Original Items: Only One Grouping Available. Artillery played an important role in many battles during the Civil War, and reflected how advances in technology could fundamentally change how wars and battles are fought.

All items are totally inert and are unable to be used as a destructive device. They are in relic condition and are in compliance with the current BATF guidelines governing inert ordnance.

Not Available For Export

Most artillery pieces were manned by teams of at least 9 soldiers, though only 2 were needed to fire. Multiple men were needed to sponge the barrel to prevent unplanned explosions, carry projectiles from the rear, ram the powder and shell to the back of the tube, and at least one, the gunner, for each piece was needed to judge the distance and position of the target and aim the actual weapon.

There were two general types of artillery weapons used during the Civil War: smoothbores and rifles. Smoothbores included howitzers and guns. Smoothbore artillery refers to weapons that are not rifled. At the time of the Civil War, metallurgy and other supporting technologies had just recently evolved to a point allowing the large-scale production of rifled field artillery. As such, many smoothbore weapons were still in use and production even at the end of the war. Smoothbore field artillery of the day fit into two role-based categories: guns and howitzers. Further classifications of the weapons were made based on the type of metal used, typically bronze or iron (cast or wrought), although some examples of steel were produced. Additionally, the artillery was often identified by the year of design in the Ordnance department references.

The Projectiles In This Grouping:
- 10 Pounder 2.9 Inch Parrott Rifle Projectile: This is a very nice example and a very similar example can be found on the Civil War Artillery website at this link. Due to oxidation, we are not able to tell whether this example was fired or not, as the sabot is pre stamped with rifling flanges and part of it is missing. Stands at 8 ½”.

- M1841 6-pounder Hotchkiss Cannon Artillery Shell Nose 3.67": A lovely example of the Hotchkiss shell nose without lead band sabot or base cup. Shell measures 5 ½” long.

- 12 Pdr Cannonball Fragment For Use With a Bormann Timed Fuse: This is a lovely example of a ground dug Federal 12pdr cannonball that would have been used with the Bormann time fuse. The Bormann fuse is named after its inventor, Belgian Army Captain Charles G. Bormann. The Bormann time fuze was employed by the United Stated Ordnance Department as early as 1852. The time fuze is contained in a tin and lead disk. This disk had time markings indicated in seconds and quarter-seconds graduated up to 5 1/4 seconds. The artillerist used a metal punch to pierce the thin metal at the desired time marking. This exposed a section in the horseshoe-shaped horizontal mealed powder train, which is covered by a thin sheet of tin. When the cannon discharged, the flame from the explosion ignited this powder train. It would burn in a uniform rate in both directions, but one end would terminate in a dead-end just beyond the 5 1/4 second mark (Confederate copies are 5 1/2 seconds).

The other end would continue to burn past the zero-mark, where it would travel through a channel to a small powder booster or magazine. This powder then exploded, sending the flame through a hole in the fuze underplug to the powder chamber of the projectile. The purpose of the brass or iron fuze underplug was to form a solid base of support for the soft metal fuze, which could have easily been damaged during firing.

- Grapeshot / Canister Shot Projectile: Canister shot consists of a closed metal cylinder typically loosely filled with round lead or iron balls packed with sawdust to add more solidity and cohesion to the mass and to prevent the balls from crowding each other when the round was fired. The canister itself was usually made of tin, often dipped in a lacquer of beeswax diluted with turpentine to prevent corrosion of the metal. Iron was substituted for tin for larger-caliber guns. The ends of the canister were closed with wooden or metal disks.

The last item is just a fragment of a lead section of what appears to be a driving band.

All items come more than ready for further research and display.