Artillery

Price: SOLD

Near perfectly blown half section of a 12pdr Borman shell. It has not been cleaned or coated and the iron remains stable. You can easily see the threads for the underplug and the fuse. I have included four iron case shot to add to the display.

 

Price: SOLD

3.8" Hotchkiss base dug here from the battle ground at Fort Donelson. It has not been thoroughly cleaned as can be seen in the images. However you can see some of the letters of the Hotchkiss patent information which is a trait of these shells. The best part about this piece is that we can with 99% accuracy pin down exactly who fired this piece. Dressor's Illinois Battery had 14pdr James Rifles her at Donelson during the entire campaign and engaged the enemy at least once every day between the 12th and the 15th. There is no doubt in my mind that this is the result of their action on the fields here in Dover. Won't be the centerpiece in any collection, but does have definitive history.

 

Price: $650.00

Here is a wicked stand of cannister for a 12pdr howitzer. The stand has been reconstructed with original bottom plate and a replacement top plate. Many of the iron cannister show a distinct mold seam and all have been professionally cleaned and coated. There is no active oxidation noted anywhere on the piece. The verbal history with this piece is that it was reconstructed with components all recovered from the Shiloh Battlefield area. This is one of the most well known and recognizable of all artillery rounds for both non- and avid- collector alike and will surely enhance any stage collection.

Price: $925.00

A super slick Confederate 6pdr Bormann ball that is still mounted on a partial wood sabot. The tin straps are still visible and reach down to the sabot where they are still tacked into the wood. The ball is missing the Bormann fuse, but still retains the brass under plug. The  It has been professionally preserved and shows no oxidation, active or otherwise. The coating has given the shell a brown natural look. The wood sabot is in good shape and is not flaking or showing any dry rot at all. The shell still has case shot inside and you can hear it rattling around inside. Around parts of the shell you can see the defined mold seam characteristic of a Confederate shell. This is a beautiful display piece and one that will add to any artillery collection. Though the piece is stable, I recommend either pickup or delivery to a show to prevent the unthinkable.

 

Price: $1,100.00

10pdr Read lead side loader recovered from the Vicksburg Campaign area. The iron shows mild ground action throughout and has no active oxidation present. The sabot is missing, as most fired examples are and you can see flaking of the lower section of the shell as a result of the sabot pushing up into the shell upon firing. The lead side loader plug is present and can be seen. The fuse is missing as can be seen in the images. It has been coated with Extend which has given the shell a black hughe. These shells are increasingly hard to find and unfired examples can reach up to around $1,700.00.

 

Price: $650.00

Confederate 6pdr lead side loader in dug condition recovered from the Vicksburg Campaign area. The iron shows moderate pitting consistently throughout which gives the appearance of a golf ball. However, the overall profile of the ball is consistent and has no large divots deforming the overall shape. The ball has been cleaned and appears to have an old coating on it. The lead side plug is present where the case shot were loaded. The brass time fuse adaptor is also present and is in overall good shape. This is a rarity 8+ shell and though isn't "minty" has enough going for it in the rarity corner to add to most artillery collections.

 

Price: $395.00

Here is a really cool piece, the nose section of a 3" Confederate Read Side-loader with a lead plug. You'll notice that the nose section is in two pieces, but the one section still retains lead plug. The other piece still retains the brass time fuse adaptor which is slightly damaged due to the force of the impact. Both pieces still retain the matrix and case shot. The iron is stable and has been coated. It displays perfectly which ever way you want to have it. The recovery site is unknown, however its uniqueness makes up for that.

 

Price: $350.00

24pdr in overall great condition. The iron shows mild ground action, however has no major pieces or chunks missing. The shell has been disarmed through the base. The fuse hole still has remnants of the wood drive in fuse. There is a distinct mold seam seen around 3/4 of the shell which to many indicates a Confederate pedigree and it could very well be, however I have not determined if it has a polygonal cavity or not. The verbal history with this piece is that it was recovered from the Franklin/Nashville area. This is a great looking shell with great display appeal. 24pdr Howitzers were utilized throughout the war including here at Fort Donelson.

 

  Price: $1,495.00

Confederate 6.4-inch Harding Shell, Sub Pattern III recovered from the Charleston, South Carolina area, as most all are. The particular shell is in overall good condition, the iron, is as most, has been heavily coated for preservation and has a brown, natural hughe. The nose section is in good condition and retains it original shape, as does the whole shell. There is a drill hole in the base, which I believe was an attempt to disarm the shell, why I do not know as the powder cavity is open due to the absence of the wood drive in fuse. 3/4 of the copper sabot is with the shell and is unique as most shells seen on the market still have the sabot in place. The shell will sit upright on its own and displays very nicely. This particular shell would have been fired from a rifled 32pounder smooth bore gun of 6.4inch caliber.

 

Price: $495.00

Confederate 12pdr lead-side loader with brass time fuse adaptor. The iron shows some pitting and there is one pitted area towards the bottom of the shell that is about the size of quarter. It does not detract from the overall display appeal of the shell however and cannot be seen when displayed. The lead plug is oxidized and contrasts nicely in the shell. The brass time fuse adaptor is in terrific shape and shows no damage. And if all that isn't Confederate enough for you, there is a distinct mold seam that can be seen over 3/4 of the shell (as seen in the images). The shell is disarmed and has been coated. The verbal history with this particular shell is that it came from the Shiloh area.

 

Price: $135.00

Superb example of a naval water cap fuse dated '1863' on the flange. The 'ORD' and anchor can also be easily seen. Its complete with the bushing  and has a nice deep mellow patina throughout. The threads are in really good condition and could easily be fitted into a shell if warranted.

