The U. S. Naval Water Cap Fuse;

[CarlS]

Just as a count from my small watercap collection, I have 4 of 11 that have the 'ORD D'.  The Anchor varies some in size but is always to the right of the "ORD" or "ORD D" and before the notch.

I aslo have one of the lead tabs for the watercap and it is stamped "5 SEC".  John, it appeas in your picture that you've made the lead seal fit the centercap of the fuse but mine covers the whole open area within the flange; not just the watercap.  All I saw in Chuck's book and as best I can recall all I've seen were this way.  Have you seen one with only the center cap protected?

[Dave the plumber]

               by the way, some fuzes are stamped ORD W, instead of ORD D.  A few have been found around here at Fort Fisher.  Any idea what D and W stand for ??  I always figured D was for department....
      Jim, thanks for joining us and adding your input. Feel free to post and get into the discussion - we look forward to it. Stop lurking when you have so much to contribute !!
       And Jim, thanks to bringing to light that some wartime fuzes are marked R.  I always thought all the ones out there were from the California cache John mentioned. Now I know different. Some have 2 stamped R's I've seen.
       And yes Carl, there are many different size stamps and they vary considerably that I have seen.

[John D. Bartleson Jr.]

Carl,
   The lead seal had worn away and was only left inside and outside the cap wrench lip as shown below.
Dave I assumed the second "D" meant Department but have never read any documentation on its meaning.  Would the "W" mean Washington Navy Yard?
Come Jim, lets see more of your fuses/fuzes.
Best Regards,
John

[Jim J.]

Bart (and all others who are interested) - I hope you do not mind me using this term of address, as John B. makes me think of Col. JB.
 
   This discussion certainly has lead to a number of new questions.  The lead seals that we have in the Lab, are all the same diameter as the brass insert at the top of the Water Cap fuse body.  They cover the brass insert completely.  The seal has been conserved, after spending ~150 years at the bottom of Galveston Bay.
   A number of people have commented on the letters on the fuse face.  The ORD obviously stands for "Ordnance (Dept)".  I was informed some time ago (cannot remember where - so treat as unsubstantiated fact), that ORD D stood for Washington Navy Yard.  This does not add up, as Dave mentions that he has an example with ORD W - which is an example that I had not heard of before.  The W for Washington Navy Yard makes sense, but what then is the D.  Alger Iron Works was in Boston, and they came up with the design for the fuse.  The second D standing for Dept. makes sense, and is likely candidate for the Ordnance Dept. (ORD D) in the Washington Navy Yard - where many of these fuses were known to be made.  If one argues this route, what do we do with the W?
   There are a number of different fonts used to mark the fuses, we have at least three in our collection.  There are also a number of different variations, in how the letters were stamped, was the ORD three one-letter stamps, or one with the three letters combined?  With the examples that I have, I could easily argue either way.  Bart posted his most recent images of two fuses, that have a period / dot between and after the two D's. This is something that I have not seen before.  The anchor symbol on the face of the fuse is the mark for the US Navy, showing that the fuse was made for Naval use.  Bart has accurately described the use and re-use of the letter R, that signifies that the fuse has been reloaded.  Black powder is hydroscopic (absorbs / attracts water), so the fuse had to be changed out after a period of time (how long, I am not sure ~ 1 year ?).  A "wet" fuse - one that has absorbed some moisture, burns slower and inconsistently!  This is something that a gunner would have lots to say about, in the vernacular!
   I have been asked to post more of my fuses.  I will be honest here, and say I have lots (~80) of fuses - ALL of them being US Navy Water Cap fuses, some in very poor condition.  I will, in time, post comments and observations them.
   FYI - I will let the rest of the forum know here, that I am from the other side.  Yep, I am an underwater archaeologist and an artifact conservator.  My day to day job is conserving artifacts, with ~ 38 vats running constantly doing electrolysis.  The largest vat holds 1,300 gallons, and contains a IX Inch Dahlgren Cannon, #144, Alger Iron works, 1857, 9,155 Lbs.  All of the USS Westfield artifacts belong to the US Navy, and were excavated by the US Corps of Engineers.  We are conserving the artifacts for the Navy, and then they will go on display in various museums - and the rest goes into storage.  I can assure you that we have lots of "bits & pieces".
   Thank you again for a wonderful forum!
Jim J.

[John D. Bartleson Jr.]

Dear Jim,
     I believe the quality of the Water Cap fuse adapter depends on its surroundings.   The Galveston fuses had to be in mud which would protect and reduce wear.  Whereas the California fuses were at water's edge among rocks, gravel and other debris which accounts for the wear on the lead seals.
     I have also wondered how the seals were fastened to the fuse face.  Were they press fitted?
      I notice that the right hand fuse does not have a "D".  Jim are you sure that the "/" is not just a scratch?  Usually when I make my drawings I notice things like this as I usually draw at X400 due to my low vision, but sure missed these oddities.
     If you enlarge the trio you can see that the "ORD" is one stamp as is the anchor.  Because we now know that a "W" as well as the normal "D" indicates that they are also separate stamps.  For this reason I believe the tool man just forgot to add the "D".  Even the dates are in slightly different locations on the face.
Regards,
John

[John D. Bartleson Jr.]

Jim,
    I have sent you a private message on here.   It is difficult to know that a message has been sent only by a number next to "private message".
John

[Jim J.]

