. See next page for a disassembled view.

370

RIFLED PROJECTILES

SCHENKL

371

372

RIFLED PROJECTILES

US 6.4-inch Schenkl Mid-Bourrelet Shell Diameter: Length: Weight: Gun:

6.30 inches Sabot: Papier-maché (missing) 16.75 inches Fuze: Schenkl Navy Percussion
Rifling: Unknown 65 pounds 6.4-inch (100-pounder) Parrott Rifle Rarity: 10

Provenance: Charleston. Most 6.4-inch Schenkls are recovered from midwar Charleston battle sites. Comments: The bourrelet is more forward than on the shell on the previous page. The move forward is thought to be designed to better stabilize the shell as it left the barrel. It has been reported that these shells are from the USS Pawnee.

SCHENKL

373

374

RIFLED PROJECTILES

SCHENKL

375

376

RIFLED PROJECTILES

SCHENKL

377

US 8-inch Schenkl Mid-Bourrelet Shell Diameter: 7.90 inches Sabot: Papier-maché (missing) Length: 19.50 inches Fuze: Schenkl Navy Percussion
Rifling: Unknown Weight: 129 pounds Gun: 8-inch (150-pounder) Parrott Rifle Rarity: 10 Provenance: Charleston. All known 8-inch Schenkls were recovered from midwar Charleston battle sites. Comments: The bourrelet is more forward and narrower than on the shells on the previous pages. The move forward was probably designed to better stabilize the shell as it left the barrel. This may also be a case shot, because it appears to have a large bushing around the fuze that would permit insertion of iron shot.

378

RIFLED PROJECTILES

US 8-inch Schenkl Half-Section Diameter: Length: Weight: Gun:

7.81 inches 20.00 inches 125 pounds (nominal) 8-inch (150-pounder) Parrott Rifle

Sabot: Papier-maché (missing) Fuze: Schenkl Navy Percussion
Rifling: Unknown Rarity: 10

Provenance: Charleston. No other known battlefield recovery areas. Comments: This photo demonstrates the destructive potential of the 8-inch Schenkl shell. The shell wall is 1.75-2.50 inches thick. When it exploded, it would create large fragments, in addition to blast damage. The back demonstrates the saltwater effect on projectiles. The fuze did not detonate because it was defective.

Selma The Selma Naval Gun Foundry was one of five government-owned foundries that manufactured cannon for the Confederacy. It was the only one of those that could manufacture the heavy smoothbore and rifled cannon like Bellona and Tredegar. The foundry was taken over initially by the Confederate Army in February 1863, under the command of Col. George Rains (of Rains grenade and torpedo fuze fame).1 It was soon transferred to the navy under the command of Catesby ap R. Jones. Jones had been the executive officer of the CSS Virginia in its brief history. As fate would have it, Jones was actually in command of the Virginia during the historic battle with the USS Monitor. Flag Officer Buchanan was seriously injured during action on March 8 against the USS Congress and USS Cumberland and was removed from the ship before the Monitor engagement.2 Selma produced projectiles designed by most other Confederate designers. They also produced several types of projectiles of a design unique to the Selma Foundry. Based on his experience and former association with Cdr. John Brooke, there is a strong probability that the actual designer was Catesby Jones. However, no documentation has survived that identifies him or any other individual as actually having designed the projectiles. As a result, they are referred to as Selma projectiles. These Selma projectiles were manufactured in a wide range of calibers and in a variety of shell body designs. The common elements were high quality shell body castings and unique sabot designs, which were of two types. One was a field caliber projectile design. It had a high copper cup sabot that was attached to the shell body by casting it into a square or rectangular recessed area in the projectile base. This design is found only on field caliber projectiles. The second design was a flat or curved copper disk cast on to a square, rectangular, or cloverleaf recessed area in the shell base. This design has been recovered on projectiles in calibers from 3.3-inch to the largest known Selma projectile caliber: 6.4-inch. The field caliber cup design appears to have frequently separated from the shell, creating friendly fire hazards as well as probably throwing the projectile off its trajectory. The disk design appears to have taken the rifling well and stayed on the projectile body, except in the largest calibers and particularly on bolts.

1

Daniel and Gunter, 75.

2

Navy ORs, series I, vol. 7, 46.

379

380

RIFLED PROJECTILES

SELMA

381

382

RIFLED PROJECTILES

Courtesy of the Atlanta History Center

CS 4.62-inch Selma Pointed Nose Bolt Diameter: Length: Weight:

4.58 inches 6.75 inches 20 pounds

Sabot: Copper Disk Fuze: None
Rifling: Undetermined

Gun:

Rifled 12-pounder Gun

Rarity: 9

Provenance: Vicksburg. Other recoveries limited to the lower Mississippi River areas. Comments: This bolt and the one on the following page are very similar, differing by the pointed nose on this one and the rounded nose on the other. Note the "Omega" stamped on the sabot base, reportedly one of several Selma Arsenal markings. Others include a "G" and an "8." The rifling was so worn out on the cannon that fired this bolt that the number of lands and grooves could not be determined.

SELMA

383

384

RIFLED PROJECTILES

CS 5.82-inch Selma Bolt Diameter: 5.76 inches Length: 9.25 inches Weight: 41 pounds Gun:

Rifled 24-pounder Gun

Sabot: Copper Disk Fuze: None

Rifling: Unfired Rarity: 9

Provenance: Port Hudson, Louisiana. Tredegar delivered at least eleven rifled 24-pounders in 1861 to Charleston; Mobile; Wilmington; Columbus, Kentucky; and Evansport, Virginia. Comments: Note the "G" stamped into the sabot base, reportedly indicating Selma manufacture. Rifled 24-pounders saw only limited action during the war, mostly at Charleston and Mississippi River and Mobile Bay battle areas. Bolts are rarer than shells in this caliber.

SELMA

385

386

RIFLED PROJECTILES

SELMA

387

CS 6.4-inch Selma Bolt Diameter: Length: Weight:

6.34 inches 9.75 inches 65 pounds

Sabot: Copper Disk Fuze: None
Rifling: Unknown

Gun:

Rifled 32-pounder Gun

Rarity: 9

Provenance: Unknown. Most Selma projectiles were supplied to Confederate defenses in Charleston, Alabama, and Mississippi River areas. Comments: Selma projectiles are rare in the 6.4-inch caliber. This bolt was originally pointed and hit something hard when fired. Subsequently, either during the war or afterwards, the copper sabot (or what remained of it) was chiseled off to be used for other purposes.

Skates The Skates Foundry in Mobile, Alabama, manufactured both projectiles and bronze field caliber cannon for the Confederacy. They are credited with the manufacture of some very early 6.4-inch shells, which were used throughout the war by Confederate gunners in Mobile Bay. As with Selma shells, documentation indicating the individual designer of Skates shells has not been found to date. Using the precedent of naming the Selma projectiles after the foundry, the designation of Skates is the most accurate attribution we can provide at this time. All recovered Skates shells have been in the 6.4-inch caliber. The shells are relatively short and light in weight (65 pounds), indicating they were manufactured for rifled 32pounders. They do not have bourrelets, and have lead ring sabots pre-engraved for 5groove rifling. Recoveries of this pattern shell have been confirmed only from Mobile Bay, although two shells of this design are reported to have been recovered in Norfolk. It is not coincidental that the only surviving 6.4-inch rifles with 5-groove rifling are three rifled 32-pounder seacoast guns located at Fort Gaines, at the mouth of Mobile Bay. These projectiles were probably manufactured before May 29, 1862. That was the date the Confederate Army Ordnance Office announced it would no longer accept lead saboted projectiles,1 but it is possible they were made afterwards. It is common to find projectiles made early in the war not used until late in the war. Key coastal defenses were supplied with rifled smoothbores and hybrid rifles2 early in the war, but many of these defenses did not see heavy action until late in the war. Mobile Bay and the Wilmington defenses are good examples of this situation.

1

Thomas S. Rhett, Inspector of Ordnance, CS Ordnance Office, unpublished letter to James R. Anderson

& Co. (Tredegar Foundry) of May 29, 1862, Tredegar Order Book. 2 See the section on “Confederate Approach” in the Introduction for details on hybrid rifles.

388

SKATES

389

390

RIFLED PROJECTILES

Stafford Little is known of the designer of the Stafford family of projectiles. He was probably well connected politically, based on the political controversy highlighted below. The projectiles were sub-caliber projectiles, meaning that the bulk of the projectile was substantially smaller than the caliber of the rifle. This is similar in concept to the sabot rounds used in current models of Abrams tanks. The concept of sub-caliber projectiles is to achieve much higher velocities at short range than full-caliber projectiles can attain, enabling the shell or bolt to penetrate deeper in a narrower space. Stafford projectiles had brass ring sabots. Some were encased in a wood sleeve, others had a brass ring, or an enlarged head to fit the rifle bore. The sabot was a brass ring type, which was held in place by iron pins or nails driven into the metal core, into the wood casing, or between the two. Staffords were produced in several calibers, including 5.1-inch, 6.4-inch, and 8-inch. No survivors are known in the 8-inch caliber. One hundred 8-inch Stafford projectiles were purchased by the Union Navy and tested by the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron in 1863 off Charleston.1 They were reported on July 27, 1863, to have performed unsatisfactorily.2 Ironically, only five days before the navy test results were reported, Admiral Dahlgren, commander of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, issued an order to his fleet that seems to reflect confidence in the Stafford projectiles. The order was to load Stafford projectiles at night in the 8-inch Parrott rifles to be used in case they encountered Confederate ironclads.3 During July and August 1863, the Monitors, USS New Ironsides, and most of the rest of the blockading fleet were engaged almost daily in the bombardment of Battery Wagner and Fort Sumter. Given the operational order by Admiral Dahlgren to load Stafford projectiles in the 8-inch Parrott rifles overnight, it is only reasonable to assume that at least some of these projectiles were fired the next day at those targets, giving them battlefield provenance. One should assume that one or more Stafford shells or bolts may yet be battlefield recovered. Stafford’s representatives apparently protested to Congress the navy’s rejection of their projectiles, complaining that the navy failed to conduct the test objectively. Congress ordered a new test, to be conducted by the army. It was conducted at West Point on December 24, 1863. The test was declared to be a success with the bolts penetrating armor up to seven inches thick.4 However, it does not appear that any additional orders were placed for the Stafford projectiles by the navy or the army as a result of the West Point test.

1

H.A. Wise, Telegram to Lt. Cdr., Mitchell of July 7, 1863, unpublished document, U.S. Navy Box 137, National Archives. 391

392

2

RIFLED PROJECTILES

“Report of Commodore Turner on Tests of Stafford Projectiles, July 27, 1863,” RG45. During this period, the Monitors in the Charleston area were the Weehawken, Nantucket, Montauk, Catskill, and Patapsco. Aboard the fleet in the Charleston area at that time were six 8-inch Parrott rifles: two on New Ironsides and one each on the Patapsco, Wabash, Canandaigua, and Ottawa. Navy ORs series 1, vol. 14, 385 & 390; & Navy ORs, series II vol. 1. 4 “Report to the Senate and House of Representatives on the History of Stafford Projectiles,” RG 45. 3

STAFFORD

393

394

RIFLED PROJECTILES

STAFFORD

395

396

RIFLED PROJECTILES

Courtesy of the United States Military Academy Museum

US 6.4-inch Stafford Bulb Bolt Diameter: Length: Weight: Gun:

6.35 inches 20.25 inches 84 pounds

Sabot: Brass Disk Fuze: None
Rifling: Unfired 6.4-inch (100-pounder) Parrott Rifle Rarity: 10

Provenance: Nonbattlefield. No known battlefield recoveries. Comments: The bolt's weight and center of gravity are concentrated forward, probably to ensure stability of flight. There is no evidence regarding which design performed more effectively. It is also not known which patterns were used for the 8-inch Stafford bolts. The 8-inch Stafford bolts are the best documented, but none is known to have survived to modern times.

STAFFORD

397

Tennessee (Formerly Mullane)

Establishing proper credit for the design of Tennessee projectiles has been a challenge for decades. Period documents refer to them by a variety of names including, “Tennessee Shell,” “copper saucer,” and “copper cup.” Even Cdr. John Brooke referred to the design as “Tennessee Sabot” in correspondence to the Confederate secretary of the navy and to Catesby Jones at the Selma Foundry in 1863.1 In a postwar paper written in 1883, Gen. Edward P. Alexander, formerly Longstreet’s chief of artillery, gave credit to both Mullane and Read for the design of at least the fieldcaliber Tennessee projectiles. In the paper, Alexander stated: This shell (with the saucer shaped copper sabot attached with bolts after the shell was cast), called the Mullane or Tennessee shell, was the invention of Dr. Read of Tuscaloosa, Ala., the well known inventor of what are usually but improperly called Parrott shell. . . . A patent was refused the Mullane shell by the Confederate Patent Office, on the ground that it was anticipated by this patent of Dr. Read.2 However, research by the author in 2001-2 turned up an original period document that specifically and authoritatively assigns credit for the design of the Tennessee projectiles to Capt. Lardner Gibbon, the Confederate Army ordnance inspecting officer at the Tredegar Foundry. The document was a letter written to the Tredegar Foundry at the time of the first order for this type of projectile. The letter is printed in its entirety below: Ordnance office May 29th, 1862 Messrs. J. R. Anderson & Co. Gent: You will please have the 6.4” rifled Columbiad shell with copper cup and lead sabot, the Blakely Shell (7.44”) with Tenn. Cup and lead sabot, the 5.82” rifled Columbiad Shell with lead sabot and the Shell for Manassas Gun (30-pdr Parrott Rifle) insptd. & sent to the Richmond Arsenal. We understand from your note that you have a number of these projectiles ready for delivery, and therefore we accept the Shell with lead sabots – We should otherwise decline them on account of the scarcity of lead. I have called Mr. Smith’s attention to the rocket Shells.

