Base of a Civil War Hotchkiss Artillery shell with patent and date, dug Spotsylvania Battlefield

This is another great piece being offered, it is the base of an exploded Civil War Hotchkiss shell. Cast into the bottom is "HOTCHKISS PATENT OCTOBER 9, 1855", and is typically weak, but this one very pronounced. It was dug years ago at the Spotsylvania, Virginia Battlefield.

The Battle of Spotsylvania was the second major battle in General Grant's 1864 Overland Campaign. Following the bloody but inconclusive Battle of the Wilderness, Grant's army disengaged from General Lee's army and moved to the southeast, attempting to lure Lee into battle under more favorable conditions.

Elements of Lee's army beat the Union army to the critical crossroads of Spotsylvania Court House, Virginia, and began entrenching. Fighting occurred on and off from May 8 through May 21, 1864, as Grant tried various schemes to break the Confederate line. In the end, the battle was tactically inconclusive, but with almost 32,000 casualties on both sides, it was the costliest battle of the campaign.

This is a very clean and solid piece, and like I said the rare markings are very visible. In my book “Civil War Artillery – A Pictorial Introduction”, I show more of these shells and discuss them in more detail (see pictures).