Civil War 10-pounder Parrott/Read Shell, dug at Petersburg, VA Battlefield (SOLD)

This is another great artillery piece being offered, it is 10-pounder Parrott/Read shell. It has an iron ring sabot and a good part of the Parrott zinc fuse adapter. The diameter is 2.9” with a length of 8 ¾”. This shell was recovered at the Petersburg, Virginia Battlefield.

Marching from Cold Harbor, Meade's Army of the Potomac crossed the James River on transports and a 2,200-foot-long pontoon bridge at Windmill Point. General Butler with the XVIII Corps crossed the Appomattox River and attacked the Petersburg defenses on June 15, 1864. The 5,400 defenders of Petersburg under command of General P.G.T. Beauregard were driven from their first line of entrenchments back to Harrison Creek. On June 16, the II Corps captured another section of the Confederate line and gained more ground.

Beauregard brought in troops from Bermuda Hundred to defend the city and Lee rushed reinforcements to Petersburg from the Army of Northern Virginia. Three Union Corps attacked on June 18 but were repulsed with heavy casualties. By now the Confederate works were heavily manned and the greatest opportunity to capture Petersburg without a siege was lost. The long siege of Petersburg began.

This is a nice solid shell, no chipping or flaking; years ago, a thin coat of varnish was applied for preservation. In my book “Civil War Artillery – A Pictorial Introduction”, I go into more detail on these shells and the guns that fired them. This is a great piece from a very important battle.