Confederate
Carkeet
DIAMETER: 1.94 inches
GUN: 2-pounder Carkeet smoothbore, 2-inch caliber
LENGTH: 3 3/16 inches
WEIGHT: 2 pounds 2 ounces
CONSTRUCTION: Solid Shot
SABOT: None
FUZING: None
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Confederate
DIAMETER: 1.94 inches |
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| James Hill Carkeet,
of Natchez, Mississippi, was
issued a Confederate patent for his smoothbore 2-pounder Carkeet cannon on
September 3, 1861. One source states that the Confederate patent #19
was issued on 09/03/1861 to James H. Harkut (*Carcut) of Natchez, MS for
Manufacture of Cannon. To the author's knowledge,
his projectile was not patented. This projectile used two air vanes as the system of
rotation. The rotary motion of the projectile occurred when the air passed over the
two vanes, producing a left-hand twist. There are several different
varieties of the Carkeet projectile. This pictured projectile has a
concave base. The only battlefield Carkeet recovery occurred on the
Champion's Hill battlefield located in Mississippi near Vicksburg.
Several specimens were recovered from the site of the Selma Arsenal in
Alabama. A wooden "Carkeet" patent model of this type of projectile is
located in the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, Virginia.
Pictured below is another recovered specimen for comparison. |
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