398

TENNESSEE

399

Very respectfully, T.S. Rhett, Col. Insp. of Ordnance By copper cup I mean the copper disc designed by Capt. Gibbon or what is called the Tennessee Shell—no projectiles with copper bands can be received.3 The last sentence, added as a postscript, is key for determining who should receive the credit for designing Tennessee projectiles. First, it is a period document, written at the time of the initial order for the projectiles, and a specific effort was made to identify the design and designer exactly so that the foundry (Tredegar) would not manufacture the wrong projectile. Second, it is written by the Confederate Army’s inspector of ordnance. His knowledge and authority of the subject must be considered definitive, since he was responsible for ordering the specific designs and calibers of cannon and projectiles being purchased by the Confederate Army. The authority of the writer and the timeliness of the document must be acknowledged as more definitive than General Alexander’s, written some 18 years after the war ended. A second period document confirms the “Tennessee” attribution, rather than “Mullane.” Lt. Catesby ap R. Jones, in a letter to Lt. John Brooke in March 1862, stated, “[T]he best shell we have is an Army shell (inverted saucer) invented by a Tennessean . . . .”4 Based on this evidence, the credit for this projectile design should be given to Gibbon. However, because all period documents refer to it as the Tennessee shell or bolt, that name will be used here and the Mullane name dropped. Captain Gibbon’s wartime record was quite controversial, which may be the reason that he was not given fair credit for the design of this family of projectiles. In April 1862, shortly before Colonel Rhett credited him with designing the Tennessee shells, Captain Gibbon refused to certify and pay some Tredegar Foundry invoices for goods authorized for purchases by General Gorgas, the Confederate Army’s chief of ordnance, because they violated provisions of the Confederate Constitution. General Gorgas had him removed from his position and transferred to Charleston, South Carolina. Captain Gibbon then sent letters complaining to Secretary of War George W. Randolph and to President Jefferson Davis. Randolph and Secretary of the Navy Mallory attempted to deal with the problem by drawing up a special agreement with Tredegar Foundry, but Colonel Rhett learned about it and complained. Then President Davis found out about it and ordered the contract provision voided for future contracts. But the damage to Gibbon’s career was done, and he is scarcely mentioned for the rest of the war.5 This was quite a loss for the Confederacy, because Gibbon seems to have been a capable ordnance officer. He was also probably a codesigner of the 4.62-inch Gibbon & Andrews rifles. Nine were manufactured, and one survives today at Fort Branch, North

400

RIFLED PROJECTILES

Carolina.6 The Tennessee design is found on a variety of projectile bodies, but with only two sabot designs. The early sabot design (Type I) consisted of a copper disk with three holes roughly equally spaced around a fourth center hole. The center hole was for a retaining bolt that screwed in to hold the sabot on the shell base. Three iron pins that had been driven or cast into the shell body protrude through the three holes in the sabot, keeping it from spinning on the projectile. Type I sabots are found on projectiles in calibers from 2.25-inches up to 6.4-inches. This design was used for field caliber projectiles until the end of the war. The second type of Tennessee sabot design (Type II) was adopted by the Confederate Ordnance Office in September 1862. In a letter to James R. Anderson & Co. dated September 23, 1862, Colonel Rhett described the design change and specified it for all future Tennessee projectile deliveries.7 In this design, the three holes for the pins were replaced by three studs cast into the copper sabot. These studs were much thicker than the wrought iron pins and tended not to shear off as the iron pins did. This design change made it easier to manufacture, since the foundry did not have to deal with driving or casting iron pins into the shell body or making the wrought iron pins and inserting them into the shell body. It is clear from Colonel Rhett’s letter above that the Confederate Ordnance Office was attempting to shift away from ring and band sabots to improve projectile performance. While the Type I copper disk took the rifling well, the retaining bolt and the pins often broke under the stress of firing. General Alexander was critical of its effectiveness. “It failed, however, about three times out of four from breaking its connection with the copper sabot, and it very frequently exploded in the gun; while of those that flew correctly, not one-fourth exploded at all.”8 Much of the latter problem relates to the widespread use in Tennessee shells of crude wooden fuze plugs and paper time fuzes, which were notoriously poor performers in the field. Despite these deficiencies, Confederate foundries produced Tennessee projectiles until the end of the war. The only major exceptions were Charleston and Selma. At Charleston, local foundries produced the Harding copper ring projectiles (Harding) and heavy lead cup saboted shells (Britten “Eason”) until the end of the war. Brooke ordered Selma to use the ratchet ring sabot for all their projectiles in December 1863 after they lost their primary copper supply in Tennessee. The ease of manufacture of Tennessee projectiles was a matter of prime importance to the Confederacy. Many local private foundries could manufacture the Tennessee projectiles that could not make the more complicated Brooke, Read, or Selma designs. As a result, Tennessee projectiles have been recovered in almost every caliber used by the Confederate forces up to and including the 8-inch and 10-inch calibers. As the Confederate logistics system began to collapse towards the end of the war, use of Tennessee projectiles became

TENNESSEE

401

more widespread, because the local foundries could continue to supply projectiles to local forces when the major foundries no longer could.

1

Dickey and George, 197. Alexander, 106. 3 Tredegar Order Book, Thomas S. Rhett, Letter to Joseph R. Anderson & Co. of May 29, 1862. 4 Brooke, Ironclads, 62. 5 Dew, 210-15; and Army ORs, series I, vol. 14, 566. 6 Olmstead, Stark, and Tucker, 54-56. 7 Tredegar Order Book. 8 Alexander, 106. 2

402

RIFLED PROJECTILES

TENNESSEE

403

404

RIFLED PROJECTILES

TENNESSEE

405

406

RIFLED PROJECTILES

CS 4.62-inch Tennessee Type I Long Shell Diameter: 4.57 inches Length: 11.50 inches Weight: 25 pounds Gun:

Rifled 12-pounder Gun

Sabot: Type I Copper Disk Fuze: CS Army Percussion
Rifling: Unfired Rarity: 9

Provenance: James River, Virginia. Other battlefield recoveries include Richmond and Fort Fisher. Comments: Confederates rifled some 12-pounder smoothbores, rifled up to twenty new 24-pounder smoothbores to a 4.62-inch caliber, and manufactured another half dozen 4.62-inch rifles. This shell might have been manufactured for use in any of them, but its light weight indicates a rifled 12-pounder gun. The use of the CS Army percussion fuze is unusual. Most other recoveries of this type shell have wood fuzes.


TENNESSEE

407

408

RIFLED PROJECTILES

TENNESSEE

409

410

RIFLED PROJECTILES

TENNESSEE

411

412

RIFLED PROJECTILES

TENNESSEE

413

414

RIFLED PROJECTILES

CS 6.4-inch Tennessee Type II Very Short Flat Top Bolt Diameter: Length: Weight:

6.35 inches 8.87 inches 62 pounds

Gun:

Rifled 32-pounder Gun

Sabot: Type II Copper Disk Fuze: None
Rifling: Unfired Rarity: 9

Provenance: Unknown. Battlefield recoveries include Charleston and the South Carolina and Georgia coastal areas.

Comments: This bolt is similar to other flat top bolts, except that it is shorter and lighter. The convex design of the top is more typical of late war patterns of Confederate bolts.

TENNESSEE

415

416

RIFLED PROJECTILES

Courtesy of the United States Military Academy Museum

CS 6.4-inch Tennessee Type II Long Flat Top Bolt Diameter: Length: Weight:

6.33 inches 12.37 inches 89 pounds

Gun:

6.4-inch CS Rifle (see below)

Sabot: Type II Copper Disk Fuze: None
Rifling: Unfired Rarity: 10

Provenance: Unknown. No known recovery sites. Comments: This bolt is longer and heavier than the most in this caliber, and clearly designed for a heavy 6.4-inch rifle. This could have been designed for the 6.4-inch Brooke rifle, a 6.4-inch rifled 8-inch, or 10-inch Confederate Columbiad. Note the convex top and the curved sabot in the bottom left photo.

TENNESSEE

417

418

RIFLED PROJECTILES

TENNESSEE

419

420

RIFLED PROJECTILES

TENNESSEE

421

422

RIFLED PROJECTILES

TENNESSEE

423

424

RIFLED PROJECTILES

TENNESSEE

425

426

RIFLED PROJECTILES

TENNESSEE

427

428

RIFLED PROJECTILES

TENNESSEE

429

430

RIFLED PROJECTILES

Courtesy of the Atlanta History Center

CS 8-inch Tennessee Hollow Shot Diameter: Length: Weight:

7.90 inches 9.37 inches 90 pounds

Gun:

Rifled 8-inch CS Columbiad

Sabot: Type II Copper Disk Fuze: None
Rifling: Unknown Rarity: 10

Provenance: Charleston. No other recovery sites known. Comments: Less than a half dozen of this pattern bolt are known to have been recovered, all from the Fort Sumter casemate excavation many years ago. None of the recovered bolts in 8-inch or 10-inch calibers (see next page) has sabots. The sabots were apparently fixed to the bolt body with two bolts, and perhaps with a stud that fit into the hollow shot hole. The hollow cavity extends 6.5 inches into the bolt.

TENNESSEE

431

Tredegar In the early months of the war, Southern foundries scrambled to meet the Confederacy’s needs for a wide variety of military ordnance. At this time Tredegar and Bellona Foundries were the only ones that could make large caliber cannons needed by the Confederacy.1 Charles Dew’s book on Tredegar2 and the Tredegar Foundry records,3 indicated that in July 1861 Tredegar developed some hybrid cannon designs and promoted their use with the Confederate Army and Navy. The Confederate Army Ordnance Office ordered from Tredegar hybrid cannon and projectiles for the hybrid cannon at the same time, probably to ensure they worked together. These hybrid rifles were a temporary solution to the urgent need to get large caliber rifles into the field. Tredegar manufactured several types of hybrid rifles. These included 7-inch rifles bored from 9-inch Dahlgren smoothbore gun blocks;4 6.4-inch rifles bored from 10-inch Columbiad gun blocks; 5.82-inch rifles bored from 8-inch Columbiad gun blocks, and 4.62-inch rifles bored from 8-inch siege howitzer and 24-pounder siege gun blocks. The Tredegar name is a new designation for five patterns of large projectiles manufactured very early in the war for these hybrid rifles. The attribution to Tredegar is based on the same criteria applied many years ago in designating the Selma projectiles. Specifically, documentation available in the historical record is quite specific about the design of the hybrid rifles by Tredegar and ties these projectiles to being designed and produced at the Tredegar Foundry. In his book on the Tredegar Foundry, Charles Dew identifies Dr. Robert Archer as the designer of rifled projectiles for Tredegar, so it is likely that he is the designer of these projectiles. However, no known period documentation ties the design of these projectiles specifically to Dr. Archer. Gen. E. P. Alexander wrote an article published in 1883, indicating that James H. Burton had designed some early 3-inch lead-saboted shells that had been used at First Manassas.5 Burton served as Superintendent of the Ordnance Bureau of the Virginia State Armory from 1860 to 1862. This possible design credit was investigated also. However, a review of Burton’s personal papers and of the correspondence files of the Virginia Ordnance Bureau did not produce a single reference to Burton’s role in designing any projectiles. Nor is he mentioned in connection with the design of projectiles manufactured at Tredegar in any orders, invoices, or vouchers of Tredegar or the Virginia Ordnance Department or the Confederate Army Ordnance Office, whereas other designers are mentioned frequently in the Tredegar files and Confederate Army and Navy orders for projectiles. Five related patterns of early war Confederate projectiles have been classified as Tredegar, pending further research to determine an individual designer. These are listed below.

432

TREDEGAR

•

•

•

•

1

433

Type 1 is a pattern of shells and bolts that were made for the hybrid rifles produced in 1861-1862 by Tredegar. All of these are relatively heavy for their caliber (e.g., 92-119 pounds in the 6.4-inch caliber). These have lead or copper sabots preengraved for the rifling and narrow bourrelets. The Type 1 Tredegar projectiles have been documented only in the three calibers, which are the three calibers in which the hybrid rifles were produced at Tredegar: 4.62-inch, 5.82-inch, and 6.4inch. The 6.4-inch projectiles are the only ones with battlefield provenance, at Fernandina, Florida; Charleston, South Carolina; and Vicksburg, Mississippi: locations where the hybrid rifles were sent. The earliest documented usage confirmed on this type projectile is April 1862, although they were almost definitely used much earlier. The 4.62-inch and 5.82-inch projectiles are in the West Point collection without provenance. Type 2 is a pattern designed for rifled 32-pounder guns. The earliest documented usage of this type was January 1862 when one was recovered after being fired at a Union Navy ship near Cockpit Point, Virginia, near the mouth of the Potomac River.6 This design has also been recovered unfired at Fort Caswell, North Carolina, near Fort Fisher. The shells have heavy smooth lead sabots and narrow bourrelets. The sabots were not pre-engraved because rifled 32-pounders have a variety of different kinds of rifling. The shells were made for both screw-in and wood fuzes. Types 3 and 4 have different shell body designs but apparently identical methods for attaching the sabots. The Type 3 shell has a short lead sabot pre-engraved for 5-groove rifling. The earliest date for usage on the Type 3 shell is May 1862. The sabot is missing on the one Type 4 shell. Also, there is no provenance or usage information on the Type 4 shell. The Type 5 shell appears to be a later form of the Tredegar design, without bourrelets, but with the sabot and shoulder acting as bourrelets. The sabot is copper and pre-engraved for 5-groove rifling identical in pattern to the Type 1 and Type 3 projectiles.

See Daniel and Gunter for an excellent summary of Confederate private and government owned cannon foundries. 2 Dew, 108. 3 Tredegar Order Book and Guns Cast. 4 “Gun blocks” is the correct technical term for cannon castings that have trunnions welded on and reinforcing bands. 5 Alexander. 6 Details engraved on the actual projectile, which is included in this book.

434

RIFLED PROJECTILES

TREDEGAR

435

436

RIFLED PROJECTILES

TREDEGAR

437

438

RIFLED PROJECTILES

TREDEGAR

439

440

RIFLED PROJECTILES

TREDEGAR

441

Courtesy of the United States Naval Academy Museum

CS 6.4-inch Tredegar Type 2 Lead Sabot Shell Diameter: 6.37 inches Length: 11.25 inches Weight: 57 pounds Gun:

Rifled 32-pounder Gun

Sabot: Lead Ring (missing) Fuze: Missing
Rifling: Unknown Rarity: 9

Provenance: Cockpit Point, Virginia. Other recoveries from Fort Caswell, North Carolina Comments: This is the same type shell without the sabot as shown on the previous page with the sabot. The engraving reads "Shell from a rifled 32 pdr fired into US Str [Steamer] Yankee from Cockpit Point January 2,1862." This is the earliest confirmed firing of this type shell.

442

RIFLED PROJECTILES

TREDEGAR

443

Courtesy of the United States Military Academy Museum

CS 6.4-inch Tredegar Type 4 Shell Diameter: 6.34 inches Length: 11.50 inches Weight: 50 pounds Gun:

Rifled 32-pounder Gun

Sabot: Lead Band (missing) Fuze: CS Navy watercap (missing)
Rifling: Unknown Rarity: 10

Provenance: Nonbattlefield. Only specimen known. Comments: This shell may be an important link between Tredegar and Skates designs. The shell base is made like the base of the Skates shell, but the sabot attachment design is like the Tredegar. The side has a unique pattern. Note how the fuze bushing is off-center.

444

RIFLED PROJECTILES

Whitworth Sir Joseph Whitworth designed a family of rifles and projectiles generally recognized as the most accurate and longest range of any used in the war. In a Union Army test reported in 1864, a 2.75-inch Whitworth bolt was fired 10,000 yards.1 The design was unique among Civil War projectiles. All Whitworth projectiles regardless of caliber had six concave sides with a twist matching the twist of the hexagonal rifle bore. The windage on these projectiles is smaller than that in any other period projectile: no more than about 2/1000 inch. Normal windage on large caliber projectiles ranged from 5/100 to 10/100 for rifled projectiles to as much as 20/100 for large smoothbores.2 Both Union and Confederate forces used Whitworth rifles and projectiles. The Confederates obtained the rifles in several calibers and used the field calibers much more frequently than the Union did. Wartime provenance has been established for large caliber use by Confederates in 3.75-inch calibers. They almost received a shipment of 6.4-inch Whitworth shells that was aboard the blockade-runner Ella, but that ship ran aground near Fort Fisher in 1864, being chased by the Union blockading fleet. No 6.4-inch Whitworth rifle is known to have been delivered to the Confederates or actually put in use. There is speculation that the Ella had the rifle aboard, but tossed it overboard in an effort to increase speed to elude the pursuing Union ships. The Confederates are not known to have manufactured large caliber Whitworth projectiles as they did for the field calibers. Union forces captured four 5-inch Whitworth rifles aboard the blockade-runner Princess Royal in 1863.3 Two of these were deployed on Morris Island along with 6.4-inch, 8-inch, and 10-inch Parrott rifles to attempt to destroy or force the surrender of Battery Wagner and Fort Sumter in July and August 1863.4 On August 1, the captured Whitworth rifles began firing bolts; these bolts jammed in the bore, and four men on the crew were killed trying to ram one home.5 Original documents were found recently in the National Archives confirming that projectiles used in those Whitworth rifles were manufactured by the Washington Navy Yard and shipped to Charleston, where they jammed, causing the explosion.6

1

Ripley, 143. H.A. Wise, unpublished telegram to Captain Berrier, USN, dated July 3, 1863; U.S. Navy Box 137. 3 Olmstead, Stark, and Tucker, 141. 4 Navy ORs, series I vol. 14, 385. 5 Olmstead, Stark, and Tucker, 141. 6 H.A. Wise, Acting Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance, unpublished telegrams of July 16 and 28, 1863 to Lt. Cdr. Mitchell at the Washington Navy Yard; U. S. Navy Box 137. 2

445

446

RIFLED PROJECTILES

WHITWORTH

447

Courtesy of the United States Military Academy Museum

British/CS 5-inch Whitworth Bolt Diameter: 5.00 inches Length: 15.75 inches Weight: 70 pounds Gun:

5-inch Whitworth Rifle

Sabot: Shaped Shell System Fuze: None
Rifling: 6-groove Rarity: 9

Provenance: Unknown. Battlefield recoveries in this caliber only from the Charleston area. Comments: Two captured 5-inch Whitworth rifles were used by the Union Navy ashore at Morris Island near Charleston. Because of the unique design, there is almost no windage between the bolt and the bore diameters, increasing the risk of the bolt jamming in the barrel. Documents confirm that the Washington Navy Yard made bolts for these rifles.The bolts jammed, causing one gun to explode and killing four men. See text.

448

RIFLED PROJECTILES

Courtesy of the United States Military Academy Museum

British/US 5-inch Whitworth Broken Bolt Diameter: 5.00 inches Length: 13.50 inches Weight: 62 pounds (70 nominal) Gun:

5-inch Whitworth Rifle

Sabot: Shaped Shell System Fuze: None
Rifling: 6-groove Rarity: 9

Provenance: Charleston. No other known battlefield recoveries. Comments: This may be one of the Union Navy-made bolts used in the captured 5-inch Whitworth rifles. The fact that the bolt is broken indicates defective metallurgy or defective casting. Obviously it hit something very hard like a cannon or armor of an ironclad.

WHITWORTH

449

450

RIFLED PROJECTILES

Courtesy of the United States Military Academy Museum

British/CS/US 5-inch Whitworth Case Shot Diameter: 5.00 inches Length: 16.25 inches Weight: 50 pounds Gun:

5-inch Whitworth Rifle

Sabot: Fuze:
Rifling: Rarity:

Shaped Shell System Unfinished Fuze Hole 6-groove 10

Provenance: Nonbattlefield. No known battlefield recoveries. The 5-inch caliber of Whitworths was used only by Union forces in the Charleston area.

Comments: The lead shot and matrix are missing from the interior, and the fuze hole is unfinished. This and the fine machine work indicate it is British made.

WHITWORTH

451

452

RIFLED PROJECTILES

Miscellaneous Bolts and Shells With the experimentation so widespread during the war, there are a number of types of projectiles that were one-of-a-kind experimental or single battlefield recoveries. These include Abbot, Dimick, Emery, French lugged projectiles, Gorgas, Rodman, a number of finned shot and shells, and two unidentified Confederate projectiles. Each is described briefly below.

Abbot The Abbot design has been attributed to a single type of rifled bolt in several calibers, for which S. C. Abbot (not Gen. Henry Abbot) was awarded a patent in 1861 (#31099). A bolt in the 5.82-inch caliber is included in this book. Another in a 3.67-inch caliber is shown in Ripley and Dickey and George. Both bolts appear to have used air pressure from the rifle’s firing to expand the sabot (made of some unknown material) through vents in the shell base. About the only relationship between the actual bolts and the patent drawings is the faceted nose. The key element in the patent application was to use air pressure from the cannon’s firing to multiply the force of the bursting charge. This design feature is completely missing from the actual projectiles attributed to Abbot. The actual bolts used air pressure only to force a midshell sabot into the rifling. The actual bolt design is much more like Dr. John Read’s patent #18707 awarded in 1857, which relied on air pressure through vents in the shell to expand the sabot. No battlefield recoveries are known of the Abbot projectiles.

Drawings supporting Abbot’s Patent Application1 453

454

RIFLED PROJECTILES

Confederate Ratchet Head Bolt At the end of the war, Brig. Gen. Henry Abbot sent officers to various Confederate arsenals, laboratories, and foundries to collect projectiles for study by ordnance officers at West Point. Among the projectiles collected were three ratchet-head bolts collected from the Naval Laboratory in Richmond. All three are documented in Abbot’s book,2 but two of the three were reportedly disposed of in a World War II scrap metal drive. This is the sole surviving specimen.

Confederate Breech Loading Shell A single 5.82-inch shell from Tom Dickey’s collection at the Atlanta History Center appears to be a breech loading design. No provenance data is available, and its identity as Confederate rests solely on an old hand-painted label on the shell, which may be questionable. No other information is available on this shell.

Dimick Horace E. Dimick appears to have designed at least two calibers of artillery shells, probably different in design. In a letter dated June 25, 1861, a Union ordnance officer recommends the purchase of Dimick and Dyer shells for the 3-inch Ordnance Rifle. He further states that the two shells are almost identical in description and appearance.3 The 7-inch Dimick shell documented in this book has a distinctly different appearance from the Dyer family of projectiles. Its identity as a Dimick design was confirmed by a manufacturer’s stamp on the sabot. Apparently the army did not purchase either type of Dimick shell.

Emery A. H. Emery obtained several patents for shell and fuze designs from 1862 onwards.4 One of these shells has been documented in this book, a 7.5-inch shell. A 10-inch shell has also been reported but not documented. The provenance of the 7.5-inch shell suggests it saw real battlefield action, but there are no other battlefield recoveries.

French Lugged Projectiles A two-lugged bolt and similar shell, both in the 5.82-inch caliber size are well-known projectiles. They are documented in at least one period textbook on ordnance and naval gunnery.5 Apparently, these were also tested in the U.S. on a prewar basis, probably unsuccessfully.

Gorgas Warren Ripley attributed a single nonbattlefield bolt to Josiah Gorgas, the Confederate Army Chief of Ordnance. No information is known about it.

Rodman Thomas J. Rodman is well known for his design of large caliber smoothbore cannon, and more important, for the development of a manufacturing process for very large cannon

MISCELLANEOUS BOLTS AND SHELLS

455

(15-inch and up) that allowed the metal to cure without cracking. A lesser-known accomplishment is the design of a 12-inch bolt attributed to him by Warren Ripley, based on Ripley’s review of navy records.6 The single bolt is the only known surviving specimen.

Finned Shot & Shell A number of prewar and wartime winged or finned projectiles were designed and manufactured to be used in smoothbore cannon. A few have some identification with a designer. Most do not. Most are attributed to Confederate usage, which may or may not be accurate. Provenance is lacking on almost all. These projectiles are included because they are associated with widespread efforts by both sides to achieve the effect of rifled projectiles in a smoothbore cannon. It does not appear that any of these efforts was successful, since there was no widespread use in actual battle conditions.

1

Patent # 31099, granted January 15, 1861; United States Patent Office. Abbot, Plate V, figures 38, 39, and 40. 3 James W. Ripley, Letter of June 25, 1861, to Simon Cameron, Secretary of War, Army ORs, series III, vol. 1, 294. 4 Patents # 36773, #37906, and #40828, U.S. Patent Office, Washington D.C. 5 Simpson, 395-96. 6 Ripley, 298. 2

456

RIFLED PROJECTILES

MISCELLANEOUS BOLTS AND SHELLS

457

458

RIFLED PROJECTILES

MISCELLANEOUS BOLTS AND SHELLS

459

460

RIFLED PROJECTILES

MISCELLANEOUS BOLTS AND SHELLS

461

462

RIFLED PROJECTILES

MISCELLANEOUS BOLTS AND SHELLS

463

464

RIFLED PROJECTILES

MISCELLANEOUS BOLTS AND SHELLS

465

466

RIFLED PROJECTILES

MISCELLANEOUS BOLTS AND SHELLS

467

468

RIFLED PROJECTILES

Prewar 6.4-inch Hubbell Finned Shell Diameter: 6.25 inches Length: 12.75 inches Weight: 54 pounds

Sabot: None Fuze: Unknown (missing)
Rifling: None

Gun:

Rarity: 10

32-pounder Smoothbore Gun

Provenance: Bannerman's. No known battlefield usage or recoveries. Comments: This shell was also made in the 5.82-inch caliber. The rivet in the bottom probably closed a hole that held the casting core in place for the shell cavity. The design was patented by William Hubbell in 1856.

MISCELLANEOUS BOLTS AND SHELLS

469

Courtesy of the United States Naval Academy Museum

Unknown 6.4-inch Finned Shell Diameter: 6.37 inches Length: 13.00 inches Weight: 62 pounds

Sabot: None Fuze: Unknown (missing)
Rifling: None

Gun:

Rarity: 10

32-pounder Smoothbore Gun

Provenance: Unknown. No other known specimens. Comments: This shell is different from the others in that the fins are shielded from the air flow by the body of the shell. It is not known if this was Union, Confederate or a prewar experiment. The fuze hole has a spike embedded in it.

Section 3

Torpedoes and Mines ○

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Note: during the war, the term “torpedo” was generally used to describe both mines and torpedoes as we know them today. Following that tradition, the torpedoes and mines described in this section will be referred to as “torpedoes.” The Confederates were forced to invest heavily in the development and deployment of torpedoes to protect their extensive ports and riverways. Confederates could not deploy enough ships, artillery, and men to defend the extensive river and coastal areas in the South. Even in heavily defended areas such as Mobile, Charleston, and Wilmington, torpedoes added significantly to the threat to exposed Union ships and gunboats. Initial efforts to develop Confederate torpedo capabilities were headed by Matthew Maury,1 who is also credited with the design of several smoothbore bolts. After he went to England, Hunter Davidson was appointed as his successor and headed the program until the end of the war.2 It was a high enough priority that Lt. John M. Brooke, later famous for his cannon and projectile designs, designed several types of torpedoes and even a torpedo boat design. He designed an anchored swaying spar torpedo and a fixed bottom torpedo called a “turtle,” that was convex, so antitorpedo boats could not grapple it off the bottom.3 It was deployed together with his swaying spar torpedo, which was said to be one of the deadliest encountered by Union ships. Confederate torpedoes took a major toll on Union warships, opening the modern era of torpedo and mine warfare.4 Confederate torpedoes accounted for the sinking of 43 Union ships and gunboats, including two ocean Monitors (USS Tecumseh in Mobile Bay and USS Patapsco in Charleston Harbor), two river Monitors and two other ironclads.5 The most dramatic event was the H.L. Hunley6 sinking the USS Housatonic near Charleston on February 17, 18647 —the first time a warship had been sunk by a submarine. See the section on major strategic battles for more details on the Hunley. The Confederates made several daring attempts to sink Union ships with both fixed mines and attack spar torpedo boats. One of their favorite targets was the USS New Ironsides, the most powerful ironclad ship in the Union fleet and command ship for the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron fleet. One attempt was made on April 7,1863, when the New Ironsides and the Monitor fleet launched a major attack on Fort Sumter. In that attack, the New Ironsides sat for almost two hours directly above a large electric torpedo

471

472

TORPEDOES AND MINES

containing an estimated 2,000 pounds of explosive charge.8 The Confederates tried desperately to get the electrical fuze to detonate, but were unsuccessful.9 They tried again a few months later on August 20, with an attack by a torpedo ram like the David. However, poor close-in navigation and an engine stall caused the torpedo ram to miss completely, and the crew barely escaped.10 A third attempt was made on the night of October 5,1863, by the torpedo ram David. In that attack the David successfully detonated a 60-pound explosive spar torpedo next to the New Ironsides, but it failed to even make a hole in the ship’s armor.11 Confederate torpedoes sank the USS Tecumseh in Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864. The Tecumseh was the newest Monitor-type gunboat, mounting two 15-inch Dahlgren smoothbores. That event occurred at the beginning of the Union Navy attack and led Union Adm. David Farragut to issue the most famous naval order of the Civil War: “Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!”12 The Union Navy made very limited use of torpedoes in its campaigns against Confederate shipping. Its most spectacular success was the sinking of the CSS Albemarle on the night of October 27-28, 1864. That effort was led by Lt. William B. Cushing, who was considered the most daring and courageous junior naval officer of the war. Cushing supervised the construction of two David-like spar torpedo boats in New York, and commanded the expedition to sink the Albemarle at Plymouth, North Carolina. As the torpedo boat approached the Albemarle, Cushing saw a protective log jam around the ship. Forcing the torpedo boat to jump over an antitorpedo logjam, Cushing successfully crashed into the Albemarle and detonated the spar torpedo just as the Confederates fired a 100-pound round of grape into the torpedo boat, destroying it. Cushing and only one other crewman escaped. Two were drowned and eleven were captured.13 Twenty-two different torpedoes are documented in this section. All but one are Confederate. The one Union torpedo featured is the one designed and used by Lieutenant Cushing to sink the Albemarle in 1864. Several torpedoes are documented from period drawings, because no surviving specimens are known. The torpedo of the design used by the H. L. Hunley against the Housatonic is a reproduction produced by Mike Kochan, based on period drawings in General Gilmore’s papers. Most of the surviving documented torpedoes are in the collection at the U.S. Military Academy Museum. Fortunately for posterity, Bvt. Brig. Gen. Peter Michie (who was reassigned to his permanent rank of captain when the war ended) was sent to Richmond just after the war to study and report on Confederate torpedoes and other ordnance.14 Michie did that, and also brought back for detailed study many of the torpedoes he found at the Richmond Confederate Torpedo Factory, on the James River, and at large coastal cities like Wilmington and Charleston. These constitute the core of the West Point torpedo collection. Torpedoes were classified according to their purpose and how they were deployed. Anchored and buried torpedoes were defensive. Drifting and spar torpedoes were offensive.

TORPEDOES AND MINES

473

Functionally, torpedoes were detonated by one of three types of mechanisms. One type was a contact fuze; it detonated upon impact with a ship or an individual. These usually used fulminate of mercury detonators or spring-loaded hammers to detonate a percussion cap. A second type was a manually detonated trigger, detonating when an individual in a remote location closed an electrical connection or pulled on a wire, causing a spring loaded hammer to detonate a percussion cap. The third type of detonator was time delay type. It detonated after a preset time delay provided by a clock or propeller. Photographic documentation and detailed descriptions of many of these detonating devices are provided in Chuck Jones’ book.15

1

Brooke, Brooke, 282-83. Ibid. 3 Ibid. 4 Perry, 197. 5 Perry, 196 and 199-201. 6 There is some controversy about the “CSS” designation for the H. L. Hunley. It was never commissioned as a navy vessel, thus not officially qualifying for the CSS designation. It was a privately funded venture manned by members of the Confederate Army. However, authoritative original and secondary documentation mistakenly designated the Hunley as “CSS.” 7 Navy ORs, series I, vol. 15, 332-37. 8 Navy ORs, series I, vol. 14, Note 1 on map, 2. 9 Battles and Leaders, vol. 4, 36. 10 Navy ORs, series I, vol. 14, 398-99. 11 Navy ORs, series I, vol. 15, 9-10. 12 The order attributed to Farragut appears to have been enhanced over time. Canney, 192; Battles and Leaders, vol. 4, 391. 13 Battles & Leaders, vol. IV, 634-642. 14 Jones, 132. 15 Charles H. Jones, Artillery Fuses of the Civil War (Alexandria, VA: O’Donnell Pub., 2001). 2

474

TORPEDOES AND MINES

Courtesy of the United States Military Academy Museum

CS Copper Underground Torpedo Length: 15.0 inches Width: 7.1 inches Detonator: Two Rains Torpedo Fuzes


Weight: 10 pounds Rarity: 10


Provenance: Louisville Road, Savannah, Georgia. Comments: According to West Point records, a line of these torpedoes was deployed across this road in front of the Confederate defensive lines near Savannah. With two Rains torpedo fuzes and perhaps a board on top, the large explosive charge would have been deadly to dozens of attacking soldiers.

