IDing A Common Commercial Read-Parrott

[Woodenhead]

emike - Does that 20 pdr. have a lathe dimple? Was the sabot pre-rifled? I'm thinking it came from the same foundry as those seen on the first two pages below. I believe that to be Tredegar. None of their shells have lathe keys on the ogive and the sabot appears to be made of good quality rolled iron. It would help if I knew where it was found. Tredegar had stopped making 20 pounders by the end of 1862. Maybe a few in early 1863. The overall look of a Tredegar Parrott closely resembles the Federal Parrotts. I suspect Tredegar had received drawings and maybe patterns to work from directly from Robert Parrott who was a personal friend and fellow West Pointer. After the state of Virginia purchased 13 10 pdr. guns from New York in early 1861, Tredegar was contracted to make 5,000 rounds for the state militia. At that time, there was peace in the land. The third page below shows a 10 pdr dug by Mac Mason that looks like the typical Federal Parrott. It was not turned on a lathe and I agree with Mac that it represents the fine work Tredegar was capable of.

The fourth page below features your 20 pdr. with a Broun fuze. I have not seen that sabot on any other 20 pdr. from VA. Maybe I'll see some similar shells in the future to get a better idea of its origin. Right now I'm thinking "Navy Parrott" because they put so many impact fuzes in their shells. The Army shied away from them until the got Girardey's in early 1864.

Woodenhead

[emike123]

Looks like it was inerted right through where the lathe dimple would've been and that hole filled in with something.

[emike123]

I got that from a collector in Hampton, VA.  Carl and RelicRunner were with me on that memorable trip.  The collector said he had bought it at a show in Richmond.  That's all I have on it.

[Woodenhead]

Wrong 20 pounder. I was asking about the wrought iron sabot which I tentatively attribute to Tredegar. The copper-sabot 20 pdr. of yours is different from any I have photographed from Virginia. We know only a little about what the CS Navy was making but it is certain they were making their own field-caliber ammo including 20 pounders. Many were sent to the hard-pressed Army. I suspect those 10 pdr. Parrotts found in North GA with Brooke sabots began as CS Navy shells - probably from Selma.
Woodenhead

[emike123]

The one with the #393 tag on the bottom has a faint lathe dimple but I cannot see that it is pre-rifled.  It is one of those ones with the large painted "PR" letters on it.  You see these marks every so often -- perhaps they are the initials of the collector who had them at one time.  I think it came from around Petersburg.

Here are the ones to the right of the 30pdr Adolphus Rahm 30pdr plus another fairly recently recovered 4.2" "Broun" on the floor with the 3pc CS percussion fuse.  Thirdly, I chopped one of these to get at the fuse, and the disappointing result is shown in the third picture below: