Civil War Artillery Parrott Fuse, dug at Culp’s Hill, ex-Rosensteel collection

This is another nice piece being offered, it is the zinc fuse adapter from a Parrott artillery shell. It measures 2 1/2” x 1 ¼” and still has much of the original dirt still on it. It was recovered many years ago at Culp’s Hill by Iva Rosensteel.

The fighting at Culp's Hill was brutal, with Union and Confederate soldiers engaged in a massive battle with 22,000 soldiers involved. Confederate forces attacked three times on July 3, but the Union line held firm, and the Confederates were unable to take the hill after six hours of fighting.  The Union's successful defense of the east side of Culp's Hill helped secure their overall victory at Gettysburg, which halted the Confederate invasion of the North.

Iva was the sister of George Rosensteel, who was the founder of the Gettysburg National Museum and the famous Electric Map. The Rosensteels were, of course, the most famous artifact collecting family in Gettysburg and the bulk of the relics on display at today's Gettysburg National Park Visitor Center come from the Rosensteels.

In my book “Civil War Artillery – A Pictorial Introduction”, I show similar pieces that were recovered at Gettysburg as well as in my other book “Battle of Gettysburg – The Relics, Artifacts & Souvenirs” (see pictures). A Certificate of Authenticity will be provided with this relic. This is an interesting and important relic and would go great in any Gettysburg or Civil War collection. It comes in the acrylic display case pictured.