TORPEDOES AND MINES

475

CS 5.82-inch Shell Converted to an Underground Torpedo Diameter: 5.75 inches Length: 7.5 inches (with fuze) Weight: 19.5 pounds

Sabot: None Fuze: Rains Torpedo Fuze

Rarity: 10

Provenance: Blakely, Alabama. Battlefield recoveries include Richmond, Petersburg, Port Hudson, and Mobile.

Comments: The pressure sensitive Rains torpedo fuze was supposed to detonate when crushed by a foot, hoof, or wheel. For some reason this fuze did not detonate. The safety cap is shown removed beside the shell, along with the side loading plug.

476

TORPEDOES AND MINES

TORPEDOES AND MINES

477

478

TORPEDOES AND MINES

TORPEDOES AND MINES

479

480

TORPEDOES AND MINES

TORPEDOES AND MINES

481

482

TORPEDOES AND MINES

TORPEDOES AND MINES

483

Courtesy of the United States Military Academy Museum

CS Frame Torpedo (Continued) Length: 22.5 inches Width: 12.2 inches Detonator: Rains Torpedo Fuze


Weight: 440 pounds (reported in 1865) Rarity: 10


Provenance: See previous page. Comments: The interior design reflects advanced technology. As shown above, the casing was cast with a weak seam. This seam is visible on the outside of some of these torpedoes. The detonation drives the top of the torpedo into the ship's hull. The bottom part of the torpedo is tapered toward the bottom to focus the blast on the weak seam and the upper section.

484

TORPEDOES AND MINES

TORPEDOES AND MINES

485

486

TORPEDOES AND MINES

TORPEDOES AND MINES

487

488

TORPEDOES AND MINES

TORPEDOES AND MINES

489

490

TORPEDOES AND MINES

TORPEDOES AND MINES

491

492

TORPEDOES AND MINES

TORPEDOES AND MINES

493

494

TORPEDOES AND MINES

TORPEDOES AND MINES

495

496

TORPEDOES AND MINES

Appendix A Missing and Unaccounted For

Research for this book produced tantalizing clues about projectiles that are unknown to the author and could not be documented for inclusion in the book. This list of “missing” projectiles is provided below, together with the data source where they were identified. They are “unaccounted for” among surviving projectiles. Hopefully others will do additional research and locate these projectiles. Some of these are field calibers, but are included as part of an effort to expand the knowledge in the field: Caliber (In.) 2.9 3.0 3.4 3.5 3.67 3.67 3.8 4.2 4.2 4.5 4.62 4.62 4.62 4.62 5.1 5.82 5.82 6.4 6.4 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.5

Design Hotchkiss Shell Stafford Shell Hotchkiss Bolt Hotchkiss Case Shot and Shell Hopson Shot Stafford Shell Schenkl Case Shot and Shell Absterdam shell Hotchkiss Shot Dyer Shot Hotchkiss Shell Sawyer Bolts and Shells Schenkl Canister Schenkl Shells Cochran Shell Hotchkiss Shell Parrott Bolt Dyer Shells and Bolts2 Hopson Shot Brooke Concussion Shell Hotchkiss Bolts and Shells Sawyer Shell Schenkl Bolt (shot) Britten Shell

Provenance Document Reference1 Unknown Mowbray, 783 Unknown Mowbray, 719 Unknown Mowbray, 768 Unknown Mowbray 787 Richmond TOB, 5/29/62 Unknown Mowbray, 719 Unknown Mowbray, 708 Unknown Mowbray, 968 Unknown Mowbray, 788 Unknown Mowbray, 721 Unknown Mowbray, 782 Unknown Mowbray, 944-45 Unknown Mowbray, 710 Unknown Mowbray, 707 Unknown Ripley, Artillery Unknown Mowbray, 767 Unknown Mowbray, 908 Unknown Mowbray, 721 Richmond TOB, 5/29/62 James River Michie, Plate No. IX Unknown Mowbray, 788, 791 Unknown Mowbray, 943 Unknown Mowbray, 712 Shipping Point VA Big Guns, 138 TOB, 10/28/61 497

498

8.0 11.0 12.0 12.0 12.0 12.0 15.0 15.0

APPENDIX A

James Shot Bronze Shot Dyer Shell James Shot/Shell Parrott Shell Smoothbore Shell Navy Case Shot Smoothbore Grape

Fort Monroe USS Monitor Fort Monroe Fort Monroe Unknown Unknown Monitors Monitors

Ripley, Artillery, 81 Navy OR’s, SI V7, 29 Navy OR’s, SI V7, 93-94 Ripley, Artillery, 81 Mowbray 899 Mowbray, 716 US Navy Box 137 US Navy Box 137

The most intriguing was the identification of bronze-covered 11-inch shot aboard the USS Monitor during its duel with the CSS Virginia. Although not used during the engagement, the after-action reports of both Lieutenant Jeffers, (the acting captain of the Monitor after Cdr. John Worden was injured) and Chief Engineer Stimers praised the bronze-covered shot as superior to the cast shot used in the engagement. Nothing is known of any survivors of this unique projectile. Almost as intriguing was the discovery of a Brooke milled base concussion shell design in Capt. Peter Michie’s 1865 report on Confederate Torpedoes and Ordnance. Everyone has assumed that all milled base projectiles are bolts. It is a matter of significance that some milled base “bolts” may actually be milled base concussion shells.

1

Abbreviations for references are highlighted below: • Mowbray —Stuart Mowbray, Civil War Arms Purchases and Deliveries; 2000. • TOB —Tredegar Order Book, letter from TJ Rhett to JR Anderson & Co May 29,1862 • Navy Box 137 —Telegrams from USN Bureau of Ordnance to Washington Navy Yard, July 16 and 28, 1863, U.S. National Archives, U.S. Navy Box 137 • “Inventory of Passaic, Nahant, Catskill & Lehigh, December 1863 -January 1864”, and “List of Inventory on Hand, March 23, 1863, City Point VA”; U.S. National Archives, U.S. Navy Box 137. • Michie, “Notes Explaining Rebel Torpedoes and Ordnance as shown in Plates Nos. 1 to 21 inclusive,” Richmond VA, 1865, Plate IX. • Ripley, Artillery and Ammunition of the Civil War. 2 Two 6.4 Dyer shells have been reported to the author, but not documented.

Appendix B Civil War Cannon Rifling

The rifling found on the sabots of fired Civil War rifled artillery projectiles provides important information to the artillery student. Usually, it indicates which type of cannon fired the projectile. This in turn often allows a person to identify the specific cannon and perhaps the battery or ship that fired the projectile. Listed below are the known types of rifling for all the calibers of rifled cannons thought to have been used in the Civil War. Obviously the list is not complete. Projectiles are still being recovered with rifling on their sabots that have not been previously documented. Some of the rifling documented for this appendix are from actual projectiles with rifling that are not recorded in reference books. The reference column indicates the source of the information. Additions that can be documented by actual projectiles or cannon or from authoritative reference books are welcomed. See “Notes” at the end of this appendix. Caliber (Inches)

Type Rifle

Rifling (# grooves & type1 )

1.5

Ellsworth

15

FAW 159

1.7

Whitworth

6

FAP 323

1.92

Whitworth

6

FAW 208

2.17

Whitworth

6

FAP 326

2.25

CS mountain rifle

3 S-T

FAW 171

2.5

Armstrong Blakely

32 6 S-T

ACW 138 FAO 175

2.6

Wiard James

8 LHT 10 LHT

FAW 167 FAP 182

2.653

CS rifle

2.75 2.9

References2

Unknown

FAP 237

CS rifle Whitworth

3 6

FAP 340 FAW 211

10-pounder US Parrott 10-pounder CS Parrott Blakely

3 3 6 S-T

FAW 109 FAW 111 FAW 197 499

500

APPENDIX B

Caliber (Inches)

Type Rifle

2.9(cont’d) CS rifle Dyer 3.0

10-pounder US Parrott Armstrong CS rifle Tredegar Sawyer Reading & Bros. Noble Brothers Ordnance rifle4 Mann breechloader Ericsson Noble Brothers Noble Brothers Quinby & Robinson Tredegar Tredegar 10-pounder CS Parrott Armstrong

Rifling (# grooves & type1 ) 7 8 3 3 5 5 6 6 6 7 8 10 12 12 12 12 12 12 38

References2 FAP 109 ACW 176

SHNT S-T S-T LHT LHT

LHT LHT LHT LHT

Unknown

ACW 370 ACW 1 ACW 179 FAW 66 WES FAW 63 WES ACW 163 WES WES FAW 17 WES FAW 61 FAW 64 FAW 66 FAW 113 ACW 138

3.25

CS rifle

FAP 156, 267

3.3

Leeds Leeds US Parrott

5 7 12 S-T

FAW 59 FAW 59 BG 113

3.4

Dahlgren boat howitzer Dahlgren boat howitzer Wiard boat howitzer

3 12 12 LHT

BG 106 BG 106 FAW 145

3.5

CS rifle Blakely Blakely Blakely Blakely

3 6 7 8 10

BC FAW 203 FAW 200 ACW 153 WES

3.56

Cameron

3.6

British or CS rifle

3.67

20-pounder US Parrott

6

FAW 56

Unknown

FAP 120

5

FAW 117

CIVIL WAR CANNON RIFLING

Caliber (Inches)

Type Rifle

501

Rifling (# grooves & type1 )

3.67(cont’d) CS rifle Delafield Sawyer Rifled 6-pounder Rifled 6-pounder CS Parrott Rifled 6-pounder Wiard Rifled 6-pounder Rifled 6-pounder Rifled 6-pounder Wiard Dyer Rifled 6-pounder (Atwater)

5 5 6 6 7 7 S-T 8 8 LHT 9 10 12 12 LHT 16 24

References2 BC FAW 49 FAW 161 FAW 48 FAW 49 ACW 371 FAW 49 FAW 167 FAW 49 FAW 49 BC FAW 167 ACW 176 FAW 4 9

3.69

Read

3

ACW 176

3.74

Austrian rifle

6

ACW 374

3.75

Blakely Whitworth Mann breechloader Armstrong

6 6 8 44

BG 136 FAP 337 WES ACW 372

3.8

14-pounder James 14-pounder James 14-pounder James 14-pounder James

7 10 10 LHT 15

FAW 151 FAW 94 WES FAW 150

4.0

20-pounder Dahlgren Blakely

3 6 SHNT

BG 108 FAW 205

4.2

US & CS Parrott CS Parrott Sawyer CS rifle CS rifle

5 5 S-T 6 7 9

BG 114 WPC WES AHC AHC

4.4

30-pounder Dahlgren

4.5

Blakely Blakely

10 3 SHNT 7

BG 96 BC ACW 373

502

APPENDIX B

Caliber (Inches)

Type Rifle

Rifling (# grooves & type1 )

4.5(cont’d) Siege (Ordnance) rifle

9

ACW 374

4.62

CS rifle Gibbon & Andrews Gorgas Sawyer Rifled 24-pounder siege gun Rifled 8-inch siege howitzer Unknown CS Rifle US rifled Napoleon gun US rifled heavy 12-pounder CS rifled heavy 12 pounder

4.636

Read

4.75

Armstrong

4.805

Read

5.0

Whitworth Sawyer 50-pounder Dahlgren 50-pounder Dahlgren 50-pounder Dahlgren6 50-pounder Dahlgren

6 6 7 7 LHT 12 12 LHT

WES BC BG 97 BG 97 BG 97 WES

5.3

60-pounder Parrott Rifled 18-pounder Rifled 18-pounder

7 7 S-T 16

BG 116 FAP 429 WES

5.82

42-pounder seacoast gun Unknown US rifle Rifled 24-pounder CS rifle Rifled 24-pounder Rifled 24-pounder Rifled 24-pounder Rifled 24-pounder

2 (possibly SHNT) BG 205 3 WPTR 5 BG 197 6 WPC/PC 7 BG 199 9 BG 198 10 BG 198 18 BG 198

5.85

Atwater

12

ACW 174

5.862

Sawyer

6

ACW 375

5.1

3 5 BRK 6 6 7 7 9 10 12 18

References2

WPC BG 56 BG 55 ACW 374 BG 53 BG 53 AHC FAW 94 FAW 181 FAW 181

7

ACW 177

56

ACW 372

7

PCs

CIVIL WAR CANNON RIFLING

Caliber (Inches)

Type Rifle

503

Rifling (# grooves & type1 )

References2

6.0

80-pounder Dahlgren

12

FAP 381

6.25

(British)

8

BG 205

6.4

Rifled 32-pounder Armstrong Rifled 32-pounder 10-inch Rifled CS Columbiad Armstrong Dimick Whitworth Rifled 32-pounder Brooke Blakely Rifled 32-pounder 100-pounder US Parrott Rifled 32-pounder Rifled 32-pounder Rifled 32-pounder Rifled 32-pounder Rifled 32-pounder Armstrong

6.425

Read

7.0

Rifled 42-pounder Rifled 42-pounder Brooke Rifled 42 pounder Blakely Rifled 42-pounder CS rifle Rifled 42-pounder Rifled 42-pounder Rifled 42-pounder Rifled 42-pounder Armstrong

7 (possible) WES 7 LHT WES 7 BRK ACW 371 8 BC 9 BG 136 9 BG 223 10 BC 12 BG 223 15 BC 16 BG 223 18 BG 223 76 ACW 141

7.5

Blakely

12

3 3 SHNT 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 BRK 8 8 9 9 10 10 S-T 11 13 70 3

WPTR ACW 372 BG 208 BG 219 ACW 372 ACW 176 WNY BG 208 ACW 371 ACW 373 BC BG 117 BG 208 BG 208 BC PC BC ACW 372 ACW 177

BG 138

504

APPENDIX B

Caliber (Inches)

Type Rifle

Rifling (# grooves & type1 )

Blakely7 Armstrong CS rifle CS rifled 8-inch Columbiad CS rifle 150/200-pounder US Parrott CS rifle Rifled 10-inch Rodman Brooke

3 6 8 8 9 11 11 15 7

8.25

CS rifle

13

9.0

Blakely

9

8.0

SHNT SHNT S-T

BRK

References2 ACW 156/PC BG 242 WPC Ft. Moultrie WPC BG 120 WPC BG 78 BG 128/WES WPC BG 244

10.0

Armstrong 300-pounder Parrott CS rifled 10-inch Columbiad

8 15 15

ACW 372 BG 124 BG 254

12.0

Dahlgren8 Dahlgren8 Dahlgren8

7 12 17

ACW 298 ACW 154 WNY

12.75

Blakely

4 SHNT

ACW 373

Key to Abbreviations and Data 1

Rifling Codes: NOTE: Rifling is right hand twist with flat lands & grooves unless otherwise noted. • BRK = = = Brooke pattern, similar to saw tooth. See BG p. 125 for details. • S-T = = = Saw tooth and Scott pattern, sometimes referred to as hook-slant. • LHT = = = Left hand twist • SHNT = = = Shunt rifling for studded or flanged shells 2 Reference Codes: • ACW = Artillery and Ammunition of the Civil War, by Warren Ripley • AHC = Atlanta History Center collection • BC = Bell collection • BG = The Big Guns, by Olmstead, Stark, and Tucker • FAO = Introduction to Field Artillery Ordnance, by Melton and Paul • FAP = Field Artillery Projectiles of the American Civil War, 1993 Edition, by Dickey and George

CIVIL WAR CANNON RIFLING

505

• FAW = Field Artillery Weapons of the Civil War, by Hazlett, Olmstead, & Parks • PC = Private collection • WES = National Registry of Surviving Civil War Cannon, by Wayne E. Stark • WNY = Washington Navy Yard collection • WPC = West Point collection • WPTR = West Point test range recovery 3 FAO p.176 shows this caliber as 2.60-inches. However, the diameter of 2.57-inches for the shell shown on that page is too large for a 2.60-inch caliber. The specimen in FAP p. 237 had a diameter of 2.59-inches. The specimen in the author’s collection measures 2.60 inches, indicating that 2.65-inches is the correct caliber. 4 The “Ordnance Rifle” includes those made by Phoenix Iron Co.; Wiard; and Singer, Nimick & Co. 5 The 4.80-inch Read rifle is described as a 4.854-inch caliber in ACW p. 375. Careful measurement of two surviving projectiles shows a diameter of 4.74 inches, suggesting that the caliber is 4.80-inch. 6 A surviving rifle with 12 grooves has been documented as a surviving cannon and is listed as a 5.1-inch Sawyer caliber. All known recovered Sawyer shells of this size have six rifling flanges and measure 4.94 inches, indicating a 5-inch caliber. Most likely the surviving rifle is a Dahlgren rifle of some type. Dahlgren rifles were made in a 5.1-inch caliber, and some had 12-groove RHT rifling. 7 The 8-inch Blakely is shown in BG p. 138 as an 8.12-inch caliber. Careful measurement of surviving projectiles shows diameters of 7.88 to 7.94 inches (the latter a nonbattlefield specimen), indicating an 8-inch caliber. 8 The 7-groove and 17-groove rifling are inferred from examination of 12-inch Rodman and Parrott bolts in the Washington Navy Yard collection. The 12-groove rifling is based on Ripley p. 174’s description of Atwater rifling and its use in the third experimental 12-inch rifled Dahlgren. Similar experiments were also conducted with three 12-inch Rodman rifles bored from Rodman 15-inch smoothbore blocks. The Rodman tests may have involved similar or identical rifling.

