Bullet and Shell Civil War Projectiles Forum
Relic Discussion => Artillery => Topic started by: emike123 on February 25, 2017, 10:22:58 AM
-
I recently picked these 2 shells up. The painted one is from an old GAR Hall. I like this kind of camp art thing for some reason:
-
I got this one at an auction the weekend everyone else was at Dalton without me >:(
Neat old tag on it:
-
It is empty! Check out the casting bubble flaws in the other side:
-
I like the tag better than the shell :D
-
Thanks for articulating the point I was attempting to make by posting these. Neither of them is remarkable in their sabotless state except for the label and GAR Hall paint job. But as a result of those touches, I consider them collection worthy and have placed them aside more complete and less common Mullane projectiles.
-
Sometimes the back story (like concrete in the base of a Camden Read) is every bit as good as the find itself.
-
Nice pickups Mike!
-
Like The Walking Dead, and with emike's permission, I'm going to bring this thread back from the dead. This shell he illustrated is not just another 'damn' Mullane. It is special with a story that needs to be told. Bear with me.
First of all, it was not made by Tredegar. After casting nearly all of the 3 inch Archer shot & shell during 1861, the Richmond Arsenal naturally expected the Ironworks to make all of the 3 inch Mullanes with the Tennessee sabot when large-scale production began in the middle of February 1862. The records show they produced about 450 during the remainder of the month, 1,800 in March followed by 2,600 in April and 3,428 in May. At this time, an increasing nervous Ordnance Bureau was begging Tredegar to speed up its production dramatically. The intensity of the fighting on the Peninsula was increasing with the great battle of Fair Oaks at the end of the month. On June 23, 1862, the Richmond Arsenal's Maj. Briscoe Baldwin invoked the name of the Army's beloved commander when he wrote: "Please make every exertion to give us some 3 inch shell today and tomorrow. I have a most urgent order to send what can be gotten ready immediately to a very central point. Gen. Lee is very anxious on the subject." At the time they were about to launch the ferocious 7 Days battles.
Faced with frequent metal shortages and an understrength workforce, Tredegar relinquished its role as the primary source of 3 inch ammunition. Still, they managed to make another 5,000 during June and July, followed by a final 1,550 in August. But that was the end. Tredegar never made a 3 inch Read or later Broun, and their production of 10 and 20 pounder Read-Parrotts soon halted for good. From contemporary correspondence, it is clear that the struggling Ironworks asked to be relieved of this responsibility. It is also apparent that the dissatisfied Richmond Arsenal had already turned to any of the smaller foundries willing to cast quantities of 3 inch Mullanes. This included Samson & Pae, Rahm and Lynchburg's Deane & Son. Following this time line, only the standard Tredegar Mullanes are dug at sites from the spring of 1862 like Yorktown, Williamsburg and probably including Fair Oaks on May 31st & June 1st. The 7 Days should have mostly Tredegars while a mix of the other mold patterns begin to show up including some sent to VA from Deep South foundries. None of the preceding 3-inch shells should have flame grooves or copper fuze plugs. The first Mullane pictured below does not have a flame groove.
Emike's second Mullane shell was cast from the same mold pattern as the two projectiles pictured below as was a 3rd Mullane I'll post later. They are not the common Tredegar pattern. All of this particular casting include a rectangular lathe key chiseled off the ogive and a prominent round air vent opposite the mold seam between the bourrelets. You never see these features on the Tredegar Mullanes. The three versions of this pattern I am showing here match the timing and details provided by S & P's production records. They made their first 250 three-inch shells during June and July, 1862. At that time, flame grooves had not been prescribed (On August 9th, the Richmond Arsenal ordered: "To ignite the time fuzes,...the base of the 3 inch shell to have one slot and a groove through the projection of metal.") The first of this pattern pictured below has no flame groove. The second Mullane pictured below is identical to the first except for a very smooth crescent cut in the bottom bourrelet that appears so identical from one shell to another that it might have been cast-in as part of the mold pattern. Its safe to assume that about half of those first 250 S & P Mullanes from June and July were not finished until August which I believe explains the origin of emike's new shell.