 

Price: $375.00

A really nice 12-pounder bormann ball in dug condition. The recovery site is unknown, however it has been disarmed and cleaned. It has some mild to moderate ground action throughout, but the iron appears to be stable with no major pieces missing. There is a small amount of surface oxidation on a couple spots which in my opinion is due to the ball not being coated after it was cleaned. This could be easily taken care of. The fuse is intact and has not been punched. The numbers can be seen, but aren't discernable. This is a really nice Federal non-fired shell.

 

Price: $475.00

Confederate12pdr Bormann in dug condition. Don't let the images fool you on this one, as I realize what the first impression is on this one, however, upon examination it appears to be very stable and coated well. Its obvious that it came out of water and the verbal history is that it came from the Alabama River (Selma Arsenal, Alabama) and I have no reason to doubt that. It has the typical high lip Bormann fuse with a couple of the numbers barely legible. The cool thing is that around the fuse and down the sides of the shell are the tin straps that held the ball to the wood sabot. Again, the shell is in stable condition and will survive the shipping. It has been disarmed and drilled through the bottom (opposite of the fuse). The Selma arsenal initiated operation sometime in the Spring of 1862 and with old equipment from the U.S. Arsenal near Mt. Vernon, Alabama it would grow to be one of, if not the most, important supplier to the Western & Trans-Mississippi theatre. The site that covered several acres and employed several thousand laborers now resides within the depths of the Alabama River.

 

Price: $450.00 (Price Includes Shipping)

A spectacular 8-inch shell that is super slick and has no pitting or ground action whatsoever. This is the thinner type shell with the tong holes preset. The coolest thing about this shell is that it has the "TT" stamped into it, which we believe to be the Navy inspector Thomas Turner. You will not be disappointed with this piece at all.

 

Price: $425.00

Federal 24pdr Bormann shell, recovery site unknown. The iron is in overall good condition and shows little ground action other than that to be expected. The fuse has been punched at about the 5sec mark and has burned all the way around, however it did not burn 'out' the channel, but rather melted it around. The shell has been drilled out opposite of the fuse on the bottom and has been conserved to give the shell a natural look. 

 

Price: $325.00

Dug 30pdr Parrot, Sub Pattern I, with iron sabot and zinc fuse adaptor. The iron is in good, stable condition and has been coated which has given the shell a natural hughe. The iron show some ground action but again, is in overall good condition. We have disarmed this shell and it's ready for delivery.

 

Price: $275.00

10pdr Parrot w/ iron sabot and most of the zinc fuse in place. It has been coated, but doesn't appear to have been cleaned thoroughly the first time and could use it again. It has the nostalgic writing on the shell. We disarmed this shell through the fuse adaptor, which already had a hole through it. This would be a great shell for the beginner. 

 

Price: $395.00

Rare Hotchkiss Shell designed to take the wood drive in fuse adaptor. The iron show mild ground action and is in overall good condition. The patent date can be partially made out on the base cup and the images are accurate in regards to this. The sabot is a 50/50 whereas it is 100% complete, but one side shows impact damage while the other one shows not only great rifling detail, but you can still see the imprint of the linen fabric which wrapped around the sabot. The nose section is in good shape. The iron is stable and coated, ready for display. Not to many rarity 7+ shells out there.

 

Price: $350.00

A decent looking 8" Mortar ball, recovery site unknown. The shell is completely intact and is the type with tong holes (or ears). The shell has been coated and is coating is flaking some, the metal is solid and stable, just needs to be recoated if desired. You can visibly see this in the images. The surface has the usual texture of a dug ball and is in overall good shape. In the Western Theatre, this type of shell was mostly fired from the gunboats. Along with the rifled 42pdrs; 32pdrs, the 8"-guns rounded off most of the Western fleets armament.

 

Price: $495.00

Here is a super looking 10" Mortar Shell w/ great mold seam. US/CS shell with tong hears and fuse hole that accommodates the large wood drive fuse adaptor. The iron has mild surface texture throughout and is in stable condition. It is a super looking shell that has a black color and is ready for display. Recovery site unknown.

 

Price: $695.00 Priced Reduced $625.00 Sale Pending

A great looking 7" Dyer shell recovered from Island Number 10, which is typically where most of these come from. The iron shows typical ground action and has been coated to show a brown color. All of the shell is present meaning no major chunks or pieces missing and the nose is complete as well. The sabot shows rifling and may look chewed up, but it actually has an interesting story. These shells were fired out of the obsolete 42pdr which was rifled to give the gun a second life. The problem with this was that it weakened the bore causing the barrel to rupture during firing. The most common problem the gunmen would experience was getting the fuse to light properly during firing. Because of the size of the sabot, it would swell so much that it would prevent the flame from the powder charge from lighting the fuse, thus causing the shell from exploding. To curb this problem, the Navy gun crews would take their boarding axes and chop "flame" grooves into the sabot. This did help some, but as can be seen in most fired specimens that are complete, it didn't work often enough. 42pdrs were fairly common in Foote's Brown Water Navy Fleet early in the war and there have been several of these beasts dug here at Donelson.

 

Price: $55.00

1863 Naval Water Cap fuse head. The body of the fuse is broken off as can be seen in the images. The date, anchor, and ORD stamp can be seen and made out. It has a reddish green patina throughout. Recovery site is unknown. This is the same style of fuse seen on pg9-10 of Charles Jones book "Artillery Fuses of the Civil War".