any help

[earl43]

This is the second one of these I have found the first one was hit by something an is broken. I found them about 500yrds a part its brass. Looks like a knob.

 

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[CRUSADER]

inside of a window pulley??

 

[duggap]

That looks like the head off a tompion.

 

[earl43]

What is a tompion

 

[duggap]

I may not have spelled it correctly, but it had a square nail looking shaft that was attached to the hole in the head. Then the metal shaft would have been covered in cork. The soldier would then put it down the barrel of his weapon to keep out rain water and dust.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Duggap is correct, it is the brass top portion of a tompion. Its more-specific ID is a civil war era Enfield Rifle tompion, made in Britain and imported by both sides in the American civil war.

An alternate spelling of the name is "tampion."

As Duggap indicated, it basicly functions like a winecork, plugging the open end of the rifle's barrel to keep out rain (or dust) when marching, or in camp. The cork part of it allowed it to conform snugly into the rifle's muzzle, even sealing the rifling-grooves there against water and dirt intrusion.

Here are two photos of a non-excavated Enfield tompion, showing the cork sleeve which covered an internal square-bodied brass rod. The cork was held in place by the brass disc on the tompion's bottom end.

 

[CRUSADER]

Interesting, never seen one or found one, unless I chucked it in my early days. At least now I will know what it is.

 

[Mekong Mike]

Wow...learn something new everyday.

thanks for posting

 

[earl43]

Thanks cannonball guy I thought it was a knob off something. Lol I have another one that is busted I'm wondering now if someone did fire there gun with it in the barrel of there gun.are they very rare?

 

[earl43]

This is the first one I found

 

[TheRingFinder]

I thought it might have been the core battery cell to an atomic fushion reactor? Not positive though!

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Earl43 wrote:
> Thanks cannon ball guy [...] are they very rare?

Not rare but not extremely common. Theoretically, one was issued with each Enfield rifle. But of course, the majority of civil war troops (on either side) did not have Enfield rifles.

A nice-looking, undamaged, "complete" dug brass Enfield tompion (minus the rotted-away cork wood, of course) sells for about $20.

To help any diggers here who have never seen one, here's a photo of a nice-looking, undamaged, "complete" dug Enfield brass tompion. Note that the shaft through it is square-bodied.