Relic Discussion > Artillery

Lathed Atlanta Reads

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CarlS:
I (and some others) got an email from Nick P. about an Atlanta Read he had that he thought we might be interested in.  It turns out I had an even nicer one already but it did make me look at them a little closer.  It was a 2.9" smooth Read with the copper sabot that has been lathed down.  This was presumable a 2nd version of the earlier ones that had that thick brittle copper sabot that typically shattered on being fired.   Below are the two example I have that show the new thinner lathed copper sabot but also show the lower portion of the shell lathed.  The lathing is only about 1/32" deep so can't imagine what its function might be.  Anyone know any information on this lathing or have any good guesses?  The first with the white writing is like the one Nick had.  The 2nd is similar but is a side loader, has the copper fuse and has a rifling stamped wrought iron sabot.  Ok, not that similar but both have the shallow lathing.   ;D  Both have lathe dimples of course.

Side note that might be of interest, my side loader has rust because it is only coated with wax.  It was cleaned and coated with nothing but Bri-Wax long ago.  I had loaned it to a museum and the heat was turned off at night.  Then in the AM the heat was turned back on.  The room warmed up faster than the shell and so it sweated.  >:(  My shells there that had polyurethane had no issues.  Most of the waxed ones did.  Only a little effort to clean it up but haven't found the time.

Woodenhead:
Carl, I don't believe there was any relation between those two Read Parrott shells. The one with the wood fuze plug - where was it dug. Atlanta Campaign? The switch to wooden plugs in the Deep South occurred later than in Virginia (April 1864). What makes that an Atlanta shell. Why not Augusta, Macon or any of the other nearby arsenals that were supplying lots of Read-Parrotts to the Army of Tennessee at that time? Its shallow band of lathing looks like a finishers mistake. Served no purpose.

The other Read-Parrott with the wrought iron sabot is one of the less common styles found in Virginia. It dates from a different time - late 1862. The gap at the bottom was not a finisher's mistake but part of a new sleeved pattern introduced by the Richmond Arsenal during the summer of 1862. I have pages made up of identical shells and I believe I know who made them. I'll post them following your reply.

If it is not too much trouble, Carl, would you mind posting a photo of side-by-side base views so I can compare with other shells I have photographed.

Woodenhead

CarlS:
Woodenhead,

I agree that it looks like a finishers mistake.  I even mentioned that to RelicRunner.  But the 1993 Dickey and George book shows this type shell on page 250 and it has that same lathed area.  That's what made me say that perhaps it is purposeful as well as the fact that I had two examples in my own collection.  I don't have a recovery location for that shell.  It is an Atlanta Read only in name as on page 250 it calls it an "Atlanta Works" Long Read due to the unfinished examples found when grading in Atlanta. 

I'll get more pictures this evening after work.

emike123:
I have heard several theories over the years as to why this area of lathin was done to the bottom of Read shells.  One idea that stuck with me was that this line served to arrest the base chipping that was a problem for Reads.  With this, they would only crack to the top of the lathed area. 

Not sure if that idea holds up to the scrutiny of others here on the forum, but I thought I'd throw it out in response to Carl's question in the first post in the thread.

CarlS:
Here are the pics of the bases and noses for good measure.  Both have thin flat bottoms with a lathe dimple.  The side loader must have had some of the sprue sticking up in the center as you can see where it was ground flat to accept the lathe dimple.  The stamped wrought iron sabot on the side loader sure looks like the one on a Read-Parrott.

I personally don't see how the lathed area would help any with chipping in this case given how shallow it is on both shells.  It is hard to tell from the pics but it is very shallow.  You can see it much better than you can feel it.

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