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Our attention at work has been recently drawn to an 1862 Philadelphia mortar believed to have been left in Nashville by the US Army. I would really appreciate any artillery student who could tell us about ammunition typically found with this particular armament. I don't have the diameter of the 'barrel' at the moment but it is rather large. The mortar weighs around 3,500 lbs. There is a shell/round in the barrel. We're curious.
Last edited by larry_cockerham; 11-03-2006 at 07:40 PM.
Larrry... if there is a shell in the barrel you need to call Army or USAF EOD pronto... I mean pronto & I ain't kidding. If powder is underneath that round it can be set of by something as mild as a spark from static electricity.
I'm hoping it was already deactivated but if not...
For a 3500 pound mortr you are not talking about a small round but a seige mortor w/ some serious explosive power.
__________________ Shane Christen
American Legion Post 352
SUVCW Camp Abernethy# 48
Lifetime NRA member
3rd MN VI
For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow. Eccl 1:18
For a 3500 pound mortr you are not talking about a small round but a seige mortor w/ some serious explosive power.
Yes, Larry. I don't think you're ready yet to meet Mr. Shrapnel.
Ole
__________________ I never knew a man who wished to be himself a slave. Consider if you know any good thing that no man desires for himself. A. Lincoln
After an inquiry from a jogger, we relocated the entire mortar to a safe location. We're still curious about that ball, although we can't imagine the guys who placed the mortar on a slab would not have certainly deactivated or used a dud. We can't take that chance however, so we have a team of "experts" cogitating. The mortar with the stamp (inscription) Philadelphia 1862 is the real thing. The hill on which it has rested for some time was part of Nashville's Confederate defense ring. The Confederates never quite reached any of the seven or so hilltop defense sites including Ft. Negley. Until it's recent move, the mortar has been in place for several decades. There is some rust around the ball which is quite firmly attached in the barrel. Apparently that prohibits x-ray. I'll let you know how this plays out. Gary, thanks for your concern. Ole, gg grandpa Parker received enough shrapnel for our family's contribution to the war. I'll keep sitting on my butt as much as possible.
Larry, It is likely safe... but I am a paranoid sort and would rather not see a good gent like you picked up w/ a stick & a spoon. A friend of mine in the USAF was an EOD master tech and some of Hectors stories were pretty harrowing to include a retiree finding what he thought was a WWII practice bomb in the California desert & making it into a lamp in the 1950's. After the old fella passed on his family asked the local EOD people to check out that old bomb. It was live w/ the fuse still intact and in contact w/ the old electrical wire... that it never went off was testement to God smiling at somebody.
He also spoke of being sent out to a city park where it had been discovered a CW era naval gun was loaded. There was something like five or six pounds of powder behind the ball...
Your mortar was likely loaded w/ a nothing more than a solid shot (which might weigh in at 200 pounds by the way for a 13" seige mortar) and no powder. But if that is a shell full of a bursting charge, even w/out the fuse it might be a quite dangerous.
Good Luck
__________________ Shane Christen
American Legion Post 352
SUVCW Camp Abernethy# 48
Lifetime NRA member
3rd MN VI
For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow. Eccl 1:18
One of my local artillery re-enactors suggested taking an air hose and attaching it to the vent and blowing the ball out. Sounds a bit impractical and chancey to me?
I do not mean to be offensive, but it sounds like a very stupid idea to me.
Do not take any chances and always assume you are dealing with a live round there. Better to be safe than sorry, call someone with knowledge and authority and let them see if this is safe or not.
Sincerely,
Unionblue
__________________ "The American people and the Government at Washington may refuse to recognize it for a time but the inexorable logic of events will force it upon them in the end; that the war now being waged in this land is a war for and against slavery." Frederick Douglass
"Loyalty to our ancestors does not include loyalty to their mistakes." George Santayana
It's going to take a lot of air, so much in fact that you'll launch it and that's not something you want to do.
I'd call EOD if they won't resort to blowing it up.
If I had to do it myself, I'd pour oil down the tube and let it soak for a week. Then I'd dig a trench in a field, set up a periscope, tripod with block and tackle and with a winch, proceed to tilt the 3,500 mortar in an attempt to roll the ball out. Of course, plenty of soft material like hay (or even sand) would be around to soften the impact if the ball came rolling out. X-ray will tell you whether it's solid or shot. More likely than not, it's shot since mortar shells were designed to blow up over or among the enemy and not just pound them into submission.
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