Appendix C Rifled Projectile Sabot Designs

Correct identification of rifled projectiles often requires accurate identification of sabot designs. This appendix provides specific information to assist the student of projectiles in identifying sabot designs of both field and large caliber rifled artillery projectiles used in the war. The three steps to accurate sabot identification are to identify: (1) the material the sabot is made of: iron, brass, copper, lead, or papier-maché; (2) the form or shape of the sabot: ring, cup, disk, or band; and (3) the distinguishing characteristics of different sabot designs. Each step is described in more detail in the rest of this appendix.

Sabot Materials Sabots were made of four types of materials during the war: wrought iron, lead, copper or brass, and papier-maché. Each is described below. • Wrought Iron. Wrought iron can usually be identified by its appearance. In battlefield-recovered projectiles, the wrought iron sabot is often more corroded than the projectile body. When preserved with electrolysis, it takes on the same black color as the cast iron shell body. Wrought iron sabots were made separately and the projectile was cast around the sabot. • Lead. The snow-white color makes lead easy to identify on battlefield projectiles. On nonbattlefield projectiles it has a dull gray appearance. Lead sabots were always cast on to projectiles after the projectiles had been cast and cooled. Reproduction sabots have been cast on a number of lead-saboted projectiles, particularly Hotchkiss. Modern repairs have also been done to Dyer and Sawyer shells, so the collector should examine any lead-saboted projectile carefully. • Brass and Copper. Union ordnance records describe their brass/copper-type sabots as brass, which they appear to be. Confederate ordnance records describe their brass/copper sabots as copper. It appears that some Confederate sabots may contain alloys of other metals in them, similar to brass. However, most Confederate copper sabots have a copper color. It is sometimes difficult to tell the difference between copper and brass sabots. Some methods of electrolysis turn brass sabots a copper color, and a small scrape is needed on the inside surface to see the metal color underneath. • Papier-maché. Papier-maché was used only for Schenkl projectiles. Except for a small number of nonbattlefield Schenkl shells with sabots (mostly in the 3.4-inch

506

RIFLED PROJECTILE SABOT DESIGNS

507

caliber), only a few of the papier-maché sabots have survived on fired or unfired projectiles. The papier-maché was made of a fibrous paper material glued on to a cone-shaped projectile base.

Sabot Shapes Civil War sabots can be classified in four generic shapes, described below. • Ring Sabots were usually attached to the projectile base. Ring sabots were made of wrought iron, copper, brass, and lead. Ring sabots were used in the design of late Absterdams, ratchet-ring Brookes, Brouns, Burtons, Cochrans, Dimicks, Hardings, Lynall Thomases, Parrotts, Reads, Skates, Staffords, and Tredegars. • Cup Sabots were popular for some prewar and early war sabots and at least one late war design. Cup sabots extend either up the side of the projectile, extend well down below it, or both. The cup concept may have originated with Sir Bashley Britten, who patented it in Britain in 1855. Cup sabots were made of lead, copper, or in the case of Schenkl, papier-maché. Cup sabots were used in the designs of early Absterdam, Britten, Dahlgren, Dyer, some field-caliber Selmas, and Schenkl. • Band Sabots are wide lead or copper bands attached close to the middle of the side of the projectile. Band sabots were used in the designs of Archer, Gorgas, Hotchkiss, and two designs of late-war Harding projectiles. • Disk Sabots are flat copper disks the size of the projectile diameter and were attached or cast directly on to the projectile base. They were used on Confederate projectiles in increasing numbers as the war progressed. The three major Confederate designs were Brooke, Selma, and Tennessee.

Sabot Design Characteristics The remainder of this appendix provides photographs and descriptions of distinguishing characteristics of various rifled projectile sabot designs, shown in alphabetical order.

Absterdam Lead Cup Sabot The Absterdam lead saboted shells were manufactured only a very short time before Absterdam obtained a patent on his new brass ring sabot design.1 The part of the lead cup covering the shell base is very thin. The Type 1 projectile had two non-expanding lead rings around the upper and lower sides, the lower of which can be seen below. The Type 2 shell had the lead cup sabot and the upper lead ring. A hybrid Type 2/3 shell has been documented, which has a brass ring sabot and an upper lead ring.

508

APPENDIX C

4.5-inch Absterdam Type 1 & 2 Sabots

Absterdam Brass Ring Sabot John Absterdam patented his brass ring sabot design on February 23, 1864,2 and he and his contractors received a number of contracts for production of 3.0-inch, 4.2-inch and 4.5-inch shells, delivering projectiles until November 1865.3 No 4.2-inch Absterdam projectiles are known to have been used during the war and none appear to have survived until modern times.

4.5-inch Absterdam Type 3 Brass Sabot

Archer Lead Band Sabot Archer lead band sabots were manufactured early in the war and probably discontinued by the fall of 1862, due to the scarcity of lead, their poor performance, or both. Archer sabots have been mounted both at midshell and at the base, as shown below. Recovered Archer sabots are sometimes confused with Hotchkiss band sabots. The difference is that Archer sabots have small knobs on the inside surface where Hotchkiss sabots have long ridges around the inside of the circular band. There are no known recoveries of sabots for the 6.4-inch Archer projectiles. Based on the projectile design, they probably more closely resembled the sabot shown on the left-hand side below.

RIFLED PROJECTILE SABOT DESIGNS

509

3-inch Archer Lead Band Sabot (left) and 3.3-inch Archer Lead Band Sabot (right)

Britten Lead Cup Sabot Sir Bashley Britten’s lead cup sabot design was copied by Dyer, perhaps by Dahlgren, and definitely by Confederates in Charleston, who manufactured the Britten “Eason” lead saboted shells there. The key to Britten’s design was the tinning of the iron shell base before the lead cup was cast on the shell body. While this worked reasonably well on some field caliber projectiles, the sabot almost always separated from the larger shells. Nonetheless, at least one—fired by the CSS Alabama—flew accurately enough to lodge in the rudderpost of the USS Kearsage, but then failed to explode. The 7-inch Britten sabot shown below weighs about 15 pounds.

7-inch Britten Lead Cup Sabot

Brooke Milled Base Sabot As described in the section on Brooke projectiles, Cdr. John Brooke’s first successful original design of projectile and sabot was the milled base sabot. It was designed for use for both bolts and shells. The milled base was simply a deep groove lathe-turned into the base of a wrought iron projectile. Based on an examination of recovered fired milled base

510

APPENDIX C

bolts, this design worked effectively. However, the wrought iron would have caused heavy wear on the cannon rifling.

6.4-inch Brooke Milled Base Sabot

Brooke Copper Ratchet Disk Sabot Brooke’s most effective sabot design is the copper ratchet disk sabot. It was approved in October 1862 and first produced in January 1863.4 Consuming 6 pounds of scarce copper in a 6.4-inch caliber sabot, this design was the core of the Confederate Navy artillery sabot program. Brooke sabots are sometimes marked. Some have the name “BROOKE” stamped in the bottom of the sabot. Others like this one have letters or symbols, thought to be arsenal markings. This one has a star stamped into the sabot bottom (at the 12-o’clock position over the bolt hole), generally thought to be a Charleston Arsenal or a Columbia foundry marking. The ratchet sides of some sabots are marked with Roman numerals, probably as a manufacturing code.

6.4-inch Brooke Copper Ratchet Disk Sabot

RIFLED PROJECTILE SABOT DESIGNS

511

Brooke Copper Ratchet Ring Sabot This sabot was designed specifically by Cdr. Brooke in December 1863 for use by the Selma Naval Gun Foundry after it lost its primary source of copper in Cleveland, Tennessee. The ratchet ring sabot is found on projectiles recovered mostly from Mobile Bay, but a few have also been recovered at Fort Fisher and Charleston, probably from a limited batch produced in Richmond.

7-inch Brooke Ratchet Ring Copper Sabot Fragment

Brooke “Stair Step” Copper Disk Sabot This pattern of sabot and projectile is attributed to Brooke strictly because of the similarity to the ratchet disk design. However, Brooke maintained that he only designed projectiles for the 6.4-inch, 7-inch, and 8-inch rifles. This pattern sabot is not known to have been recovered in those calibers. It may be that Brooke experimented with this design. However, most of his experiments were with the 6.4-inch and 7-inch calibers. The one surviving shell noted by the author was unfired, so there is no indication of the type of rifle this was designed for.

4.62-inch Brooke “Stair Step” Copper Disk Sabot

Broun Copper Ring Sabots Broun copper ring sabots are distinctive because the rabbets are perpendicular to the long axis of the projectile. The 3-inch Broun sabot has three wide rabbets. The 4.2-inch Broun sabot shown below should have nine perpendicular rabbets, but a casting defect produced only eight. Nonetheless, it still had a firm grip on the exploded shell base.

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Larger caliber Broun projectiles, including the 7-inch Brouns, used the larger number of small perpendicular rabbets. Broun sabots were always lathe-turned on the inside and outside.

3-inch Broun Copper Ring Sabot (left) and 4.2-inch Broun Copper Ring Sabot (right)

Cochran Brass Ring Sabot The Cochran sabot was very complicated and expensive to make. It was separately cast and threaded, then screwed on the shell, which also had to be threaded. The sabot was also designed to lubricate the cannon bore by squeezing grease out of the holes in the sabot as it was squeezed into the rifling. The only battlefield finds have been from early Union Navy engagements. The Cochran design appears to have been used only through early 1862.

4-inch Cochran Brass Ring Sabot

Dahlgren Lead Cup Sabot The Dahlgren lead cup saboted shell was an early design highly regarded by the Union and Confederate Navy ordnance officers. Although the Dahlgren design was patented after the war began (on August 6, 1861), the design was well known to Confederates, who preferred it to the Read projectile.5 Dahlgren projectiles were well regarded, and the design remained unchanged throughout the war. The sabot sometimes separated upon firing, but a surprising number remained on the shells. Fired Dahlgren sabots often retained the greased twine that filled the groove around the sabot (see below).

RIFLED PROJECTILE SABOT DESIGNS

513

6-inch Dahlgren Lead Cup Sabot

Dyer Lead Cup Sabot Dyer appears to have copied many elements of the Britten sabot, including tinning the rounded bottom of field caliber and 4.5-inch shell bodies before casting the lead cup. For the larger caliber Dyer projectiles, he made some changes, including shifting to a flat bottom and casting notches into the shell base. Hundreds of fired 7-inch Dyer shells were recovered with sabots from the Island # 10 area. The problem was that the lead sabot shut off the propellant flame before the time fuzes could be lit. No Dyer projectiles were delivered after June 30, 1862, but a number of 4.5-inch Dyer shells were used at the Petersburg siege late in the war.

4.5-inch Dyer Lead Cup Sabot (left) & 7-inch Dyer Lead Cup Sabot (right)

Harding Type I Copper Ring Sabot Harding sabots reflect Charleston Arsenal efforts to develop an effective Parrott-type ring sabot. The early Harding sabots had short rabbets. The height of the rabbets increased as the war progressed to get a more effective grip on the projectiles. Shown below are five types of Harding copper ring and band sabots. The classification is different from that used in the Kerksis-Dickey heavy artillery book.6 Research indicates they were introduced in the order shown there. The Type 1 Harding sabot has been recovered on 4.62-inch, 5.82-inch, 6.4-inch,

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7-inch, and 10-inch Harding projectiles. Most 6.4-inch and 7-inch Harding shells were recovered near Long Island, close to Charleston, South Carolina. These can be dated to the establishment of a Union battery on Long Island in late 1863 or early 1864. Most Harding bolts (all hollow shots) were recovered from a late-war South Carolina battle site, but these were probably manufactured much earlier. The 10-inch Harding bolts were manufactured for the two rifled 10-inch Columbiads in Charleston, which were rifled in 1863.7

6.4-inch Harding Type 1 Copper Ring Sabot

Harding Type 2 Copper Ring Sabot The Type 2 Harding sabot reflects an effort to improve the sabot’s grip on the projectile, with long but shallow rabbets extending up the projectile side. This appears to be a late 1864 development. The sabot shown below was recovered from an exploded rifled 18pounder shell found in a late war site near Adams Run, South Carolina. Note the flaring of the rabbets.

5.3-inch Harding Type 2 Copper Ring Sabot

Harding Type 3 Copper Ring Sabot The Type 3 Harding sabot appears to be an even later war development. It has been documented on a single fired 8-inch Harding shell recovered late in the war or after the war by Union ordnance officers. These rabbets are set deeply into the shell body.

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8-inch Harding Type 3 Copper Ring Sabot

Harding Type 4 Copper Band Sabot The Type 4 Harding sabot is a midshell band sabot resembling the Type 2 ring sabot, with rabbets extending up the side of the shell. This sabot was documented on an unfired 7-inch nonbattlefield Harding shell, which is shown in one of the famous Charleston Arsenal 1865 photographs.

7-inch Harding Type 4 Copper Band Sabot

Harding Type 5 Copper Band Sabot The Type 5 Harding sabot is also a midshell band sabot similar to the Type 4 but with no visible rabbets. This was documented on a fired 8-inch Harding shell in the West Point collection, which is also shown in the 1865 Charleston Arsenal photograph, lying on its side behind a large caliber grape stand. A careful examination of this sabot indicates it may be a copy of the Read sabot design. The sabot appears to have slipped on the shell.

8-inch Harding Type 5 Copper Band Sabot

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APPENDIX C

Types 3, 4, and 5 Harding sabots appear to be very late-war and there are no known battlefield recoveries of any of these shells other than the ones collected immediately at the end of the war that are now in the West Point collection.

