History hoarder63
Corporal
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2019
Pictured is a shell I picked up a few years ago that is rarely encountered. At first glance it looks like a common Confederate Read variant but looks can be deceiving.
This is in fact a 4" Confederate Read with an iron sabot. When I saw it for sale, I knew it was a rare bird but lucked out since nobody else at the time picked up on it. For those of you who know shells and guns you probably are saying there is no such thing as a 4" Read or 4" Confederate gun period.
Well the story is a little convoluted but Pete George provided me the details awhile back.
There were only four 4" guns in Confederate service. These were 18pdr Blakey rifle imported through the blockade in 1862. Two of these guns were used in North Carolina, one was sent to Richmond and we are not sure what happened to the last one.
The gun that went to Richmond was put in the artillery reserve and sat unused due to its odd size and carriage. Confederate authorities did contract to have approximately 500 4" shell cast for this gun.
During the Overland campaign of 1864, Union troops probed Confederate defenses near Fussell's Mill Va. it was at this time that the Richmond gun was sent to the front and fired it's only hostile shots.
Currently there are less than 10 known examples of this particular shell, all fired except this specimen and one non dug example. All the excavated shells have been recovered from the Fussell's Mill battlefield.
This is in fact a 4" Confederate Read with an iron sabot. When I saw it for sale, I knew it was a rare bird but lucked out since nobody else at the time picked up on it. For those of you who know shells and guns you probably are saying there is no such thing as a 4" Read or 4" Confederate gun period.
Well the story is a little convoluted but Pete George provided me the details awhile back.
There were only four 4" guns in Confederate service. These were 18pdr Blakey rifle imported through the blockade in 1862. Two of these guns were used in North Carolina, one was sent to Richmond and we are not sure what happened to the last one.
The gun that went to Richmond was put in the artillery reserve and sat unused due to its odd size and carriage. Confederate authorities did contract to have approximately 500 4" shell cast for this gun.
During the Overland campaign of 1864, Union troops probed Confederate defenses near Fussell's Mill Va. it was at this time that the Richmond gun was sent to the front and fired it's only hostile shots.
Currently there are less than 10 known examples of this particular shell, all fired except this specimen and one non dug example. All the excavated shells have been recovered from the Fussell's Mill battlefield.
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