Civil War Gunners Pincers. They are hand-forged and measure 13 1/2" long. This was an important tool used during the Civil War by artillerymen to open ammunition crates and to work on artillery shells and their sabots, this larger size would likely be used with a Heavy Artillery unit. In The Civil War Collectors Encyclopedia, by Francis Lord, he states under Gunners Pincers "If the obstruction in the vent projected beyond the surface of the gun, or had a head, it could be withdrawn with the gunner's pincers, which were made of iron with steel jaws. There are similar examples in Civil War Relics of the Western Campaigns 1861-1865, by Charles Harris and in Excavated Artifacts from Battlefields and Campsites of the Civil War, by Stanley Phillips. It would make a nice addition to an Artillery collection.