Samson & Pae recorded its first use of copper fuze plugs with their Mullanes on August 15, 1862. Their monthly voucher included: "Six 3-inch Rifle shell with fuzes tapped" at $2.25 each. The current price for any contractor making wood-fuzed Mullanes was $1.75. In the next few months, an additional 25 cents was regularly charged for threading fuze holes and 25 cents the official price of a copper plug. The process began on July 10th when the respected Richmond shop billed the government for "One machine for casting fuze plugs - brass & 2 cast steel taps." By "machine" they meant "mold," and the "steel taps" cut matching 12 per inch treads into the fuze hole and onto the plug. The third S & P Mullane I'll show on a follow-up posting has one of these first copper fuze plugs with the same thin head seen on other identified S & P projectiles made in late 1862. It was fired at Cemetery Ridge on July 3, 1863. Samson & Pae switched to making 3 inch Reads sometime in October or early November, 1862.
-
Here is the third Samson & Pae 3-inch Mullane shell. Their August 1862 vouchers specifically stated that copper fuze plugs were included. Samson & Pae billed for 190 Mullane shells in September. Their price per shell returned to $1.75 which suggests a temporary return to the old wooden plugs. A couple of months passed before copper plugs became Army standard. Many or all of the 649 they reported making in October 1862 were probably the new 3-inch Read pattern prescribed by the Richmond Arsenal at the end of August 1862.
The second (black & white) Mullane shell pictured below is Tredegar's flush-bolt pattern. It had no lathe key on ogive (fit into key slot in mandrel) or air vent on its side like the previous three Mullanes. Excavated by Don Williams at Gettysburg, it was among the last 1,179 of the 3-inch shells cast by the Ironworks in August 1862. Not all had copper fuze plugs. It appears that Tredegar adopted this flush bolt arrangement at that time as a sensible replacement for the long exposed bolt and wooden dowel combination. At that time they were making large caliber Mullanes with this flush bolt and also the first of the Brooke sabots were being made. Previously, on July 18th they had requested the Arsenal supply "some 1 1/4 or 1 1/2 [inch] square cut steel... We require it much for reaming out shell."
-
Thank you for sharing this great information Woodenhead. I am sorry we did not get to see you at the Richmond Show, at least not Friday or Saturday when I was there.
I have a lot of 3" "Mullane" shells in my collection, but it looks like I need to find and secure another one now.
-
Ok i'm trying to follow this and make sure I understand the visual difference's. an S &P shell is on my short list, and recently had Carl disarm a mullane for me, and it was still sitting on my desk I bought at the "putty auction" because I liked the sabot rifling. 1st I show a mullane with a rect key, flame goove, but none of the other feature's mentioned. I assume it is a standard shell. the rest of the pictures of the second shell seem to match the description of an S&P. mold seam, vent hole, and key, no flame goove. additionally, can someone tell me what kind of fuse we saved? looks like it could be a petrified wood/paper fuse?
-
continuation of above
-
Second one has the lathe lug and a wood fuse adapter. I can't see the other attributes, but the sabot shown full frontal doesn't look to have the flame groove crescent in it.
-
I've only ever seen one Mullane sabot like the one you feature with all 4 holes made by a single punch. Usually the holes are much smaller and drilled individually. I've enclosed three views of a shell with your sabot because the projectile is noteworthy. I believe it was a CS Navy Mullane because it had a percussion fuze. Maybe Archer's fuze. The Army made a decision not to employ Archer's (or anyone else's, i.e., the Girardey) percussion fuze when they replaced Skates screw-down percussion fuze at the start of 1862. When the Richmond Arsenal tested them they determined that the fuzes were not reliable unless they struck head-on. But that was exactly what the Navy sought for striking the sides of warships. Naval invoices from early 1862 confirm they ordered Archer's fuzes for many of their 3 inch Rifle shells and 10 pounder Read-Parrotts (larger shells, too). During the pause between the Peninsula and 2nd Manassas Campaigns, the Army borrowed at least two 3 inch Navy Rifles along with some 10 pounder Navy Read-Parrotts and ammunition. With its narrow bourrelets and overall body shape, the illustrated projectile was not a common pattern. Unfortunately, its recovery location has not been documented. It belongs to the Keith Kenerly collection. By the way Mike, are you certain that sabot was found with the accompanying shell. Your shell No.2 with no lathe key or big air vent looks like one of the approx. 10,000 Mullanes made by Tredegar between Feb. and August of 1862. Absence of flame groove should date production around spring 1862.