Hotchkiss Lead Band Sabot The Hotchkiss lead band sabot was forced into the rifling by the Hotchkiss cup being driven forward upon firing. Even when used in the large caliber Dahlgren rifles, this principle worked effectively, as shown below. In field calibers, Hotchkiss projectiles proved to be among the most popular of the war, particularly for use in 3-inch ordnance rifles. Union Army ordnance officers did not like them in the larger caliber Parrott rifles, because of the additional strain put on the cannon by the lead band sealing the barrel more quickly than the Schenkl or Parrott shells.8 When Admiral Dahlgren replaced Parrott projectiles in Parrott rifles, he limited Hotchkiss shells to the 3.67-inch and 4.2-inch Parrott rifles.9

6-inch Hotchkiss Lead Band Sabot

James Lead Band Sabot Judging from the results produced at Fort Pulaski, the James lead band sabot apparently worked reasonably well on large caliber James projectiles. However, the friendly fire effects of the James lead band sabot disintegrating must have been disconcerting or downright dangerous for forward troops. As shown below, the thin lead sleeve tended to break up into numerous small pieces of lead shrapnel as the shell came out of the gun. The photo below shows a typical piece of James lead sabot shrapnel and the piece of the shell “bird cage” typically associated with James shell usage. This may have been one of the reasons for the rapid decline in James projectile popularity as newer model projectiles became available. The Type II James sabot was much thicker, but appears to have broken off into pieces or chunks as well, often throwing the projectile off course.

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3.8-inch James Lead Band Sabot and Shell Fragments

Lynall Thomas Lead Ring Sabots The Lynall Thomas shell design relied on the center and rear iron rings squeezing the two lead rings into the rifling. The 6.4-inch shell shown below apparently took the rifling effectively.

6.4-inch Lynall Thomas Lead Ring Sabots

Read-Parrott Wrought Iron Ring Sabot The first sabot used by Parrott was a wrought iron design for which credit is shared between Read and Parrott. This Read-Parrott design was used only on 2.9-inch and 3.67inch Parrott shells and only through mid-1863.10 The notches shown below were hand chiseled into the sabot on both the inside and outside of the neck. This notching has also been documented on 2.9-inch Parrott projectiles. Some Read-Parrott sabots have this notching; others do not.

3.67-inch Read-Parrott Wrought Iron Sabot

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APPENDIX C

The 2.9-inch guns and projectiles were withdrawn from service beginning in mid1863, after which the new 3-inch and the larger caliber Parrott shells used only brass sabots of the Types 1, 2, 3, or the very rare Type 2B.

Parrott Types 1, 2, & 3 Brass Ring Sabots Parrott sabot Types 1, 2, and 3 are brass ring sabots. Types 1 and 2 are called highband sabots. Type 1 has a corrugated rabbet design that apparently was not very effective and was superseded by Type 2. The Type 2 sabot is found on Union Navy projectiles, from 3-inch to 12-inch calibers. It was also used by the Union Army until late 1863, which later shifted over to the Type 3 sabot. The type 3 low-band brass sabot was adopted by the Union Army but not the navy. It was used by the navy occasionally, when they had to borrow or substitute army projectiles to meet their needs.

4.2-inch Parrott brass sabots: Type 1 (left); Type 2 (center); and Type 3 (right).

Parrott Type 2B Brass Ring Sabot A rare variant of the Parrott sabot design has been designated Type 2B. It is not known whether it preceded or followed the Type 2 design. Given its brief period of usage, the author believes it preceded the Type 2 sabot. It used triangular rabbets (shown below) which would appear not to grip as firmly as the square shaped ones on the Types 2 and 3 sabots.

4.2-inch Parrott Type 2B Copper Ring Sabot

Confederate Parrott Sabots The Confederates copied the Parrott design early in the war, and it first showed up at

RIFLED PROJECTILE SABOT DESIGNS

519

the first Battle of Fredericksburg in December 1862 in the 4.2-inch caliber.11 Sabots in this caliber have 10 rabbets (see below). The 6.4-inch CS Parrotts have 9 rabbets; and the 8-inch CS Parrotts have 12 rabbets. U.S. Parrott projectiles have the following number of rabbets: 4.2-inch caliber (Type 2 and 3) have 8; 5.3-inch caliber have 8 or 9;12 the 5.82inch and 6.4-inch calibers have 10; the 8-inch and 10-inch caliber have 12.13 The Confederate and U.S. Parrotts have the same number of rabbets only in the 8-inch caliber. Another difference is that Union Parrotts have small vertical ribs inside the sabot. The 4.2-inch Confederate Parrott sabots have either no ribs or wide horizontal ribs (see below). The 6.4-inch and 8-inch Confederate Parrott sabots closely resemble the U. S. Parrott design.

4.2-inch C. S. Parrott Copper Sabot

Read Wrought Iron Ring Sabot This appears to be the first sabot type used on Read projectiles during the war. Judging from test range recoveries, most of Read’s prewar experiments were with longer wrought iron sabots. Although iron-saboted Read projectiles have been recovered from late war sites such as Mobile, it is clear that the manufacture of large caliber Read projectiles shifted to the copper sabots by April 1862 and used them whenever copper was available.

6.4-inch Read Wrought Iron Ring Sabot

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APPENDIX C

Read Copper Ring Sabot The Read copper ring sabot has been documented on a 7-inch Read shell recovered in April 1862 at Fort Jackson, Louisiana. They have also been recovered from a number of mid- and late-war sites. However, production was probably discontinued by mid-1862.14 The only large caliber Read copper sabot examined by the author that was off the shell was a 6.4-inch caliber. It had three large flanges that stretched up further into the projectile body. Note the use of the safety groove between the sabot and the shell base.

6.4-inch Read Copper Ring Sabot

Schenkl Papier-Maché Cup Sabot John P. Schenkl’s unique papier-maché sabot design won praise from Union Army and Navy ordnance officers for its accuracy and reliability (when the sabots did not get too damp). By being squeezed outward by the pressure on the shell base cone, the sabot forced the shell to spin with it. The papier-maché would disintegrate quickly after coming out of the cannon with no ill effects for forward troops. As a practical matter, the sabots sometimes swelled in the field from moisture and could not be inserted in the muzzles of the cannon. After Schenkl was killed, the formula was lost and later sabots were reported to be too hard to take the rifling.15

7-inch Schenkl Papier-Maché Cup Sabot

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Selma Copper Cup Sabot The Selma Arsenal made two kinds of sabots for its rifled projectiles. For some field caliber projectiles, it made a copper cup sabot, which was attached to the projectile body through a square or rectangular insert in the projectile base. In a strange note of professional ethics, the name “Blakely” was stamped into the top of many of these sabots facing the projectile base. See below just beneath the rectangular insert.

3.67-inch Selma Copper Cup Sabot

Selma Copper Disk Sabot For some field caliber and all large caliber Selma projectiles, the Selma Arsenal used a copper disk sabot. It was cast on to the base of the projectile body, with four flanges. This seemed to work effectively in most cases. Note the “R” stamping on the bottom of the sabot below.

3.8-inch Selma Copper Disk Sabot

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APPENDIX C

Skates Lead Ring Sabot This new shell category features what may be the least effective sabot design of the war. The 5-groove pre-engraved thin lead ring sabot was designed to be fired from rifled 32-pounders. The sabots had separated from every fired specimen noted. Most of these shells have been recovered in the Mobile Bay area.

6.4-inch Skates Lead Ring Sabot

Stafford Brass Ring Sabot There are no known battlefield recoveries of Stafford projectiles, but the historic record strongly suggests that some Stafford projectiles, at least in the 8-inch caliber, were used around Charleston by blockading ships during 1863.16 The Stafford sabot is a wide ring sabot that attaches to the sub-caliber shell body. Apparently it attaches to the projectile body only with a single retaining bolt and washer (see below).

6.4-inch Stafford Brass Ring Sabot

Tennessee Type 1 Iron Disk Sabot Only one specimen is known of this type of sabot. It is on a 6.4-inch Tennessee Sabot shell recovered from Fort Fisher. It reflects the desperate raw materials situation of the Confederates late in the war.

RIFLED PROJECTILE SABOT DESIGNS

523

6.4-inch Tennessee Type 1 Sabot Iron Disk Sabot

Tennessee Type I Copper Disk Sabot This Type 1 sabot was adopted early in the war. Tredegar received its first order for (presumably large caliber) Tennessee projectiles on May 29, 1862.17 This Type 1 sabot was also used on field-caliber Tennessee projectiles throughout the war.

3.67-inch Type 1 Tennessee Copper Disk Sabot

Tennessee Type 2 Copper Disk Sabot The Confederate Ordnance Office adopted the Type 2 Tennessee projectile sabot, at least for large caliber projectiles, in September 1862.18 It simplified the manufacturing process and appears to have improved the effectiveness of the sabot gripping the projectile. However, it consumed even more copper than the Type 1, as they also shifted to thicker sabots. The sabot shown below weighs over 8 pounds. Because these sabots and projectiles were made in many different foundries, the sabots of one foundry often do not mate with the projectiles of another.

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7-inch Tennessee Type 2 Sabot

Tredegar Type 1 Lead Ring Sabot Tredegar projectiles were manufactured very early in the war, when rifled smoothbores and hybrid rifles were rushed into service. The Type 1 projectiles were made for the hybrid rifles. The Confederate Ordnance Office placed the first orders with Tredegar for the hybrid guns in August 1861, and at the same time ordered projectiles for them. Two surviving projectiles have copper ring sabots, indicating a brief shift to copper before beginning to substitute other types of projectiles. At least one hybrid rifle was used until the end of the war.19 The manufacture of lead ring sabots for large caliber projectiles was probably discontinued in mid-1862.20

6.4-inch Tredegar Type 1 Lead Ring Sabot

Tredegar Type 1 Copper Ring Sabot When the Confederate Ordnance Office ordered the discontinuation of the manufacture of lead saboted large projectiles in May 1862, the hybrid rifles still had to be supplied with projectiles. Based on three known surviving projectiles, it is clear that the Confederates manufactured copper ring sabots for the Tredegar projectiles for at least a brief time. These were probably replaced later by Selma, Brooke, or Tennessee projectiles.

RIFLED PROJECTILE SABOT DESIGNS

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6.4-inch Tredegar Type 1 Copper Ring Sabot

Tredegar Type 2 Lead Ring Sabot The Type 2 sabots were manufactured for rifled 32-pounders. They were not preengraved, because of the variety of rifling used for the early rifled 32-pounders. The earliest documented use of this type of shell and sabot is January 1862, but they were probably first made much earlier in 1861. As can be seen in the photo below, the sabots were easily damaged, and could not be used effectively in that condition.

6.4-inch Tredegar Type 2 Lead Ring Sabot *

*

*

*

The variety of sabot designs reflects the astonishing extent of experimentation conducted in the field by both sides to solve the projectile rifling problems. At war’s end, cannon and projectile designers were still struggling with these problems. Solutions awaited the development of the ability to mass-produce high quality gun steel.

526

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APPENDIX C

Mowbray, 719, 741. Patent # 41,668, U.S. Patent Office, Washington, D.C. 3 Mowbray, 968. 4 Brooke, Ironclads, 79, 115; M1091, Roll 10, CS Navy Payment Voucher for January 1863 to Tredegar Foundry. 5 Navy ORs, series I, vol. 6, 772-73. 6 Kerksis and Dickey, 106-113. 7 Olmstead, Stark, and Tucker, 71. 8 Abbot, 95. 9 Record Group 74, Rear Admiral John A Dahlgren letters July 23, 1862, July 24, 1863; 419. 10 Parrott, 16-17. 11 Based on battlefield recoveries known to the author. 12 On projectiles in the author’s collection, the 5.3-inch bolt has 8 rabbets; the shell and case shot have 9. 13 Based on the author’s examination of both Confederate and Union Parrotts in the calibers mentioned. 14 Thomas J. Rhett, unpublished letter to Tredegar foundry of May 29,1862; Tredegar Order Book, 15 Abbot, 94. 16 Navy ORs,, series 1, vol. 14, 385. 17 Thomas J. Rhett, Unpublished letter to JR Anderson & Co (Tredegar Foundry) of September 23, 1862, Tredegar Order Book. 18 Ibid. 19 The one known surviving 6.4-inch rifled 10-inch Confederate Columbiad is in Mobile. It was deployed at Fort Morgan, and recovered from Mobile Bay some years ago. 20 Rhett letter of May 29, 1862. 2

Bibliography

Listed below are the books and other documents used in the research and cited in the footnotes in the text. The footnote citations are abbreviated, and the abbreviations are shown here in quotation marks inside parentheses. For example, see “Abbot” below. Abbot, Henry L. Siege Artillery in the Campaigns Against Richmond: With Notes on the 15-inch Gun. New York: D. Van Nostrand, 1868. (Reprint: Arendtsville, PA: Dean S. Thomas, 1986). (“Abbot”) Alexander, E. P. “Confederate Artillery Service.” Southern Historical Society Papers, vol. XI, Nos.2-3, January-December, 1883. (“Alexander”) Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, 4 vols. New York: Castle Books, 1956. (“Battles and Leaders”) Brooke, George M. Jr. John M. Brooke: Naval Scientist and Educator. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 1980. (“Brooke, Brooke”) ———. Ironclads and the Big Guns of the Confederacy. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2002. (“Brooke, Ironclads”) Canney, Donald L. Lincoln’s Navy: the Ships, Men and Organization, 1861-65. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1998. (“Canney”) Daniel, Larry J. and Riley W. Gunter. Confederate Cannon Foundries. Union City, TN: Pioneer Press, 1977. (“Daniel and Gunter”) Dew, Charles B. Ironmaker to the Confederacy: Joseph R. Anderson and the Tredegar Iron Works, 2nd ed. Richmond: The Library of Virginia, 1999. (“Dew”) Dickey, Thomas S. and Peter C. George. Field Artillery Projectiles of the American Civil War. Mechanicsville, VA: Arsenal Publications II, 1993. (“Dickey and George”) Fonvielle, Chris E. Jr. Fort Anderson: Battle for Wilmington. Mason City, IA: Savas Publishing Co., 1999. (“Fonvielle, Fort Anderson”) ———. The Wilmington Campaign. Campbell. CA: Savas Publishing Co., 1997. (“Fonvielle, Wilmington”) Hazlett, James C., Edwin Olmstead, and M. Hume Parks. Field Artillery Weapons of the Civil War, Second Edition. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1988. (“Hazlett, Olmstead, and Parks”) Jones, Charles H. Artillery Fuses of the Civil War. Alexandria, VA: O’Donnell Publications, 2002. (“Jones”)

