Artillery fragment?

[dirtfisher1127]

Found this Christmas Day, but didn't have time to post it--too much turkey, ham, and company!!! It was next door at an old 1834 plantation that I'm sure was visited by Sheridan's troops on their way from Scottsville (Va.) to Columbia (Va.) I have found Union spurs, stirrups, buttons, and two caches of about 35 intact Spencer carbine cartridges on the property as well as many other relics.
I was hoping this piece was an artillery shell fragment, but I really don't believe it is.
First off, there were no battles or skirmishes in this area, and there would be no reason to fire artillery. Secondly, although I've never dug an artillery piece, this just doesn't look right--it has a small "buttress" on one side, and the hole in the top is smooth, not threaded.
I'm hoping someone out there can tell me what I've found! Thanks! Jack.

 

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[James from TN]

I am not an expert but I believe what you have found is the nose section off a CS Read shell. The notch on the side is for the lathe. The lathe notches were suppose to be removed but some shells are found with them intact. As for the fuse hole not having any threads for screwing a fuse into it, a lot of the Read shells used drive in fuses which didn't require threads. Hopefully someone else will chime in that is more knowledgeable on Virginia dug artillery shells.

 

[hammered]

I found this picture of a CS Read shell which seems to confirm James id. I'm also including the link.
http://www.dmdisplaycases.com/dshardwoods/product2.html

 

[dirtfisher1127]

I am not an expert but I believe what you have found is the nose section off a CS Read shell. The notch on the side is for the lathe. The lathe notches were suppose to be removed but some shells are found with them intact. As for the fuse hole not having any threads for screwing a fuse into it, a lot of the Read shells used drive in fuses which didn't require threads. Hopefully someone else will chime in that is more knowledgeable on Virginia dug artillery shells.

Thank you so much James! That would be awesome! Jack.

 

[dirtfisher1127]

I found this picture of a CS Read shell which seems to confirm James id. I'm also including the link.
http://www.dmdisplaycases.com/dshardwoods/product2.html

Wow--I think you are BOTH right! If so, it's the first bit of artillery of any kind I ever dug in over 40 years digging!!! We're just not in an area where much, if any artillery would have been used--closest activity to my knowledge was the skirmish at Rio Hill in Charlottesville.
Maybe the Rebs took a pot shot at Sheridan as he left Scottsville!
Thanks so much! Jack.

 

[DoomDrag]

well it was a AP round defiantly not a H.E. cause then u would only find frags of it. Great find! I hope I could find stuff like that someday!

 

[dirtfisher1127]

well it was a AP round defiantly not a H.E. cause then u would only find frags of it. Great find! I hope I could find stuff like that someday!

I'm admittedly not the brightest star in the sky, but you totally lost me with the AP and H.E. references--you can tell I'm new at this artillery stuff! What the heck is AP and H.E.? Thanks! Jack.

 

[hammered]

well it was a AP round defiantly not a H.E. cause then u would only find frags of it. Great find! I hope I could find stuff like that someday!

I'm admittedly not the brightest star in the sky, but you totally lost me with the AP and H.E. references--you can tell I'm new at this artillery stuff! What the heck is AP and H.E.? Thanks! Jack.

I think AP is Armour Piercing and H.E. is High Explosive. Similar to the acronyms we use today ie, HESH is High Explosive Squash Head


hammered

 

[dirtfisher1127]

well it was a AP round defiantly not a H.E. cause then u would only find frags of it. Great find! I hope I could find stuff like that someday!

I'm admittedly not the brightest star in the sky, but you totally lost me with the AP and H.E. references--you can tell I'm new at this artillery stuff! What the heck is AP and H.E.? Thanks! Jack.

I think AP is Armour Piercing and H.E. is High Explosive. Similar to the acronyms we use today ie, HESH is High Explosive Squash Head
THANKS hammered--that makes sense, but I was clueless!

hammered

 

[hammered]

well it was a AP round defiantly not a H.E. cause then u would only find frags of it. Great find! I hope I could find stuff like that someday!

I'm admittedly not the brightest star in the sky, but you totally lost me with the AP and H.E. references--you can tell I'm new at this artillery stuff! What the heck is AP and H.E.? Thanks! Jack.

I think AP is Armour Piercing and H.E. is High Explosive. Similar to the acronyms we use today ie, HESH is High Explosive Squash Head
THANKS hammered--that makes sense, but I was clueless!

hammered

Me too, but I have way too much free time on my hands , and like you a computer


hammered

 

[NHBandit]

2 things that come to mind. I can almost make out what could be the remains of threads in the pic of the hole and they may just be filled with heavy rust. The other thought is that it may not have been fired at all and could have filled with water & frozen causing it to break. I would go back & make sure the rest of it isn't in the same hole or very near by. Awsome find

 

[Red James Cash]

AP = Antipersonal

 

[aquachigger]

That looks as much like a Read/Mullane shell as any I have found except for the "groove" around it near the raised ring. At least it appears to be grooved from the first picture. That I have never seen. But then again, I'm no expert in this field. I hope CBG chimes in as he is the expert and I'm very interested in this one. Great find!

 

[dirtfisher1127]

That looks as much like a Read/Mullane shell as any I have found except for the "groove" around it near the raised ring. At least it appears to be grooved from the first picture. That I have never seen. But then again, I'm no expert in this field. I hope CBG chimes in as he is the expert and I'm very interested in this one. Great find!