The 4th picture below shows a 20 pounder CS Read-Parrott dug at Cold Harbor by David Young. I believe it was made by Augusta in 1863 because it has an extra thick copper sabot that was not milled to thin out the bearing surface. After extensive testing during the winter of 1863-64, all of Augusta's copper sabots were carefully shaped. Contemporary correspondence and identified examples confirm this. Production records show Augusta made more 20 pounders than 10 pounders during 1863 and sent hundreds to the Army of Northern Virginia. My point in showing this shell is because your Mullane shell No. 1 with sloppy casting on top bourrelet has the same depressed slot where a raised lathe key should be. My opinion is that it reflects the shape of the actual wooden mold pattern marking the spot where a small tool was used by hand to press the impression of the right-angle key into the sand mold cavity. Sometimes they hurried and overlooked this step. I have photographed a number of identical 20 pounders with the typical raised key in place. I have also shot a couple of 10 pounder Read-Parrotts from VA with Augusta's copper sabot and the same rectangular depression on the ogive. The history of the Augusta Arsenal, Never For Want Of Powder, reports that Augusta made its first 3 inch ammunition (i.e., Mullanes) in June 1862. I believe that explains the origin of your Mullane. I also wonder what the deal is with its fuze?
Woodenhead
-
Alan (Alwion) is the one with the second shell with sabot (one you asked about whether it was from the same shell) above, not me, so he can answer. That said, the "putty" auction had a lot of Farb'd up items in it including sabots replaced with putty copies.
Keith K. sold me that shell in your picture with the remnants of the percussion fuse. Thanks for the backstory.
If I get time I will post some more 3" Mullane projectile examples. I have quite a few that I kept for having one distinguishing feature or another. I am enjoying learning so much about the items in my collection.
-
Sorry Alwion, no 'dis' intended. Because I want to firmly establish the idea that those Rifle shells with rectangular grooves where a lathe bump should be were simple rushed thru the production process, I'm continuing this thread with the photo's below. The first two are full length and base views of the previously shown Cold Harbor 20 pounder Read-Parrott. As you can see, it has a thick copper sabot (no apparent pre-rifling) and flat iron base knob. The second set of images below show an identical 20 pounder from Cold Harbor with a distinctive right-angle lathe key where the first one had a depressed rectangle. This is how they were intended to be made. I assume the mandrel would still impart the turning motion to the projectile without the key. I have the same missing and intact combination for 10 pounder Read-Parrotts I believe were made by Augusta in 1863 and sent to Virginia.
The point I want to make here is that this distinctive lathe key combined with a thick cast copper sabot is a marker to help identify a projectile as a 1863 product of the Augusta Arsenal. This applies to 10 and 20 pounder Read-Parrotts and 3 inch Read shells. I don't have the documentation in front of me but I recall they sent at least 1,000 of their projectiles to VA during that year. More were sent in the spring of 1864 but Augusta had reworked and improved most of their designs by then. Other foundries had somewhat similar lathe knobs but a side-by-side comparison will reveal distinct differences. All of this rambling goes toward my goal of being able to pick up just about any field-caliber projectile from Virginia and know from an examination of these kind of "markers" when the shell was made, and in many cases, who produced it. That's what Lee's Thunderbolts has morphed into. I'm counting on the feed-back from this passionate group of artillery enthusiast to help make it happen. Its what Tom would have wanted.
Woodenhead
-
I forgot to mention the base view of the previous 20 pounder in color is missing its lathe dimple because it was deactivated thru the center.
W.H.
-
hi Ok I am not as good or knowledgeable about shells or computers to have done this correctly , so have created some interest but also some confusion. so let me try and fix this. 1st picture I posted of two shells was for comparison, , the one was a very mint example found in MD. The other 5 pictures are of the same shell, which I think may be an S&P from what I am understanding from the description. It has a very strong mold seam, and even shows a wire? holding the forms together, has a key which is rectangular, but is so flush could have been impressed, but think it was raised, and a very large vent hole. there is no flame groove. all these pictures are the same shell, and was wanting to know if this fit the criteria of an s&P mullane
-
Now on to the fuse: yes looks like a wood and paper time fuse, but it is so hard neither can be scratched with metal. as a mineral collector, that hardness is tough to get in nature in 150 years, is that normal, rust iron diffusing into wood and a paper fuse? even petrified wood in nature is softer
-
OK on the the sabot. No, I can not confirm this was always part of this shell, was old rubber banded to it. I bought it because I loved the rifling, which I believe carl told me was a 12 groove CS cannon. There is no flame groove, and all 4 holes are the same size. there was another mullane with the exact same rifling and with a ATTACHED sabot at the auction which I was outbid on. I can't speak about the hole sizes, because this thread is the 1st time I looked at the holes, and I can't tell on my other attached mulanes if the ctr hole is the same, but the rifling was identical. didn't Dave attend the auction, maybe he knows who got the other mullane which I think was the same?
