Civil War artillery friction primer, recovered at Herr’s Ridge, Gettysburg (SOLD)

This is another nice piece being offered; it is an original Civil War Artillery Friction primer. This one was dropped, so it remains complete as issued. The primer would be inserted in the vent on the breech and a lanyard would be hooked to the wire on the primer.

A sharp tug on the lanyard scrapes the wire across the mercury (like striking a match), ignites the powder train in the primer; the flame then ignites the powder bag in the breech, discharging the projectile. It was found years ago at Herr’s Ridge, Gettysburg (see map).

The Battle of Herr's Ridge was one of the first actions of the Battle of Gettysburg. Confederate generals James Archer and Joseph Davis captured Herr's Ridge from the Union army and defeated John Buford's cavalry.

This is a nice piece of history from the Battle of Gettysburg. In my book “Civil War Artillery – A Pictorial Introduction”, I go into more detail on these primers and the cannons they were used on. It comes in the glass top display case pictured.