Item Number: A01076

Item Title: Confederate 12pdr sideloader with iron plug

Price: $425

Shipping: Not included

Provenance: CS

Type: Case shot spherical shell

Size: 12pdr

Sabot:

Fuse: CS copper time fuse adapter

Book:
Dickey and George (1993 Edition) Page 42

Location Recovered: Richmond defenses

Description:Much nicer than average CS 12pdr sideloader with the iron side plug. The iron side plugged ones are less common than the lead side-plugged type.

This is 100% Confederate because they had to devise ways to make these shells in the face of severe lead shortages. Normally, the shells are filled with balls in a matrix that solidifies as it dries. The powder cavity is drilled from the fuse hole through this when the case shot are made of soft lead, but not when they are iron. Lead shortages forced the Confederacy to substitute iron case shot and so these shells had to be loaded from the side (hence "sideloader') around a dowel through the fuse hole. After the matrix hardened, the dowel was pulled out creating the powder chamber and the side plug was filled. Initially, the sideplugs were lead, but this transitioned to iron sideplugs as the shortages got even more acute.