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Kerksis, Sidney C. and Thomas S. Dickey. Heavy Artillery Projectiles of the Civil War, 1861-1865. Kennesaw, GA: The Phoenix Press, 1972. (“Kerksis and Dickey”) Library of Virginia, Business Records, Tredegar Iron Works Order Books, 1861-1864. (“Tredegar Order Book”) Library of Virginia, Business Records. Tredegar Iron Works Record of Guns Cast, 18611865. (“Tredegar Guns Cast”) Library of Virginia, Business Records. Tredegar Iron Works Sales Book, Foundry and Rolling Mill, 1861-1865. (“Tredegar Sales Book”) McKee, W. Reid and M. E. Mason, Jr. Civil War Projectiles II: Small Arms and Field Artillery. np: Moss Publications, 1980. (“McKee and Mason”) Melton, Jack W. Jr. and Lawrence E. Pawl. Introduction to Field Artillery Ordnance, 18611865. Kennesaw, GA: Kennesaw Mountain Press, 1994. (“Melton and Pawl”) Moore, Mark A. The Wilmington Campaign and the Battle for Fort Fisher. Mason City, IA: Savas Publishing Co., 1999. (“Moore”) Mowbray, Stuart C. Civil War Arms Purchases and Deliveries. Lincoln, RI: Andrew Mowbray, Inc.: 2000. This book is a printing of the document known as Executive Document 99, formally known as House of Representatives Executive Document 99, 40th Congress, 2nd Session. It lists most of the ordnance purchases by the Union Army during the war. The page numbers in Mowbray correspond to those in the Executive Order 99 document. (“Mowbray”) National Archives, Record Group 45, Subject File, Confederate States Navy. This record group has both boxes of loose documents and a Microfilm Series 1091. This microfilm series has many rolls of loosely organized documents. Footnotes will refer to either the box number (“Navy Box 137”) or both the Microfilm series and the roll number. For example, “M1091, Roll 9.” (“RG 45”) National Archives, Record Group 74, Records of the [Union Navy] Bureau of Ordnance, Letters and Telegrams sent to Naval Officers, 1842-1882. Further volume subdivisions are identified in the footnotes. (“RG 74”) National Archives Record Group 109, Preliminary Inventory of the War Department Collection of Confederate Records. (“RG 109”) National Archives, Record Group 218, “Agreement between the U.S. Army Ordnance Department and Charles T. James, dated December 15, 1860.” Box 33-34, Unit 218. (“The James Agreement”) Official Military Atlas of the Civil War. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1891. Reprint, New York: Crown Publishers, 1977. (“Official Atlas”) Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, 31 vols. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1894-1927. Reprint, Harrisburg, PA: Broadfoot Publishing Co., 1987. This publication is organized in series and volumes.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Footnotes will include references to the series, volumes, and when applicable, the parts. These footnotes will read, for example: “Navy ORs, series II, vol. 1, 236.” Olmstead, Edwin, Wayne E. Stark and Spencer C. Tucker. The Big Guns: Civil War Siege, Seacoast, and Naval Cannon. Alexandria Bay, NY, and Bloomfield, Ontario: Museum Restoration Service, 1997. (“Olmstead, Stark, and Tucker”) Ordnance Manual for the Use of Officers of the Confederate States Army. 1st. ed. Richmond: 1863. Reprint: Dayton, OH: Morningside Press, 1996. (“CS Ordnance Manual”) Parrott, Robert P. Ranges of Parrott Guns and Notes for Practice. New York: D. Van Nostrand, 1863. Reprint, Port Huron, MI: Antique Ordnance Publishers, 1982. (“Parrott”) Perry, Milton F. Infernal Machines: The Story of Confederate Submarine and Mine Warfare. Baton Rouge, LA: 1965. (“Perry”) Report of the Joint Committee on Ordnance on Experiments on Heavy Ordnance. 40th Congress, 3rd session, Rep. Com. No. 266, February 15, 1869. (“Report on Experiments on Heavy Ordnance”) Ripley, Warren, Artillery and Ammunition of the Civil War. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., 1970. (“Ripley, Artillery”). Ripley, Warren, ed. Siege Train: The Journal of a Confederate Artilleryman in the Defense of Charleston. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1986. (“Ripley, Siege Train”) Silverstone, Paul H. Civil War Navies: 1855-1883. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2001. (“Silverstone”) Simpson, Edward. A Treatise on Ordnance and Naval Gunnery. New York: D. Van Nostrand, 1863. (“Simpson”) Still, William N. Jr. The Confederate Navy: The Ships, Men and Organization, 1861-1865. London, UK: Conway Maritime Press, 1997. (“Still”) Tucker, Spencer. Arming the Fleet: U.S. Navy Ordnance in the Muzzle-Loading Era. Annapolis, Naval Institute Press, 1989. (“Tucker”) Virginia House, 1861-1862. Report on Articles on Hand 21 April 1861 When Possession Taken in the Name of Virginia, Navy Yard, Gosport, dated October 10, 1861 (“Virginia Report”) War of the Rebellion: Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. 128 vols. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1880-1901. Reprint, Harrisburg, PA: Broadfoot Publishing Co., 1987. This publication is organized in series, volumes and parts. Footnotes will include references to the series, volumes, and, when applicable, the parts. These footnotes will read, for example: “Army ORs, series I, vol. 28, part II, 236.”

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Index

A A.J. Smith (company), 6, 114 Abbot bolts, 453, 456; 3.67inch, 453; 5.82-inch, 453, 456 Abbot, Henry L., 8, 65, 114, 115, 120, 133, 134, 177, 189, 195, 268, 359, 407, 454 Abbot, S.C., 453 Absterdam, John, 6 Absterdam, John (company), 6, 9, 114 Absterdam projectiles, 9, 114; 4.5-inch, 115-116 Adams, Run, S.C., 227 Alexander, Gen. Edward P., 398, 400, 432 Alger, Cyrus (see Cyrus Alger) Ames Manufacturing Co., 6 Aransas Pass, Tex., 446 Archer projectiles, 117-19; 3inch, 117; 3.3-inch, 117; 3.67-inch, 117; 6.4-inch, 117-19 Archer, Edward, 117, Archer, Junius, 3, 117, Archer, Robert, 117, 432 Armored Railroad Battery, 1, 15 Armstrong projectiles, 120-32; 6.4-inch, 122; 8-inch, 12326;10-inch, 127-32 Armstrong rifles, 11, 120-32; 6.4-inch, 120, 122; 8-inch, 11, 120; 10-inch, 11, 120 Armstrong, Sir William G., 120 Atlanta, 72, 342

Atlanta Naval Ordnance Works, 11 Augusta Arsenal, 80, 222, 334 Awendaw, S.C., 264, 265

B Bannerman & Sons (Francis I. Bannerman), 36, 55, 80, 83, 85, 86, 103, 310, 312, 316, 318 Barrett, F. S., 18 Battery Buchanan, Fort Fisher, N.C., 5 Battery (Fort) Wagner, 14, 24, 445 Beaufort, S.C., 277 Beauregard, Pierre, 14, 24-25 Bellona Foundry, 3, 117, 432, 436 Bermuda Hundred, Va., 120, Blakely, Ala., 1, 16, 199, 273, 472, 475 Blakely, Theophilius A., 133, 320 Blakely projectiles, 30, 133-40; 3.5-inch, 133; 4.5-inch, 13335; 7.5-inch, 133, 398; 8inch, 133-34, 136-37; 12.75inch, 133-34, 138-40 Blakely rifles, 10, 11, 133-34, 320; 2.5-inch, 10; 3.5-inch, 10; 4-inch, 321, 322, 327, 327, 463; 4.5-inch, 135; 4.62-inch, 10, 143-45; 5.82inch, 10, 146-47; 6.4-inch, 148-49; 7-inch, 151, 152; 7.5-inch, 10, 460; 8-inch, 11, 134, 136, 137, 323; 12.75-inch, 10, 11, 138-40

Brasher City, La., 363 breechloading projectiles, 456 Britten projectiles, 10, 133, 141-52, 400, 442; 4.62inch, 141, 143-45; 5.82inch, 141, 146-47; 6.4-inch, 141, 148-49; 7-inch, 25, 141-42, 150-52; 7.5-inch (Britten-Emery), 10, 454 Britten, Sir Bashley, 141, 153, 219 bronze-covered shot, 20 Brooke projectiles, 12, 153-96 milled base, 153-54, 159, 163-65, 177-78, 193, 194; 4.62-inch, 159; 6.4-inch, 163-65; 7-inch, 177, 178; 8-inch, 194; spheroidal shot, 71 milled base concussion shell, 7-inch, 193 ratchet disk, 153-55, 15658, 161-62, 166-74, 17982, 184-90, 195-96; 4.2inch, 156-58; 4.62-inch, 161-62; 6.4-inch, 166-74; 7-inch, 179-82, 184-90; 8-inch, 195-96 ratchet ring, 153-55, 175-76; 6.4-inch, 175-76; 7-inch, 183, 191-92 Brooke rifles, 6.4-inch, 6, 94, 105, 106, 164, 165, 168-71, 175, 176, 200, 215, 298, 421, 422; 7-inch, 6, 95, 107, 150, 177-85, 187-93, 201-3, 424-27; 8-inch, 6, 194-96 Brooke torpedoes, 471, 480-81

531

532

INDEX

Brooke, John Mercer, 10, 11, 20, 71, 117, 153-55, 207, 379, 381, 398, 399, 471, 480, 481 Broun projectiles, 197-203; 3inch, 197, 198; 4.2-inch, 198-99; 6.4-inch, 6, 200, 416; 7-inch, 6, 201-2 Broun, William L., 197, 328 Buchanan, Franklin, 20, 153 Budd, William, 13 Buffalo Bayou, Tex., 321 Burton, James H., 432 Butler, Benjamin F., 27

C Calvin Adams, 6, 219 canister, 90-98; 4.2-inch, 92; 5.82-inch, 93; 6.4-inch, 94; 7-inch, 90, 95; 9-inch, 96; 15-inch, 97-98 canister shot size, by caliber, 90 cannon burst, Union, 8 Cape Fear River, N.C., 26, 474, 482 case shot, defined, 43 Castle Pinckney, (Charleston, S.C), 14 Charleston, S.C., 1, 5, 7, 9,10, 11, 14, 23-27, 50, 51, 55, 56, 57, 61, 69, 70, 72, 73, 75, 77, 80, 81, 87, 88, 89, 93, 97, 98, 104, 133, 138-40, 143-48, 164, 165, 167, 168, 171, 173, 175, 178, 179, 180, 183, 192, 197, 207, 217, 230, 233-237, 253, 264, 273. 274, 280, 281, 285, 290, 292, 296, 297, 299302, 308-10, 312, 313, 315318, 329, 346, 348, 367, 317-13, 375-78, 384, 385, 387, 391, 394, 400, 408-10, 412-15, 419, 420, 427, 429,

430, 433, 436-39, 442, 44749, 472, 474, 482, 489, 496 Charleston Arsenal, 71, 140, 225, 320, 407 Charleston Naval Ordnance Works, 12, 163 Charlotte Naval Ordnance Works, 11 Cherbourg, France, 26 Citadel, The, 134 Cleveland, Tenn., 153, 154 Cochran, J. Webster, 9, 204 Cochran projectiles, 9, 2046; 6-inch, 205-6 Cockpit Point, Va., 432, 433, 440, 441 cocooned projectile, 345 Columbia, S.C., 72 Columbus, Ky., 9, 10, 384, Combahee River, S.C., 17, 228, 229, 332 Confederate Army Ordnance Office, 10, 31, 388, 398, 400, 432 Confederate Naval Laboratory, Richmond, Va., 11, 454 Confederate Navy Office of Ordnance and Hydrography, 11, 12 Confederate Torpedo Bureau, 14, 472, 487, 492 Cooper River, Charleston, S.C., 14 Craney Island, Va., 442 CS ratchet head bolt, 6.4-inch, 454 CS Richmond Naval Laboratory, 189, 426 CS siege rifle, 4.62-inch, 101, 143-45, 160-62 CS torpedo boat David, 15, 472 CS torpedo boat Torpedo, 15 CSS Alabama, 26, 141, 150-52 CSS Albemarle, 15, 26, 472, 493

CSS Atlanta, 22, 141, 142, 153 CSS Beaufort, 216 CSS Bienville, 53 CSS Carondelet, 53 CSS Florida, 150 CSS Georgia, 415 CSS Nashville, 18, 22 CSS Neuse, 94, 105, 164, 168, 174 CSS Patrick Henry, 216 CSS Peedee, 95 CSS Richmond, 16, 95, 177, 181, 188, 190, 425, 429 CSS Stonewall, 11, 120-122, 125-132 CSS Tennessee, 202 CSS Virginia II, 5,194 CSS Virginia, 2, 3, 10, 11, 16, 18-22, 23, 141, 150, 153, 207, 216, 217, 218, 324, 379, 442 Cummings Point, S.C., 25 Cushing, William B., 18, 25, 472, 493 Cyrus Alger & Co., 3, 7, 13

D Dahlgren projectiles, 207-18; 4.0-inch, 209-10, 361; 4.4inch, 211; 5.1-inch, 212-13; 6-inch, 214; 6.4-inch (CS), 215-17; 7-inch (CS), 218 Dahlgren rifles, 3.4-inch boat howitzer, 7, 207; 4-inch, 7, 207, 209, 210, 239-41, 361; 4.4-inch (1861), 7, 207, 211, 243,363-65; 4.4-inch (1864), 7, 207; 5.1-inch, 7, 207, 212, 213, 249-51, 367, 368, 393, 394, 395; 6-inch, 7, 205-7, 214, 251; 12-inch, 5, 17, 464 Dahlgren smoothbore cannon, 12-pounder boat howitzer, 101; 24-pounder boat

INDEX

533

howitzer, 104; IX-inch, 3, 7, 10, 20, 153, 207; X-inch, 3, 207; XI-inch, 3, 6, 7, 20, 21, 25, 44, 90, 207; XV-inch, 13, 21, 22, 23, 44, 90, 207 Dahlgren, John A., 7, 8, 20, 153, 207, 219, 238, 239, 324, 359, 391; dispute with Parrott, 8, 9, 238 David (torpedo boat), 15 Davidson, Hunter, 471 Davis, Jefferson, 14, 399 Dickson & Zane, 6, 114 “Dictator” mortar, 16, Dimick, Horace E., 219, 454, 458 Dimick projectiles, 219, 254, 458 Drewry’s Bluff, 252 Drumgould’s Bluff, Miss., 90, 99, 94, 105, 106 DuPont, Samuel F., 23-25 Dyer projectiles, 9, 219-24; 4.5inch, 219-22; 6.4-inch, 219; 7-inch, 9, 34, 219-20, 22324; 12-inch, 219 Dyer, Alexander B., 6, 9, 141, 454

E Eason Brothers’ Foundry, Charleston, S.C., 12, 400 Eason hollow shot, 144, 145, 147, 400 Eastport, Miss., 212, 368 Ella (blockade runner), 454 Elswick Ordnance Co., 120 Emery, A.H., 454 Evansport, Va., 10, 384 Executive Order No. 99, 238, 239

F Farragut, David G., 472 Fingal (blockade runner), 141, 153. See also CSS Atlanta

finned and winged projectiles, 455, 465-69; 5.82-inch, 465; 6.4-inch, 466-69 First Manassas, 8, 92, 117, 156, 272 Folly Island, Charleston, S.C., 58 Fort Anderson, N.C., 87 Fort Branch, N.C., 51, 321, 400 Fort Caswell, N.C., 11, 26, 120, 267, 321, 422, 433, 440, 441 Fort Clinch (Fernandina, Fla.), 9, 433, 436 Fort Darling (Drewry’s Bluff), Va., 238, 239, 252 Fort Fisher, N.C., 1, 5, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 17, 26-27, 50, 56, 57, 69, 70, 75, 78, 88, 89, 97, 98, 105, 120, 123-26, 134, 135-37, 167, 168, 174, 180, 182-84, 209, 211, 264, 267, 284, 284-88, 290, 291, 295, 296, 299-301, 308-10, 315, 316, 320, 321, 323, 324, 347, 348, 406, 412, 417, 418, 432, 437, 474, 482 Fort Gaines, Mobile Bay, Ala., 388 Fort Huger, N.C., 99 Fort Jackson, La., 211, 351 Fort Lowry, 10 Fort McAllister, Ga., 22, 53, 77, 87, 88, 89 Fort Monroe, Va., 5, 21, 22, 52, 243, 254, 320, 324, 340, 354, 362 Fort Morgan, Mobile Bay, Ala., 11, 14, 22, 134, 137, 149, 179, 199, 320, 323 Fort Moultrie, S.C., 23, 85 Fort Pitt Foundry, Pittsburgh, Pa., 3, 7, 13 Fort Pulaski, Savannah, Ga., 2, 3, 22-23, 24, 255-56, 259-62 Fort Ripley, Charleston, S.C., 14

Fort Roberts, N.C., 214 Fort Sumter, S.C., 1, 3, 10, 14, 24, 84, 133, 412, 415, 423, 454, 471 Fort Wagner. See Battery Wagner Fox, Gustavus V., 21 Fredericksburg, Va., 9, 246, 247, 280-82, 354 French lugged projectiles, 5.82-inch, 454, 459-460 Fretwell-Singer torpedo, 487, 490

