My first C.W. artillery shell fragment. I think.

[BenVa68]

Found this over the weekend i am fairly certain it's an artillery shell fragment. It measures about 1" thick and one side is rounded. No idea what type of shell it's from. This is the first one I've ever found. I just built my electrolysis yesterday and i plan on using it on this piece to see how it does.

 

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[birdman]

Very nice, should be more around there.

 

[DocBeav]

Sure looks like it to me! Congrats!

 

[Steve in PA]

It's definitely a shell frag from a spherical case shot, and it looks like it could be from a Confederate polygonal round. The inside was cast with a polygonal pattern so it would fracture in uniform pieces when it exploded because the wall thickness of the shell was thinner at the intersection of the pattern. In this picture, the two pieces to the right of the other frags are from a CS polygonal.

 

[Hawks88]

Nice find. Congrats

 

[BenVa68]

It was found in Petersburg Va. So it would likely be confederate. And the pieces you show do look exactly like the one i found. I would Love to find one intact like yours! I really appreciate the identification. Thanks.

 

[Steve in PA]

It was found in Petersburg Va. So it would likely be confederate. And the pieces you show do look exactly like the one i found. I would Love to find one intact like yours! I really appreciate the identification. Thanks.

I found these relics in Jefferson County, WV at the site of a small battle in 1864. The "complete" one is actually the nose section of a Hotchkiss shell that was given to me by the property owner. He found it the basement of a log cabin that was on the property when he bought the land back in the 1950s. It's missing the base section and the lead sabot that connected the two pieces.

 

[Javadroid]

A sweet little relic there, and I wonder what happened the moment it left the rest of the shell... history is intoxicating. Congrats to you on this find!

 

[Carolina Tom]

Congrats on the frag. That was a misery maker if ever there was one!

Good luck to you sir.

 

[Davers]

I believe it is from a 'Ball' but the Diamond instead of Poly type .

Very nice first Shell Frag find.

BTW , I have never dug a complete shell either.

Most were found or the sites built on Years ago.

They are many still hiding ill bet.

 

[Davers]

It's definitely a shell frag from a spherical case shot, and it looks like it could be from a Confederate polygonal round. The inside was cast with a polygonal pattern so it would fracture in uniform pieces when it exploded because the wall thickness of the shell was thinner at the intersection of the pattern. In this picture, the two pieces to the right of the other frags are from a CS polygonal.

View attachment 1600725

Steve
Were you ever able to detect , where all the Spencer's (if they were fired) struck?

 

[Steve in PA]

Steve
Were you ever able to detect , where all the Spencer's (if they were fired) struck?

I took this picture not long after I started detecting this site and have probably dug three times the number of Spencer casings as are pictured here. These were concentrated along a well defined skirmish line and the Confederate lines were shown in one of the plates in the Official Atlas of the Civil War. We found quite a few fired Spencer's, but they were not concentrated in an impact area on the Confederate side.

 

[Davers]

Thanks for the space . To discuss this OP , I'm not meaning to stomp on yr thread.

I took this picture not long after I started detecting this site and have probably dug three times the number of Spencer casings as are pictured here. These were concentrated along a well defined skirmish line and the Confederate lines were shown in one of the plates in the Official Atlas of the Civil War. We found quite a few fired Spencer's, but they were not concentrated in an impact area on the Confederate side.

Interesting.

I ask cause , I have found a good number of Spencer Cases from a few different places.

One is a small skirmish site I found or 'I think an Ambush ' by the Confederates on a few Union Riders or a patrol.

It was an est , 30 X 30 box where I found several fired Spencer casings + a area with about 7-10 Dropped Complete cartridges . & All around was fired Squashed 3 ringers , Round Balls (mostly Hard impacts , as the area was rocky) by all around I mean a 50 yard X 40 yard area ; tho some of the impact area was undetectable . Getting out to about 100 yards away I was able to find a few Drops 'Ga Teat's' & other Southern Style Bullets.

I think I found only 1 or 2 fired Spencer's ( but in a 300 yard radius from their firing site The land has been developed for decades.) So IMO what shots the Union Calvary did get off were likely out of reach , the area is also wooded now & was likely Farm fields in 1864.

I find it strange that (if the impact area was detectable that you did not find more fired Spencer's) Could be Somebody else hunted the area before you did.

Did you find many fired Confederate Bullets on or near the "Line".
Just Curious.
Thanks for your reply.
Davers

 

[Davers]

Thanks for the space . To discuss this OP , I'm not meaning to stomp on yr thread.

I took this picture not long after I started detecting this site and have probably dug three times the number of Spencer casings as are pictured here. These were concentrated along a well defined skirmish line and the Confederate lines were shown in one of the plates in the Official Atlas of the Civil War. We found quite a few fired Spencer's, but they were not concentrated in an impact area on the Confederate side.

Interesting.

I ask cause , I have found a good number of Spencer Cases from a few different places.

One is a small skirmish site I found or 'I think an Ambush ' by the Confederates on a few Union Riders or a patrol.

It was an est , 30 X 30 box where I found several fired Spencer casings + a area with about 7-10 Dropped Complete cartridges . & All around was fired Squashed 3 ringers , Round Balls (mostly Hard impacts , as the area was rocky) by all around I mean a 50 yard X 40 yard area ; tho some of the impact area was undetectable . Getting out to about 100 yards away I was able to find a few Drops 'Ga Teat's' & other Southern Style Bullets.

I think I found only 1 or 2 fired Spencer's ( but in a 300 yard radius from their firing site The land has been developed for decades.) So IMO what shots the Union Calvary did get off were likely out of reach , the area is also wooded now & was likely Farm fields in 1864.

I find it strange that (if the impact area was detectable that you did not find more fired Spencer's) Could be Somebody else hunted the area before you did.

Did you find many fired Confederate Bullets on or near the "Line".
Just Curious.
Thanks for your reply.
Davers

 

[hbru123]

Great find! Congrats!

 

[Steve in PA]

Interesting.

I ask cause , I have found a good number of Spencer Cases from a few different places.

One is a small skirmish site I found or 'I think an Ambush ' by the Confederates on a few Union Riders or a patrol.

It was an est , 30 X 30 box where I found several fired Spencer casings + a area with about 7-10 Dropped Complete cartridges . & All around was fired Squashed 3 ringers , Round Balls (mostly Hard impacts , as the area was rocky) by all around I mean a 50 yard X 40 yard area ; tho some of the impact area was undetectable . Getting out to about 100 yards away I was able to find a few Drops 'Ga Teat's' & other Southern Style Bullets.

I think I found only 1 or 2 fired Spencer's ( but in a 300 yard radius from their firing site The land has been developed for decades.) So IMO what shots the Union Calvary did get off were likely out of reach , the area is also wooded now & was likely Farm fields in 1864.

I find it strange that (if the impact area was detectable that you did not find more fired Spencer's) Could be Somebody else hunted the area before you did.

Did you find many fired Confederate Bullets on or near the "Line".
Just Curious.
Thanks for your reply.
Davers

This group of Spencer casings and a few drops were in a limestone outcropping that faced open gently rolling hills. There really weren't and fired Confederate bullets there and some of the area was thick and unhuntable. There were fire Spencers an casings all over the property, but the best preserved ones were in the out cropping, which couldn't be farmed. There is a good chance the Confederate positions were hunted hard in previous years and I did find some dropped Gardner's there. This was a running battle and the Confederates pushed the Federals back across the Potomac into Maryland and almost cut off George A. Custer from getting across.