3.8-INCH HOTCHKISS SHELL FOR JAMES RIFLE FROM CHANCELLORSVILLE

3.8-INCH HOTCHKISS SHELL FOR JAMES RIFLE FROM CHANCELLORSVILLE

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$550.00

Quantity Available: 1

Item Code: 2026-1283

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Call 717-334-0347,
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Hotchkiss 3.8-Inch projectiles were used in the 14-pounder James Rifle, with Hotchkiss 3.67-Inch rounds in theory for rifled 6-pounder guns. The nomenclature of the guns is muddied by the broader use of “James Rifle” for guns of several calibers using James rifling, and distribution of those two differing caliber rounds in particular is complicated by the fact that some of the 6-pounder guns were actually bored out to 3.80 inches when rifled. For the cannon see Hazlett, Parks and Olmstead. For the ammunition see Melton & Pawl and Dickey and George. The short version of the story is that the field guns were gradually relegated to the western theatre, with Dickey & George noting that most of these 3.8 Hotchkiss rounds come from Vicksburg. A few James Rifles, however, remained in service with the Army of the Potomac as late as Gettysburg, where four of them were served by the 2nd Connecticut Light Artillery. This one has a Chancellorsville provenance, though we are not sure which battery or batteries may have had the guns.

This Hotchkiss shell has its base cup and expansion band intact and in place, and shows flame grooves in the sides of all three elements. The fuze is missing, but the metal overall shows just shallow crustiness and corrosion, fairly uniform in distribution, and has a pleasing medium brown color to the iron, with the expansion band showing a fairly even gray, mixed with some white. It is nicely lettered in old white paint: “U.S. / HOTCHKISS / 3.80 Inch / Shell / FOR JAMES RIFLE.”

This is in very good condition and would make a great addition to a Civil War artillery or projectile display, especially one with a focus on Hotchkiss projectiles or the story of James rifles.  [sr][ph:L]

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