G Gaines Mills, Va., 403 Galveston, Tex., 10 Gauley Bridge, W. Va., 255 Gibbon & Andrews rifle, 4.62inch, 101, 143-45, 159-62, 399-400 Gibbon, Lardner, 398-400 Gillmore, Quincy L., 8, 22-23, 24-25, 255, 472 Gorgas, Josiah, 399, 454 Gorgas bolt, 463 Gosport (Norfolk) Navy Yard, 3, 11, 16, 21, 22, 153 Grand Gulf, Miss., 7, 62, 69, 107, 212, 354 grape shot, dimensions of, by caliber, 100 grape stands, 99-108;12pounder, 101; 18-pounder, 102-3; 24-pounder, 104; 6.4inch, 105-6; 7-inch, 90, 107; 8-inch, 108 Greene, S. D., 20 gunpowder, 3, 19-20

H Hampton Roads, 20-23, 153, 217, 242, 354 Harding projectiles, 225-37, 400; 4.62-inch, 226; 5.82-

534

INDEX

inch, 227; 6.4-inch, 228-30; 7-inch,231-32; 8-inch, 23334; 10-inch, 235-37 High Bridge, Va., 120 Hilton Head Island, S.C., 205, 206, 212, 259 H.L. Hunley, (torpedo boat), 1, 15, 25-26, 28, 471, 473, 496 Hog Island, Charleston, S.C., 14 Hopson bolts, 7-inch HopsonBrooke,178; 7-inch HopsonTennessee, 427 Hotchkiss & Sons, 6 Hotchkiss projectiles, 8, 23854; 4-inch, 239-41, 361; 4.2inch, 242; 4.4-inch, 243; 4.5-inch, 244-48; 5.1-inch, 249-50; 6-inch, 7, 251; 6.4inch, 252-53; 12-inch, 254 Hotchkiss, Andrew, 6, 238 Hunter, David, 24 hybrid rifles, 9, 10, 20, 39, 153, 218, 339, 432-39, 444

I incendiary shells, 1, 58, 59, 64, 76 Island No. 10, Tenn., 80, 117, 118, 119, 219, 224, 249, 250, 357, 386

J Jackson, Thomas J. “Stonewall,” 8 James Agreement, 3, 14, 255 James projectiles, 3, 23, 25563; 3.8-inch, 9, 256; 4.62inch, 9, 257-58; 5.82-inch, 22-23, 259; 6.4-inch, 22-23, 260; 7-inch, 22-23, 255-56, 261-62; 8-inch, 495, 263 James rifles, 3, 22, 255; 3.67inch, 3, 255; 4.62-inch, 3, 255; 5.82-inch, 22; 6.4-inch, 22; 7-inch, 22

James River, Va., 15, 22, 69, 77, 87-90, 93, 292, 159, 163-165, 167, 174, 177, 181, 183, 184, 188, 190, 192, 193, 199, 249, 268, 285, 291, 298, 301, 302, 307, 314, 362, 406, 411, 437, James, Charles T., 3, 6, 255 Jones, Catesby ap Roger, 11, 18, 20, 141, 153, 154, 379, 398

K Knap, Rudd & Co., 6

L Lamb, William, 27 Lighthouse Inlet, S.C, 14, 488 Lincoln, Abraham, 23, Long Island, Charleston, S.C., 230, 304 Lynall Thomas, 264 Lynall Thomas projectiles, 264-67; 4.62-inch, 264-65; 5.82-inch, 264, 266; 6.4inch, 264, 267

M Malvern Hill, Va., 326 Marsh Battery (“Swamp Angel”), 24-25, 173, 279 Maryland Heights, Md., 283 Maury, Dabney, 18 Maury, Matthew F., 268, 471 Maury bolts, 8-inch, 268-70 McIntyre shells, 65, 66 Memphis, Tenn., 9 Michie, James, 71, 193, 472 Milledgeville, Ga., 33, 335 Minor, Robert D., 141, 153, 172 Mississippi River, 53, 61, 69, 77, 80, 106, 224, 274, 276, 290, 291, 295-97, 302, 321, 343, 350, 380-83, 385, 387, 437

Mitchell, Lt. Cmdr., 17, Mobile and Mobile Bay., 1, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 61, 73, 97, 98, 137, 149, 154, 16365,170, 175, 178, 179, 182, 184, 187, 191, 192, 200-2, 275, 276, 284, 285, 290, 310, 315, 324, 344, 346-48, 350, 354, 356, 357, 384, 422, 436, 472, 473 Monitor-type gunboats. 1, 13, 21, 23, 44, 99, 154, 391, 471 Morris Island, Charleston, S.C., 14, 15, 445 mortars, 8-inch, 55-59; 10inch, 73, 76; 13-inch, 80, 82 Mullane projectiles. See Tennessee projectiles

N Nashville, Tenn., 10 New Orleans, 53 Norfolk, Va., 122, 148, 223 Norman Wiard, 6

O ordnance rifles, 3-inch, 454; 4.5-inch (siege), 17, 115, 116, 221, 222, 244-46, 277, 278, 366

P Padre Island, Tex., 446 Parrott, Robert P., 3, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 271, 272, 359, 398 Parrott projectiles, 8, 9, 13, 32, 239, 273-319; 2.9-inch, 8, 13; 3-inch, 8, 13; 3.67-inch, 8, 13; 4.2-inch (CS), 280-82; 5.3-inch, 286-88; 5.82-inch, 289; 6.4-inch (CS), 298; 6.4inch (US), 2, 8, 13, 290-97, 299-302; 7-inch (CS), 304; 7-inch (US), 303, 305, 306; 8-inch (CS), 307, 311, 314;

INDEX

8-inch (US), 8, 13, 23, 24, 308-10, 311, 313, 315, 316; 10-inch, 8, 13, 317, 318; 12inch, 319 Parrott projectiles, Schenkl fuzes, 8 Parrott rifles, 2.9-inch, 8, 13; 3-inch, 13; 3.67-inch, 13; 4.2-inch, 7, 8, 13, 17, 22, 92, 156-58, 198, 199, 32830, 380, 402-4; 4.2-inch (US), 8, 13, 17, 22, 25, 92, 156-58, 198, 199, 242, 27385, 328-30, 362, 380, 402-4; 5.3-inch, 286-88; 6.4-inch, 7, 8, 13, 17, 290-97, 299302, 371-73, 396, 397; 8inch, 2, 8, 13, 24, 90, 108, 308-10, 312, 313, 314-16, 375-78; 10-inch, 8, 13, 111, 272, 317, 318; 12-inch, 5, 17, 319 Pattison projectiles, 9, Peedee River, S.C. 172, 188 Pennock, Hart & Co., 6, 219 Pensacola Navy Yard, 3 Petersburg Iron Works, 163 Petersburg, Va. , 9, 51, 55-57, 67, 68, 72, 73, 80, 114, 115, 246, 247, 327, 328, 354, 409, 472, 473 Pevey shells, 67-68 Pi tape, 30, 35 Port Hudson, La., 7, 13, 17, 73, 101, 207, 211, 249, 250, 251, 259, 273, 354, 356, 363, 364, 384, 386, 389, 390, 409, 472, 473 Porter, David D., 8, 27, 123, 153 Potomac River, 10, 13 Preston-Blakely shells, 133, 320-23; 4-inch, 133, 320-22; 8-inch, 133, 320, 323 Princess Royal (blockade runner), 445

535

Q Quilted grape, 99, 109-12; 6.4inch, 99; 9-inch, 99, 109110; 10-inch, 99, 111; 11inch, 99, 112; 15-inch, 99

R Rains, George, 14, 379 Rains torpedo fuze, 474-76, 480-83, 494, 495 rarity scale, defined, 32-33 ratchet head bolt, CS, 455 Read, John, 271, 324, 398, 453 Read projectiles, 153, 324-53; 4-inch, 326, 327; 4.2-inch, 328-30; 4.62-inch, 331-36; 4.8-inch, 337; 5.3-inch, 338; 5.82-inch, 339-42; 6.4-inch, 343-49; 7-inch, 350-51; 8inch, 352; 8.25-inch, 353 Rhett, Thomas J., 398, 399 Richmond, 65, 72, 116, 337, 406, 407, 409, 472, 473 Richmond Arsenal, 197, 398 Richmond Naval Ordnance Works, 11, Richmond-Petersburg lines, 15, 65, 72, 116, 156-59, 197199, 221, 222, 273, 384, 285, 327, 330, 336, 403, 404 rifled cannon, chamber pressures of, 4 rifled smoothbores, 12pounder, 101, 143-45, 226, 257, 258, 265, 331-36, 38284, 405-8; 18-pounder, 102, 103, 266, 338, 409; 24pounder, 93, 104, 117, 146, 147, 227, 259, 289, 339-42, 369, 370, 384, 385, 409-11; 32-pounder, 94, 105, 106, 117-19, 148, 149, 163, 166, 167, 172-74, 215-17, 219, 223, 224, 228-30, 260, 267,

293, 294, 343-49, 386, 387, 389, 390, 402-22, 440-43, 457; 42-pounder, 95, 107, 150, 177-79, 182-84, 186, 192, 219, 231, 232, 261, 262, 303-6, 350, 351, 374, 423, 456, 458; 8-inch Columbiad, 233, 234, 352; 9-inch Dahlgren, 10-inch Columbiad, 235-37 Roanoke, Island, N.C., 7, 2057, 211, 212, 243, 249-51, 367 Robinson, Menis, & Miller, 6, 219 Rodgers, C.R.P., 25 Rodman bolt, 12-inch, 464 Rodman rifles, 12-inch, 5, 17, 464 Rodman, Thomas J., 5, 13, 454 Rowan, Cmdr. S.C., 13

S S. & A.M. Sawyer, 7 S. & J. B. Sawyer, 7 Savannah, Ga., 9, 53, 68, 101, 106, 412, 413, 437, 472 Sawyer projectiles, 9, 30, 34, 354-58; 3-inch, 354; 3.67inch, 354; 4.2-inch, 354-55; 5-inch, 356; 5.86-inch, 17, 357-58 Sawyer rifles, 354-58; 4.2-inch, 354-55; 5.0-inch, 354, 356; 5.86-inch, 354, 357, 358 Sawyer, Sylvanus and Addison M., 7, 354 Schenkl projectiles, 8, 9, 31, 44-45, 359-78; 3.67-inch, 360; 3.8-inch, 360; 4-inch, 359, 361; 4.2-inch, 362; 4.4inch, 7, 363-65, 368; 4.5inch, 366; 5.1-inch, 367-68; 5.82-inch, 369-70; 6.4-inch, 371-73; 7-inch, 374; 8-inch, 375-78

536

Schenkl, John P., 7, 8, 359 Selma Naval Gun Foundry, 5, 6,11, 12, 20, 153, 154, 176, 348, 379, 383, 400 Selma projectiles, 379-87; 4.2inch, 380; 4.62-inch, 38183; 5.82-inch, 384-85; 6.4inch, 386-87 shell, defined, 43 Sherman, William T., 15 Shiloh, Tenn., 255, 258 Shipping Point, Va., 10, 133 shot, defined, 43 siege rifle See ordnance rifles, 4.5-inch siege Skates Foundry, Mobile, Ala., 12, 388 Skates shells, 6.4-inch, 388390 Smith, Park & Co., 6, 219 smoothbore cannon, advantages over rifles of, 45, 16 smoothbore mortars, 8-inch, 55-57, 59, 60; 10-inch, 73, 76; 13-inch, 80-82 smoothbore shot, shell, and case shot, 10-inch, 71-76; 11-inch, 77-79; 13-inch, 8082; 15-inch, 44, 83-89 Snyder’s Bluff, Miss., 249 South Carolina State Works, Columbia, S.C., 12 Southern Torpedo Company, 14 Spanish Fort, Mobile Bay, Ala., 187, 200 Steedman, James B. Stono River, Charleston, S.C., 14 Suffolk, Va., 64, 367 Suwanee River, Ga., 107 Swamp Angel. See Marsh Battery

INDEX

T Tattnall, Josiah, 22, Tennessee projectiles, 12, 31, 153, 154, 324, 398-431; 4.2inch, 402, 404; 4.62-inch, 405-8; 5.3-inch, 409; 5.82inch, 410, 411; 6.4-inch, 412-22; 7-inch, 423-29; 8inch, 430; 10-inch, 431 Thomas, Lynall, 264 Tice fuze, 81 Torpedo (torpedo boat), 15 torpedoes (mines), 1, 13-15, 471-96 Tredegar Foundry (Joseph R. Anderson & Co.), 3, 5, 6, 9, 11, 13, 92, 169, 398, 432, 436 Tredegar projectiles, 432-44; 4.62-inch, 434; 5.82-inch, 435; 6.4-inch, 436-44

U U.S. Arsenal, Baton Rouge, La., 2-3 U.S. Military Academy. See West Point Union Army Ordnance Department, 6 USS Baron de Kalb, 16 USS Cairo, 105, 108 USS Catskill, 23-24, 133-34 USS Colorado, 361 USS Congress, 10, 19, 20, 216, 379 USS Covington, 368 USS Cumberland, 10, 19, 20, 21, 216, 379 USS Dai Ching, 17, 228, 229, 332 USS Eastport, 16 USS Galena, 252 USS Hetzel, 17, USS Housatonic, 15, 25-26, 471, 496

USS Kansas, 209 USS Kearsage, 26, 142, 151 USS Keokuk, 23-24 USS Lehigh, 183 USS Malvern, 123 USS Merrimac, 16 USS Merrimack, 16, 22 USS Milwaukee, 16, 26 USS Monitor, 2, 3, 10, 18-22, 207, 379 USS Montauk, 2, 5, 18, 22-24 USS Nahant, 23-24 USS Nantucket, 23-24 USS New Ironsides, 14, 23-24, 391, 471 USS Onondoga, 181, 425 USS Osage, 16, 26 USS Passaic, 21, 23-24 USS Patapsco, 16, 23-24, 26, 471, 472 USS Pawnee, 13 USS Pensacola, 54 USS Resolute, 13 USS Sassacus, 209 USS Tecumseh, 1, 14,16, 26, 471, 472 USS Weehawken, 22-24

V Vicksburg, Miss., 7, 13, 17, 50, 51, 55, 69, 72, 73, 75, 101, 105, 106, 168, 171, 184, 207, 211, 214, 215, 242, 247, 250, 251, 274-76, 285, 301, 302, 324, 338, 343, 362, 380-82, 386, 402, 405, 409, 433, 438, 439, 432 Virginian Ordnance Department, 432

W Wagner, Battery (see Battery Wagner) Washington Navy Yard, 7, 52, 133, 319, 436, 445

INDEX

537

Washington, N.C., 9 Welles, Gideon, 21 West Point (U.S. Military Academy at), 3, 198, 286, 288, 317, 324, 358, 391, 454 West Point Foundry, 3, 6, 7, 9, 12, 271 West Point test range, 45-48, 52, 80, 82, 83, 85, 239, 244, 245, 287, 289, 290, 292, 297, 301, 303, 305, 306, 324, 339, 341, 346, 462 Whistlin’ Dick, 338, 409 Whitworth projectiles, 30, 44552; 3.75-inch, 445-46; 5inch, 2, 7, 445, 447-50; 6.4inch, 451-52 Whitworth, Sir Joseph, 445 Wiard, Norman (company), 6 William Sellers & Co., 6 Wilmington, N.C., 12, 61, 63, 77, 87-89, 148, 300, 384, 386, 413, 415, 472, 474, 482 windage, 31 Wise, H.M., 17 wooden fuze plugs, 34 Worden, John, 20

Y York (privateer), 409 Yorktown, Va., 9