Thanks "hammered", "NH Bandit", and "aquachigger" for your help ! There does seem to be a slight groove just above the ring--very shallow, but still a groove!

 

[dirtfisher1127]

2 things that come to mind. I can almost make out what could be the remains of threads in the pic of the hole and they may just be filled with heavy rust. The other thought is that it may not have been fired at all and could have filled with water & frozen causing it to break. I would go back & make sure the rest of it isn't in the same hole or very near by. Awsome find

Thanks--I will definitely go back and check it out!

 

[texjim]

nice job on the old iron...

 

[dirtfisher1127]

nice job on the old iron...

Thanks, texjim--hope I can go back and find more of it!

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Aquachigger PM'ed me to take a look.

Dirtfisher, it is definitely the top half of civil war Confederate 3-inch caliber Read shell. It is named for the man who invented its sabot-design, Dr. John B. Read, of Tuscaloosa Alabama.

The 3"-caliber Read shell's first combat usage was in the Spring of 1863, and various models of it continued to be used until the end of the war. The specific model you found is one of the very earliest, believed to have been manufactured at a major Virginia arsenal, sometime during Spring 1863, and was heavily used at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. I should mention that this particular model seems to have been used only in Virginia and Pennsylvania, and almost none have been found at 1864 and 1865 battlesites. Therefore, the statistical odds favor your shell being from an 1863 action ...but it may have been a "leftover" which got dragged out of storage for Sheridan's visit.

James from TN is correct... the fuze-hole in the specimen you found has no threading because it was intended to hold a cork-shaped wooden fuze-adaptor plug. Like a cork, it was simply "driven" into the tapered fuzehole, by using a wooden mallet.

The projection on the side of your shell's nose is called a lathe-chock. Its purpose was to enable the lathe's "gripper" to be able to hold the shell firmly in place during the lathing process. The lathe chock was supposed to be removed (with a sledgehammer and chisel) after lathing was completed ...but that was not done on any of the specific model you found.

Only a very-very-few Mullane/Tennessee-sabot shells had a lathe-chock that wasn't removed after lathing, so again, the statistical odds favor your shell being a Read. That being said, we'll find out the answer when you dig the rest of that shell ...which I believe you have a VERY good chance of doing. I agree with NH Bandit -- your "half-a-shell" is not the result of an internal explosion. As Hammered indicated, that would have fragmented the shell into at least 10 pieces ...and blown the pieces far-&-wide. I believe your shell is an unfired one, and the rest of its body is very nearby -- unless somebody else found it ahead of you. I wish you good fortune. Please send me a PM when you find the rest of it.

Meanwhile, here's a photo showing the specific model of 3" Read shell I believe you found, to help you recognize the rest of yours when you dig it.

 

[dirtfisher1127]

Aquachigger PM'ed me to take a look.

Dirtfisher, it is definitely the top half of civil war Confederate 3-inch caliber Read shell. It is named for the man who invented its sabot-design, Dr. John B. Read, of Tuscaloosa Alabama.

The 3"-caliber Read shell's first combat usage was in the Spring of 1863, and various models of it continued to be used until the end of the war. The specific model you found is one of the very earliest, believed to have been manufactured at a major Virginia arsenal, sometime during Spring 1863, and was heavily used at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. I should mention that this particular model seems to have been used only in Virginia and Pennsylvania, and almost none have been found at 1864 and 1865 battlesites. Therefore, the statistical odds favor your shell being from an 1863 action ...but it may have been a "leftover" which got dragged out of storage for Sheridan's visit.

James from TN is correct... the fuze-hole in the specimen you found has no threading because it was intended to hold a cork-shaped wooden fuze-adaptor plug. Like a cork, it was simply "driven" into the tapered fuzehole, by using a wooden mallet.

The projection on the side of your shell's nose is called a lathe-chock. Its purpose was to enable the lathe's "gripper" to be able to hold the shell firmly in place during the lathing process. The lathe chock was supposed to be removed (with a sledgehammer and chisel) after lathing was completed ...but that was not done on any of the specific model you found.

Only a very-very-few Mullane/Tennessee-sabot shells had a lathe-chock that wasn't removed after lathing, so again, the statistical odds favor your shell being a Read. That being said, we'll find out the answer when you dig the rest of that shell ...which I believe you have a VERY good chance of doing. I agree with NH Bandit -- your "half-a-shell" is not the result of an internal explosion. As Hammered indicated, that would have fragmented the shell into at least 10 pieces ...and blown the pieces far-&-wide. I believe your shell is an unfired one, and the rest of its body is very nearby -- unless somebody else found it ahead of you. I wish you good fortune. Please send me a PM when you find the rest of it.

Meanwhile, here's a photo showing the specific model of 3" Read shell I believe you found, to help you recognize the rest of yours when you dig it.

CannonballGuy--I just saw your latest message, and the amount of information and your thoroughness is phenomenal! Thanks SO much for taking the time to educate me about this artillery business....as I mentioned earlier, I had never dug an artillery piece, and had little or no interest in them, but now my interest has increased tremendously, and I am devouring every bit and piece of artillery information I can get my hands on (yours being the best I've read!) Thanks again, and I'll keep on lookin' for the rest of that rascal! Jack.