Federal

Canister

 

DIAMETER:  3.58 inches
GUN:  20-pounder Parrott rifle, 3.67-inch caliber
LENGTH:  9 7/8 inches
WEIGHT:  12 pounds 7 ounces
CONSTRUCTION:  Canister
SABOT:  Wooden cylinder
FUZING:  None
This non-excavated specimen is the standard-style canister round for the 20-pounder Parrott rifle.  It contains rows of iron balls packed in sawdust.  It is 3" longer than the standard-style 6-pounder canister, also of 3.67-inch caliber.  Standard canister are found with iron or lead balls stacked in tiers; the interstices are then filled with dry, sifted sawdust which is packed with a pointed stick so that the balls will hold by themselves. The wooden sabots found on field canisters have two grooves cut into them. The cartridge bag was tied onto these deep grooves cut into the wooden sabot in a complicated fashion. The canister cylinder was commonly made of tin, which was dipped into a lacquer of beeswax dissolved in spirits of turpentine, to prevent rusting while in field service.