-
Aliwon - here are some images that might be helpful. Samson & Pae were not the only makers of 3 inch Mullanes with large air vents on the side. The first Mullane pictured below appears to have an air vent on its side opposite the seam line. This style is the so-called "Long Mullane" apparently made during spring 1862 as they are often found in early battle sites on the Peninsula. This example was excavated by David Young at Malvern Hill. Absence of a flame groove reinforces early production date. Missing also is any trace of a lathe key. Note the top bourrelet is narrower than the bottom. This clearly was not made by Samson & Pae. I believe, but cannot yet prove, that these long Mullanes were cast by Rahm's Eagle Machine Works. They were the first foundry other than Tredegar to bill the Ordnance Bureau for supplying 3 inch Rifle shells during March, April and May of 1862. Rham supplied about 500 per month compared to an average of more than 2,000 per month by Tredegar.
The final 3 photos below show 3 different Samson & Pae Mullanes to aid your identification. The first full-length view shows the basic shape and design with a short nose and two bourrelets of equal size. Chiseled off the nose is the impression of a fat rectangular lathe key. They all have this feature. Hardly any or possibly none of the other VA Mullanes had lathe keys. The second nose view (Brandy Sta.) provides a better look at the shape of the typical S & P key impression. The fuze opening is the standard 0.9 inch diameter. The last full length view shows the side opposite the lathe key where the round air vent is apparent. I photo'ed this Gettysburg relic at the old Loyal Legion Museum in Philadelphia. One important thing to know about all the projectiles produced by Samson & Pae at this time is their casting, finishing and overall metal quality was excellent. I have never seen pronounced mold seams or sloppy casting. With its highly shilled workforce - many trained in Europe - Samson & Pae was recognized as the superior metal working shop in Richmond. Tredegar repeatedly tried to lure their employees away. When the Navy sought radical new designs like the Mallory and Milled-base bolts, they turned to Samson & Pae. In Jan. 1862, the Ordnance Bureau arranged for S & P to receive 31,000 pounds of good North Carolina pig iron to allow them to produce projectiles without having to rely upon Tredegar to supply them with their leftover iron like the other Richmond foundries. So Aliwon, when you examine a clean S & P shell, the quality of the iron and workmanship should be obvious.
I don't think the gash in the nose of your Mullane had anything to do with a lathe key. I suspect the metal peeled back when it impacted. Can you send a couple of full length views? What is the diameter of your fuze hole opening?
Woodenhead
-
Maybe this picture is better, same size bourrelets, large vent and definite lathe lug is 90 degrees from mold seam. That being said, there is also a casting flaw shown , so maybe not s&p. 26mm fuse hole ( 1 to 1 1/16") little hard to measure
-
After all this back and forth, I'm beginning to believe you have what I theorize was a Samson & Pae Mullane. Your lathe key looks about the same as the ones I have shown. It was removed with a chisel. Bourrelets are pronounced and equal in size, and from what I can see of the three pins, they are noticeable thicker than those on Tredegar and long body Mullanes. Of course, the casting flaws on yours makes my prior exclamation about the superior quality of all S & P shells somewhat suspect, "I'm only human after all!"
With no flame groove, it is possible yours was among the first made in June 1862. Imagine the rush to get projectiles in the hands of the Rebel batteries as Lee was preparing to launch the bloody 7 Days battles at the end of the month. I would not be surprised if many of these shells bypassed inspection and went straight to the field. What made me think your shell was different was the distortions caused by taking a close-up with a wide angle lens. If you could back off the shell a couple more feet and shoot the full length again, that would help me match it to the others I photographed. My email is mike@odonnellpublications.com
W.H.
-
although alot of repairs, most of Bedal's collection was self hunted, anyone remember where?
-
Sick and tired of all this Mullane talk yet? How about it Carl, et all. Too bad! Here is another distinctive pattern from the late summer, or early fall, of 1862. While not an especially rare style, it is not one of the common versions like Tredegar's or the long-nose types. These 3 inch Mullanes were the only ones cast nose-down in vertical molds. They have no mold seams and you can see where the air vent bump was chiseled flat on the base view of the second Mullane pictured below. Also unique to this pattern are the three pins cast integrally with the shells. It looks like short pieces of ramrod iron were positioned in the sand mold rather than drilled later as was usually the case. Obviously, the hole for the center bolt was drilled and tapped after the casting. Finding these with and without copper fuze plugs dates their production around the time Samson & Pae put the first copper plugs in 3 inch Rifle shells during August 1862. The timing of this event is well documented in contemporary production records and backed up by field excavations. That same August, Tredegar made the last of its 3 inch Rifle shells which were flush-bolt Mullanes with copper plugs. An unknown foundry made the illustrated style concurrently, apparently employing an existing Tredegar Mullane as a mold pattern. It is a crude match. The overall quality of the casting and the iron is notably poor. What stands out on both of these examples, and a few others I have examined, is the distinctive arrowhead or "bullet" shape of the narrow flame grooves.
