Confederate Adjutant General button	The Civil War Relicman, Harry Ridgeway
	Winchester, Virginia USA (changed hands 70 times in the Civil War!) I am a collector buying and selling authentic Civil War Relics
	This page updated   April 03, 2008

The Ridgeway Civil War reference archive 
Artillery shells, Brooke (Confederate)

This is a sampling of relics collected by Harry Ridgeway over the years.  This archive record is for educational purposes only.  Some of the relics listed may be on display at the Old Court House Civil War Museum, Winchester Virginia, some are no longer owned by the author.  None of the items listed in this section are for sale, please refer to the separate sales catalog for items that are currently offered.

All artillery items listed  have been disarmed and rendered inert. 

A1646    Brooke bolt, mill base sabot, Confederate Brooke rifle, 7 in.
 
Brooke shot with smooth sides and flat top, sabot is simply milled out of the bottom of the shell. All examples recovered were on a Confederate iron clad that ran aground on Trent's Reach in the James River. About 80 heavy shells were tossed into the water, about 10,000 pounds and this was just enough to get the ship off the ground! Shell is marked "S" on the bottom. 
Unfired sabot fully intact, excellent metal. 
Recovered: Trent's Reach, James River Va 
Diameter 6.9 in, length 12.5 inch 
Ref: Bell Heavy Ord, pg. 177 

A1645    Brooke very long bolt, ratchet disc sabot, Confederate Brooke rifle, 7 in.
 
Tall shot with bourrelet rings and flat top, sabot is heavy copper ratchet disc, All examples recovered were on a Confederate iron clad that ran aground on Trent's Reach in the James River. About 80 heavy shells were tossed into the water, about 10,000 pounds and this was just enough to get the ship off the ground! 
Unfired sabot fully intact, excellent metal. 
Recovered: Trent's Reach, James River Va 
Diameter 6.95 in, length 14 inch 
Ref: Bell Heavy Ord, pg. 182

A1756    Brooke smooth sided shell, ratchet ring sabot, Archer percussion fuse, Confederate Brooke rifle, 7 in.

Late war design, Brook kept the ratchet system but dropped the disc sabot design in favor of this ring sabot, possibly to conserve copper. Sides of shell are smooth, appearance of a sleeve depends on the degree of milling near the nose. Archer percussion fuse (Jones pg. 62) 
Fired sabot is partial showing 7 lands & grooves, fuse sleeve is present, fuse is missing, metal is strong light pitting only. 
Recovered: James River defenses 
Diameter 6.9 inch, length 14.5 in. 
Ref: Bell Heavy Ord, pg. 192