Original Item. One-of-a-Kind. This is an outstanding Civil War relic, one of the best we have ever offered. Unlike the majority of Civil War relics you find, this shell was not dug up by a collector in the 1960s, or even by an antiquarian in the 1920s. This shell retains its original provenance tag, stating that it was recovered in 1875, merely 10 years following the end of the Civil War. The provenance tag has very heavy wear and has several missing pieces and other pieces that are heavily stained or worn.

Our best transcription of the provenance tag reads as follows:

[This] shell [was] thrown(?) up by
Harry Lee (... Gen. Lee) light
artillery of Caroline Co[unty] Virginia
during the bombardment of 
Gen. Meade, then quartered at
That place.
The residence of my uncle
[after] the war. 1875 

This would denote that the shell was fired by men of Hardwicke's Company, Virginia Light Artillery (Lee Battery) at Caroline County, Virginia, although we found no information about General Meade being quartered at this location, so this note certainly requires a bit more research! However, it is entirely of the period, and is an outstanding example of a Confederate Read shell actually fired during battle.

The shell has heavy material loss as shown, mostly around the sabot (bottom). The shell measures roughly 7½” tall and sits fine on its own but is a bit off center.   

This pattern Read was designed to be fired from the 3-inch wrought iron (ordnance) rifle having seven lands and grooves. This pictured specimen was definitely fired at some point, as the sabot has the rifling grooves, only acquired during travel down the barrel of the ordnance rifle.

The 3-inch ordnance rifle, model 1861 was a wrought iron muzzle-loading rifled cannon that was adopted by the United States Army in 1861 and widely used in field artillery units during the American Civil War. It fired a 9.5 lb (4.3 kg) projectile to a distance of 1,830 yd (1,670 m) at an elevation of 5°. The 3-inch rifle was not as effective in firing canister shot as the heavier 12-pounder Napoleon, but it proved to be highly accurate at longer ranges when firing shell or shrapnel. There was only one reported case of a 3-inch ordnance rifle bursting in action. This was in stark contrast to the similarly-sized cast iron 10-pounder Parrott rifles which occasionally burst without warning, inflicting injury on the gun crews. The Confederate States of America lacked the technology to manufacture successful copies of the 3-inch ordnance rifle. However, the Confederate States Army respected the weapons and employed those captured from Federal forces.

Ready to become a centerpiece of your Civil War Artillery collection!

Totally inert, cannot be converted to an explosive device, not available for export. This item is completely legal within the USA. International Military Antiques, Inc observes all Federal, State and Local laws. Everything for sale on ima-usa.com is completely legal to own, trade, transport and sell within the United States of America.

All deactivated ordnance sold by IMA, Inc is engineered to be inoperable according to guidelines provided by the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATF).