12 pd Case Shot Cut in Half

[callicles]

Here is my cancerous case shot I had cut by a nice gentleman in Virginia.  Looks like he did a great job.  Just wanted to share it.

Thanks to emike and CW for the advice and for the helpful information.

[emike123]

Looks good.  Is that a rebate I see under the fuse in the corners?  If so, it is CS!  Is the black pitch still sticky?  I don't know how to arrest that other than freezing it!

[callicles]

Thanks emike.  Once again, I learn something every day because I do not know what a "rebate" is as concerns shells.  Could you expound?  I can only say that the fuse has a 90 degree pie slice -- like the one Jine posted.  But any theory making it CS would be great! 

Also notice the rust penetration on the outer rim.  It definitely needed cutting.  Now, the picture posted was taken by the guy who cut it.  He mailed it to me today.  I suspect the pitch is still sticky.  So, what do you mean about freezing?

Anyway, thanks for your help in me getting this done.

[emike123]

The Confederacy had issues with their Bormann fused cannon balls.  An interim remedy they tried was to put a rebated area under the fuse for a gasket.  I have highlighted what looks to be such a rebate with this orange circle.  US shells did not have these rebates as far as I know.

[CarlS]

It appears the gasket space is there.  It is most clear on the bottom left side of each fuse half as an indentation into the iron.  Here is a zoom in on the fuses:

[callicles]

CW and MIke,

I post below pictures I took of the shell a few years ago --the same shell that has been cut above. They are bad pictures, but if you look hard you can see that it has a 90 degree wedge.  Also, notice the fuse has been pushed up as a result of moisture inside the shell freezing off-and-on since the ACW (it was found in an area that often floods and that always holds moisture).

Could the rebate somehow be related to the fuze being slowly pushed up and out over the decades? Don't think I wouldn't love to have some shell that changes the understanding of US and CS Boremann fuses.  I would love, too, to say it is a CS case-shot (who wouldn't?).  I can't wait to learn more about the rebate idea.

Again, the pictures of the cut shell were taken by the gentleman who cut them.  I should be receiving the shell tomorrow.  I will take better pictures of the supposed rebate area and post them for review.

Until then, perhaps Pete will chime in and give us some help.

[CarlS]

Here is a cut from a half section shell on civilwartillery.com showing the fuse opening without the rebated area.  Note the threads go down to a 90 degree turn toward the underplug opening.  With the CS rebate there is a groove around the bottom of that threaded area that accepted the gasket.  It seems to be visible in yours as seen in the 2nd image.  The arrow is pointing at the possible rebate at the bottom of the threads.

[Pete George]

At Callicles request, here is my analysis.

  More than 30 years ago, when I was doing my studies about distinguishing CS-made Bormann fuzes from US-made ones, I noticed the big "gasket rebate" (groove) at the bottom of CS-made Bormann shells, and began to distribute my theory that its presence was a way to tell CS-made Bormann shells from US-made ones.  Full confirmation came via the flood of cut-in-half Augusta GA cache CS Bormanns.  Every one of those that I've ever seen has the gasket-rebate.

  So, the "guideline" I formulated is, the gasket rebate means CS-made, and no gasket rebate means it's either yankee-made or 1861 CS-made (before the gasket-as-premature-detonation-remedy was adopted).

  That "guideline" has held true through all the following years, for every sawed-in-half Bormann shell with an identifiably CS-made or US-made fuze in it.  Callicles' sawed Bormann is the first I've seen which doesn't match up with the guideline.  So, I have to think the simplest answer is that his shell is a CS-made Bormann with a captured US-made Bormann fuze in it.  EDIT: Or, a captured CS-made shell fired by the yankees with a US-made fuze in it.  (There is documented proof that the yanks used captured CS ordnance during the Vicksburg Campaign.)

Background info:
  As is already known, the Confederates had bad troubles with their Bormann fuzes detonating the shell prematurely ...often in the barrel or muzzle of the cannon upon firing.  (After the battle of Fredericksburh, that problem caused Col. E.P. Alexander, Lee's Chief of Reserve Artillery, to ban their use by the Army of Northern Virginia.  (Nonetheless, some still got used at Gettysburg ...and much later in the Western Theater, due to desperation.)

  One remedy the Confederates tried for overcoming the premature-detonation problem was to manufacture their Bormann-fuzed shells with a deep groove (which Machinists and Engineers call a rebate) encircling the bottom of the shell's "main" fuzehole.  The rebate's purpose was to accept a wider-than-normal leather gasket underneath the Bormann fuze.  The theory was that the prematures were caused by firing-blast flame geting past the fuze's short threaded section and going underneath the fuze, thereby getting access to the shell's bursting-charge.  You could say that the oversize gasket is a "headgasket," to seal the bottom of the main fuzehole from intrusion by firing-blast flame.

Important note:
  US-made Bormann fuzes also had a leather or rubber gasket underneath the fuze.  But the US gasket was no wider than the fuze's body.  Thus there is no gasket rebaye in US Bormann fuzeholes.

  Here are some close-up photos which show the difference I noticed long ago between a CS-made Bormann fuzehole and a US-made one.

Regards,
Pete

[6lbgun]

I too have such a shell in my collection.  It's a 6lb sectioned case shot with a rebate and a Federal 90 degree Bormann.
Dan

[Ripcon]

Awesome find!!!!!

[callicles]

Okay Guys,

First off, I want to thank emike and CW for identifying the rebate.  Also, thanks Pete for coming in and giving us that expert's "punch."   Look, if there is ever an example of why this site is as good as it gets, it is this thread. I have never heard of "rebate." If I had not posted that thing on this site, it would have rested on my mantle for years, labeled as a Yankee shell! Again, thanks emike and CW (and, of course, Pete "the God Father" George).

All I did was send off a cancerous, Yankee made case-shot.  I promised emike that I would post it for the benifit of this community after it was cut. And now, I have something more than I would have ever dreamed!!  By the way, Pete has proffered that my item might have been captured by Yankess, who removed the CS fuse, then replaced it with there own.

Alright, here is the question for you guys: how do I best preserve this thing to stop the cancer? I'm hoping it will arrive via UPS tomorrow.

One other query: how unique should I regard this shell?  I don't sell any of my artifacts, but I'd like to get ideas on how the value might be evaluated based on these facts.

Thanks Guys,

Callicles

[emike123]

Thanks for the kind words.  Glad it worked out.  I would like to get lucky one day myself and find that I have cut a ratty shell only to find it has bullets inside for the case shot.  Hasn't happened yet...

I think the intrinsic value of this story is a lot higher than the extrinsic value of your halves.  There is no question, however, that this is worth more "Dead" (eg, cut) "than Alive" (eg., whole).  Its worth more both extrinsically and as an aide to understanding.  My guess is each half is worth $195 and before this operation , the whole shell was essentially unsellable but may have been worth $175.

Preservation will have to be answered by someone else.  I was told that the Chesterton's Rust Transformer I sometimes use for similar situations will not work on shells found in swampy ground.  Electrolysis may be better, but it would've been easier to do before it was cut and a lot of the "cancerous" iron will go away so it may not be an option either.  I'd also be interested in knowing if anyone has an answer for the black "tar" matrix because often it remains stick and has a nasty tendency to flow.  Maybe now that it is exposed to air it will solidify.

[John D. Bartleson Jr.]

To All Interested,
     Bormann fuses are installed at an arsenal using a very special tool to fit the tool indentation.  Being of a soft metal, the Bormann  can't be removed without it without causing much damage.
     Using the below image as an example of a U.S.  shell, you can see that any flame cannot pass the leather gasket and enter the fuse support plug.  So why would an extra gasket stop the flame.  The U.s. did not have this premature detonations so why would the C.S.
     The Bormann fuse bears against its gasket 360 derees on the gasket, the gasket in turn bears against the bottom of the fuse hole.
      I doubt if a gunner would attempt the removal of a U.s. Bormann so as to re-install it in his shell nor return the shell to one of their arsenals for a re-fit.  But I guess perhaps anything is possible.
 Best Regards,
John
P.S. Does anyone have a 12 pdr C.s. shell having a side loading plug and a Bormann fuse installed in it?

[Pete George]

John D. Bartleson Jr. wrote:
> So why would an extra gasket stop the flame.

  As my previous post made clear, it is not an "extra" gasket, because US Bormann shells also have a gasket.  The difference is that the post-1861 Confederate gasket is wider and thicker than the US Bormann gasket.

> The U.S. did not have this premature detonations so why would the C.S.

 Artillery reports in the Official Records show that the US did have the premature-detonation Bormann fuze problem ...but not nearly as frequently as CS-made Bormann fuzes.  During the war, the difference was attributed to inferior manufacturing quality of the CS-made fuzes.  That is why yankees would sometimes fire a captured CS Bormann shell but would replace its fuze with a US-made one.  It is also why Confederate gunners would definitely use a captured US-Made Bormann fuze when any were available.

> Bormann fuses are installed at an arsenal using a very special tool to fit the tool indentation.
> Being of a soft metal, the Bormann  can't be removed without it without causing much damage.

  Pardon me please, but both of those statements are incorrect.  Bormann fuzes were definitely NOT installed in the shell at the arsenal.  Bormann fuzes CAN be unscrewed from the shell (if not left in place "too" long.  Here are SIX pieces of proof:
1- Yankee 12-pounder Limber-chest "contents diagrams" show a separate compartment for the fuzes.  The yankees very rarely used paper timefuzes in 12-pdr. shells, so the diagram MUST be referring to storing Bormann fuzes in a separate compartment if the Limber-chest.
2- Various caches of unfired Bormann shells have been dug, and in some of the caches the shells' Bormann fuzes were absent.
3- Bormann fuze-wrenches have been dug at cannon-positions and in artillery camps.  Why would the artillerymen be issued those Bormann fuze-wrenches if the fuzes were already installed in the shells at the arsenal?
4- One version of US-made Bormann fuze has a feathered arrow on its face, pointing in a counterclockwise direction (the "unscrew" direction).  If the Bormann fuze cannot be unscrewed after installation, what is the purpose of the arrow on the fuze?
5- Some "dropped" (unfired) Bormann fuzes have been dug which show slight damage from the Bormann fuze-wrench twisting the fuze in the UNSCREW direction.     
6- ALL Bormann fuzes have a thin sheetmetal disc at the center of the fuze's underside.  The thin metal disc's purpose is to prevent water or "humidity" from entering the fuze's flame-hole while the fuze is in storage, awaiting use.  To prepare the fuze for use, the artillerymen had to pierce one or more tiny holes through the sheetmetal disc, to allow flame from the fuze to enter the shell's bursting-charge cavity.  That would be impossible to do if the fuze was installed at the arsenal and could not be unscrewed later.

Regards,
Pete

[Pete George]

  As most readers already know, my posts tend to be uncommonly "lengthy."  So, I try to self-edit my posts' lengthiness, by not including every last detail I know about the subject -- unless doing so is absolutely neccessary.

  In my prior post, in the part about why the Confederates "evolved" their Bormann shells' fuzehole to accommodate a wider gasket under the fuze, and WHY they did that, I excluded an additional detail, for the sake of shortening my long-windedness.

  As I mentioned in that post, the Confederates were trying to figure out the causes of their Bormann fuzes detonating prematurely, inside the cannon's bore upon firing. Here is the detail I excluded.  In addition to firing-blast flame intrusion past the fuze's threads (which I did mention), the Confederates thought the premature-detonation problem might be due to "firing shock" causing a seam INSIDE the fuze to split, allowing flame from the fuze's powder-train to prematurely enter the shell's bursting-charge cavity.

  The Confederates thought the wider, thicker gasket would prevent premature detonation in the cannon's bore or at its muzzle ...which caused casualties among Confederate troops who were stationed out in front of the cannons to protect the battery's position from capture.

On that subject:
  Long ago, I read a battle-report involving CS casualties caused by defective CS Bormann-fuzed shells.  The commander of the battery-protection CS infantry sent a message up the hill to the battery's commander.  The note said, "If you fire one more round of that defective ammunition over our heads, I shall order my troops to turn around and give you a volley."

Regards,
Pete