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, Sawyer (Federal)

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. 

A1535     Sawyer bolt, lead sabot and sleeved, Federal 3.67 inch Sawyer rifle 

Massive lead sabot covering the base and the sides was completely unsatisfactory because its elasticity would tend to absorb too much energy from firing and gum up the bore on the cannon. The shell was tested at Port Hudson, and then apparently abandoned. Base is stamped "PATENTED NOVEMBER 13, 1855". Fired sabot shows 6 lands and grooves and distortion of firing but is intact. Metal is good, light pitting. 
Diameter 3.6 inch, length 7 inch 
Recovered: Port Hudson, LA 
Ref: Dickey & George pg. 294     

A1531    Sawyer shell, lead sabot and sleeved, Sawyer rifle, 3.67 in. 
   

Massive lead sabot covering the entire base and the sides was completely unsatisfactory because its elasticity would tend to absorb too much of the explosion and gum up the bore on the cannon. The shell was tested at Port Hudson, and then apparently abandoned. Base is stamped "PATENTED NOVEMBER 13, 1855" and number "14 1/2" is stamped near the nose. Equipped with the Sawyer combination fuse. Fired sabot intact, 6 lands and grooves are distinct on this example patent date in the base is crisp, "14 1/2" is definite on the nose, fuse is blown away. 
Recovered: Port Hudson, LA 
Diameter 3.58 inch, length 7.6 inch 
Ref: D & G pg. 295 

A1141    Sawyer shell, lead sabot and sleeved and flanged, Sawyer rifle, 3.67 in. 

Massive lead sabot covering the entire base and the sides was completely unsatisfactory because its elasticity would tend to absorb too much of the explosion and gum up the bore on the cannon. The shell was tested at Port Hudson, and then apparently abandoned. Base is stamped "PATENTED NOVEMBER 13, 1855" six flanges are cast into the sabot. Equipped with the Sawyer percussion fuse. 
Fired sabot intact, 6 lands and grooves are distinct on this example patent date in the base is definite. Fuse blown away on impact. 
Found by Emile Mancuso, Port Hudson La 
Diameter 3.6 inch, length 7 inch 
Ref: D & G pg. 296 

A2006     Sawyer shell, lead sabot and sleeved and flanged, Sawyer rifle, 3.67 in. 

Massive lead sabot covering the entire base and the sides was completely unsatisfactory because its elasticity would tend to absorb too much of the explosion and gum up the bore on the cannon. The shell was tested at Port Hudson, and then apparently abandoned. The flanges are a prominent part of this shell, this proves that the flanges are in the casting itself and not in the lead. Nose and sabot blown off this example.
Recovered: Fired by Captain Pythagoras Holcomb's 2nd Vermont battery at Port Hudson, LA
Diameter 3.6 in.
Ref: D & G pg. 296