Federal

Read-Parrott

 

DIAMETER: 2.87 inches
GUN: 10-pounder Parrott rifle, 2.9-inch caliber
LENGTH: 8 3/4 inches
WEIGHT: 8 pounds 14 ounces
CONSTRUCTION: Shell
SABOT: Wrought iron ring
FUZING: Wooden fuze plug, paper time fuze
Robert P. Parrott and Dr. John B. Read were both projectile inventors before the Civil War. Read patented his wrought iron ring sabot projectiles on October 28, 1856, patent #15,999. Parrott purchased from Read the rights to manufacture Read's projectile before 1861, and a royalty was to be paid to Dr. Read. On August 20, 1861, with patent #33,100, Parrott patented an improvement to Read's projectiles. Parrott's patent stated, in part: "This invention consists in an improvement upon the elongated projectile for which letters Patent of the United States were issued on the 28th day of October, 1856, to John B. Read....the cups [Read ring sabots] became so weak as to be liable to break away from the body of the projectile....to prevent this, I make the said cup, more especially at its edges, of greater thickness, and to insure its proper entrance into the grooves I swage or otherwise form the said cup before the insertion of the projectile in the gun in such a manner that in loading it will enter into the grooves in such a manner that if will not interfere with the free loading of the gun, but that in loading it will be driven completely into the grooves and caused to fit the grooves and lands by the force of the explosion of the charge of powder without any danger of its being broken."

According to a letter written by Parrott, this projectile pattern was tested at the Washington Arsenal under the command of Brigadier General George D. Ramsay in June 1861 and was used exclusively by Ricketts' Battery at First Manassas. The projectile shown here, which was recovered from the site of the Battle of First Manassas, is exactly like that drawn and described in Parrott's patent #33,100. Although the projectile is of Federal manufacture, the sabot design falls under Read's patent of October 28, 1856; Parrott only made an improvement upon Read's wrought iron ring sabot. Therefore, all wrought iron ring sabot projectiles similar to the above example should properly be classified as the Read-Parrott pattern. Parrott later patented a brass ring sabot which should properly be referred to by his name only. The later Parrott patterns have been threaded for fuzes and have brass sabots. 

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