Bart,
Your comment about the quality of the fuse, depends on its surroundings, is perfectly correct.  Once a piece of metal is buried, or submerged underwater, there are a whole different set of chemical reactions that can occur.  If a brass fuse is by itself in salt water, it will slowly corrode the surface layers away.  If it is still screwed into a cast iron shell, then the iron becomes a sacrificial anode giving up electrons to "save" the brass - a galvanic action.  Hence you will find the brass in good condition, and the iron heavily deteriorated.  But if the fuse is in a "loaded" shell with gunpowder, one has another set of reactions.  The outside of the brass is in good condition from the galvanic action, but the inside section of the fuse projecting into the powder chamber is heavily corroded.  The reason this happens is simple, blackpowder in a sealed container with a little water breaks down into a whole slew of other chemicals - including hydrogen sulfide.  HS2 is very corrosive to brass, so the fuse "stem" is eaten away over time.
   To answer your question - The lead seals are a press fit into the front of the Water Cap fuse.
   Bart - you mention "/" possibly being a scratch.  The "/" was meant as an "either - or", not as a symbol.  Sorry for the confusion here. 
   The "ORD" could easily be one stamp, containing three letters.  Some examples have the three letters in a neat single curve orientation, whilst others seem to have the "RD" in a different curve from the "O".  This could also be a result of a poorly made 3-letter stamp!
   So we have three stamps for the fuses - "ORD", "ORD D" & "ORD W".  Does this mean we have three different manufacturers, or places of manufacture, with the possibility of a "lazy toolman" thrown in for good measure!  Then we also have the "dots" after the "D".
   Bart, I received your PM, and I will find some suitable images for you.  A small favor in return for all of the beautiful drawings you have posted!
Jim J.

[emike123]

Jim J:

I don't think we here consider you to be "from the other side."  In a moment of weakness (& poverty), I might even admit to having had a stint with the British School of Archaeology...

Anyone with a constructive interest in the topics covered on this forum is welcome to contribute, ask questions, or merely lurk.  And anyone who can help share the workload of John's insatiable (& admirable) curiosity and appetite for precision photographs is particularly welcome 

[John D. Bartleson Jr.]

Aw shucks! 

[CarlS]

Mike should have capitalized the entire "insatiable" word when referring to John's image appetite!   

Welcome Jim.   It's certainly great to have you and your knowledge on board!

[Dave the plumber]

       Jim,            Your only from the 'darkside' when relics get destroyed. And it sounds like you are fascinated by them and really into the nuances. We here on the forums don't like guys that blow shells up.... but researchers are ok in our book !!
          I wish more interaction would go on between archeologists and diggers \ collectors. It's all about the spread of knowledge. Around where I live, Wilmington NC, there is a wall between the diggers and the arch's. And the arch's could learn so, so much from the diggers if they took the time to listen. The locals can tell you basically where every camp, picket post, skirmish and outhouse was in Wilmington - valuable knowledge for historians. But there is no cooperation between the two groups. It's a shame, 'cause the old diggers are either dying off or have lost all interest. And when their knowledge is gone..............
       With that said, I have already learned something from you - the R marked fuze were used in wartime. You learned about the W marked fuzes from me. Perfect exchange of knowledge !!
       If possible, and you have the time, could you give the breakdown on how many examples of each year that you have excavated from the one site. I think that would be interesting...... but beware, 'ol Bart will want a picture of each one !!  [ hint - tell him your camera battery's got stolen !! ]

[John D. Bartleson Jr.]

Yeah Yeah, or your computer has crashed. 
John

[Dave the plumber]

        you probably already know this, but the lead seals had a 'pull tab' on them to help for removal immediately before firing the shell.   I lust mention this because the one Jim has pictured the pull tab is missing......

[Jim J.]

Bart asked me if I could post some more images, of our US Naval Water Cap fuze collection.  I will preface this post by saying that the artifacts belong to the US Navy, as they all came off a warship that sank during the course of the Second Battle of Galveston.  I have access to the artifacts, as I am conserving them in a Lab, then they go on display in various museums or into the Navy archaeological storage facility.  Many of the fuzes were found individually on the wreck site, and are corroded.  Others are in good condition, as they were found in a shell.  I will start a separate posting on fuze corrosion, at a later date.


These three fuzes show the date range that we have for the wreck, sorry but I could not find an “1860” at short notice.  You will notice the different font used between the 1859 and the 1861 stamp.  You will also notice that I included one here with the ORD D stamp.  About one in four have the second D.  Dave, Please can we see a copy of the ORD W stamp.  Now, there is another little anomaly here, and I wonder who has spotted it
The USS Westfield sank on January 1st, 1863, and thirteen men lost their lives.  Think of the wreck as being a time capsule, for one particular day in time.   Why do we have fuzes with the dates 1859 & 1860, without the R stamped on the rim?  The 1859 fuze would have been more than three years old, but it was never reloaded - no R stamp.


I show these two fuzes to illustrate another little anomaly.  There are the remains of a wick, in both of the adapters.  Nearly all of the fuzes that we have recovered from shells, that were covered with concretion, have the remains of a wick.  Bart wrote - “The letter R  indicates the fuse has been reworked  with fresh time fuse and the cap filled with fresh pistol powder with the top amount moistened with spirits to form a paste which sets firm.  This outer layer of powder provides a wider area to catch the ignition flame from the propellant charge.”  This is basically what I have found in the literature, so why do we have a wick? 


This image is just to tease Bart, as I am nowhere near his superb computer drawing skills – but I can use a saw.

Dave - thanks for the comment about the pull tab.  The lead seal was found by itself, and was not in a fuze. 
Jim J.

[John D. Bartleson Jr.]

Jim,
  The wick you found is called quick match and is added to enhance ignition.  Beautifuol specimens.
Regards,
John