Confederate Artillery Read Shell recovered at Salem Church Battlefield (SOLD)

This is another great piece being offered, it is an original 3-inch Confederate fired Read shell.  It is lightly pitted and measures approximately 8 1/2 inches tall and 2.8 inches in diameter and weighs 9.5 pounds. The fuse was blown out when fired, exposing the inside of the shell. The intact sabot is a tapered iron ring with a slight dimple on the bottom. This shell was recovered many years ago from the Salem Church, Virginia Battlefield.

The Battle of Salem Church took place on May 3rd and 4th, 1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, part of the Chancellorsville Campaign. After occupying Marye’s Heights on May 3, Sedgwick’s VI Corps marched out on the Plank Road with the objective of reaching Hooker’s force at Chancellorsville. He was delayed by Wilcox’s brigade of Early’s force at Salem Church.

During the afternoon and night, Lee detached two of his divisions from the Chancellorsville lines and marched them to Salem Church. Several Union assaults were repulsed the next morning with heavy casualties, and the Confederates counterattacked, gaining some ground. After dark, Sedgwick withdrew across two pontoon bridges at Scott’s Dam under a harassing artillery fire. Hearing that Sedgwick had been repulsed, Hooker abandoned the campaign, recrossing on the night of May 5-6 to the north bank of the Rappahannock.

Salem Church artifacts are very rare (especially shells) because if anyone has visited this area lately, it is just about entirely built up, except for the church itself. It was recovered prior to the construction of the huge shopping centers. This is a fantastic shell in very nice condition.