Pre-war Federal

Read

 

DIAMETER:  3.64 inches
GUN:  3.67-inch caliber rifle
LENGTH:  9 1/8 inches
WEIGHT:  10 pounds 10 ounces
CONSTRUCTION: Blind shell
SABOT:  Soft metal sleeve
FUZING:  None, solid iron pin in nose

 Pre-War 3.67-inch Read Blind Shell
This projectile was patented by Dr. John B. Read on November 24, 1857, patent #18,707.  It was found at the site of the test range at Fort Monroe, Virginia.  On the flat base are six small holes around the outside diameter extending underneath the sabot, which aided the propellant gases in expanding the sabot to better fit the cannon's rifling. Another pattern has twelve holes drilled into the base.  This variety of Read projectile was never manufactured during the American Civil War.