I had the good fortune of digging the first Mullane shown below at Fredericksburg during the 1980s. It was the trip with Pete George I mentioned earlier where I found three salvaged shells together on the highest point behind Stonewall Jackson's lines where the Whitworth gun was placed during the battle. It had a wood fuze plug and is about the ugliest Mullane I have ever seen. Those small shops reliant upon Tredegar for their pig iron usually got the absolute worst left-overs. A look at the base view makes it clear that the pins were cast with the shell. The second Mullane below looks a little better. It was found in the Shenandoah Valley (probably Jackson's spring 1862 Valley Campaign) and now belongs to Jerry Imperio.
An important point I want to make here is that this crude pattern also fits the criteria for being a product of Samson & Pae. Both styles were made around the late summer 1862 introduction of copper fuze plugs, and examples of each are found with and without. My determination that the finely cast pattern well-documented and illustrated earlier in this thread was made by that respected Richmond foundry will remain supposition until one turns up with letter "H" or "C" stamped into an upper bourrelet, or initials "S & P" struck into the body. Samson & Pae were marking a limited number of their shells at that time. S & P was recognized for the quality of their work. In early 1862, the Ordnance Bureau went out of its way to make a large supply of good iron ore from the North Carolina mines available to the firm. Tredegar had a near monopoly on the output of the Virginia mines.
Evidence that the two examples pictured below might represent the efforts of Samson & Pae are the shaped air vents. Very similar air vents were cut into a series of rare 3.5 inch Mullanes produced by Samson & Pae at this time. Furthermore, the fuze plug in Jerry Imperio's Mullane, below, looks exactly like the earliest fuze plugs found in late 1862 Samson & Pae field ammunition, i.e., thin flange with spanner holes drilled all the way through. That could be explained by the possibility that Samson & Pae alone were manufacturing the copper plugs used by several shops at that time.
-
As a follow-up to my previous posting, here are two examples of 3.5 inch Mullanes cast and finished by Samson & Pae at the same time their 3 inch Mullanes were made. Note the narrow bullet-shaped flame grooves here resemble those on the previously illustrated 3 inch shells. It doesn't necessarily follow that S & P was responsible for both patterns, but it has to be considered in our ongoing pursuit of who made what shells. {For the reasons previously stated, I believe emike's 2nd Mullane shown at the start of this thread was an example of S & P's 3 inch with the Tenn sabot.] Thanks to the monthly production records available in the Citizens File, we know for a fact that S & P made these 3.5 inch projectiles as replacements for the imported Britten ammunition. Naval ordnance records list a limited quantity of CS copies of the lead cup Britten shells was supplied by Samson & Pae at the start of 1862 for $2.50 a piece. Col. Biemeck has found at least one example. Then, on July 15, 1862, the respected Richmond foundry billed the Ordnance Bureau for making "13 Blakely Shot," followed by another 12 on August 18th. Again, the price was $2.50 each. The second projectile pictured below is one of those 25 Mullane bolts. Note the unnecessary flame groove filed into the bottom edge. No more solid iron bolts were ordered because they had been deemed useless for all rifled field artillery. Extremely rare, this example came from Gettysburg, while additional bolts are owned by West Point and the Atlanta Historical Society. Dickey/George 1993 Edition (page 210) shows a similar 3.5 inch bolt excavated in eastern Tennessee. One fine 1980s day, I was taking pictures at Nick Harris' Falmouth relic shop when an unknown digger came in with two plastic buckets filled with mostly Confederate shells for sale from the Brandy Station area. When he dumped the contents on the wood floor, another of these S & P bolts rolled free. He didn't know what it was.
