Very Unusual Civil War Confederate 12-pounder shell

This is another nice piece being offered, it is a Confederate12-pounder shell. It has a diameter of 4.50 inches, and weighs 7 pounds, 16 ounces. This would have been fired from a 12-pounder smoothbore cannon. It would have taken a wooden fuse plug – it still has a very visible mold seam, usually associated with Confederate-use.

Now, here is the characteristic I was referring to, it is an iron rod, 2 ¾” long, with a diameter of ½” protruding from the side. At first, I thought it was something homemade and welded onto the ball, maybe for a display with a monument, but under close examination it appears that it was part of the manufacturing process, not added later.

One artillery collector said it may have been an attempt by the Confederacy to make a “Bar shot” – a longer rod to connect two balls and may have broken off. If solid shot balls were used, the rod would have been too thin to support the weight.

In my book “Civil War Artillery – A Pictorial Introduction”, I discuss these shells, but this is the first one I ever seen like this one. If someone knows of one or has a comment of what it might be, please email me.

Anyway, this is a very solid piece, with no flaking or rust on the exterior. It really would be an eye-catching and discussion shell for a Civil War collection.