The first Mullane shell pictured below (see 1993 Dickey/George page 211) was excavated at Brandy Station by Steve Hall about 30 years ago. Typical of Samson & Pae's high production values, it was finely finished with deep-cut lathing on the bearing surface and most of its bottom machined smooth. [Bottom of their 3.5 inch bolt, below, finished in similar manner] Cast nose-down in a vertical mold, the seam line is obvious about 2/3 of the way up the ogive. It had a thick lathe key broken off close to the (wooden plug) fuze opening. Apparently, all of the bolts and the first of these shells had the typical long bolt and wooden dowel. However, surviving intact examples suggest that many of these shells made later had flush bolts securing the copper disc sabots. At this time, S & P was making many large caliber Mullanes and Brooke projectiles with flush bolts. Note the narrow flame groove filed into the bottom edge. On September 15, 1862, they billed the govt. for casting the first 16 of these followed by another 133 by the end of the month. By Nov. 1862, Samson & Pae had switched to making 3.5 inch shells utilizing Dr. Read's cast-in cup. Production of the S & P 3.5 inch Reads continued until late 1864 when metal shortages forced a halt. At that time the Blakely Rifles remaining with the Army of Northern Virginia were retired to the reserve yard in Richmond. Gen. Wade Hampton's request for their return in Feb. 1865 was denied, according to the Ordnance officers, because of a lack of the proper ammunition.
-
Mike,
Wonderful info and thanks for the images of some really rare and nice examples. Very interesting information and thank you for taking the time to post it.
-
Mike, this is all good stuff. As I said to you in Richmond, i'm amazed at the volumes of information that survived the war and the burning of Richmond. I would have thought, at the fall of the Confederacy, that all these records basically would have been worthless as part of the lost cause, as everyone wanted to rebuild and just get on with their lives ; not save shipping and production records from the war.
Thank you for enlightening us, and putting all this information into a chronological order. Finish "Lee's Thunderbolts", I'll buy a copy !!
-
I want to finish the story of the 3.5 inch shells made by the Rebs for the imported Blakely Rifles. Below are three views of an intact flush-bolt Mullane from Chuck Jones' excellent collection photographed during the 1990s while working on his Fuzes book. It looks like it was dug about 50 years ago. It doesn't have Samson & Pae's deep-cut lathing, like the previously illustrated 3.5 inch Mullane, but not all S & P field projectiles (10, 20, 30 pdr. Read-Parrotts and their 3.35 inch Reads for VA State rifled smoothbores) included this feature. It did have their distinctive large lathe key (broken-off) adjacent to the fuze hole smooth for a wooden plug. On the nose view you can see the circular mold seam about 2/3 way up the ogive from a vertical pour. Same seam placement on the previous 3.5 inch shell. The elite Richmond foundry billed the govt. for the first 149 of these in September 1862, followed by 177 "12 pdr. Blakely Rifle shell" (at $2.50 each) during October. Most, and possibly all, of these had the Tennessee sabot. A majority had wood fuze plugs. An unknown quantity of the first ones had long pins and center bolts. We know that from the one intact 3.5 Mullane bolt at West Point. Also, some of the excavated 3.5 inch Mullane shells had extra long pins strongly suggesting the missing center bolt was long. Only Samson & Pae made 3.5 inch ammunition in Virginia. A sufficient number of invoices from S & P, Tredegar, Rahm and the other foundries have survived to confirm this.
At some point in late October or early November of 1862, Samson & Pae made a new pattern for a 3.5 inch Read shell to replace the obsolete Mullane design. Remember, at the end of August 1862 the Richmond Arsenal announced the official replacement of the disc sabot with Read's cast-in cup. Sometimes a month or two was required for the foundries to make such transitions. The description and cost of the new 3.5 inch Reads was the same as the Mullanes so we have to look for other clues to date the change-over. It had already happened by Dec. 3, 1862, when Samson & Pae wrote Maj. Stansbury, then commanding the Arsenal, "Having contracts for shells with the Ordnance Dept. which have copper cups," please send 10,000 pounds of copper "to enable us to execute our orders for these projectiles." Production totaling two or three thousand continued almost every month until late 1864. All had the same pronounced lathe key (never intentionally broken-off) adjacent to the fuze hole and none had segmented interiors. A very similar looking smooth-sided 3.5 inch Read was made by the Augusta Arsenal beginning around mid-1863. That version never had a lathe key and the interior is always segmented. A few of those Deep South projectiles were fired in Virginia by the Army of Southern VA and North Carolina when they reinforced the Army of Northern VA at Petersburg.
Note: the last 3.5 inch Mullane pictured below was one of two dug at Brandy Station by the Great Syd Kerksis during the 1950s or 60s. It is typical S & P product with lathe key, flush-bolt and evidence of deep-cut lathing on the bearing surface peeking thru the rust.