Whitworth Pattern I, Sub-pattern II
The 6-pounder (2.17-inch caliber) Whitworth rifle saw very little battlefield
use. After the fall of Fort Fisher, North Carolina, on January 15, 1865, four 6-pounder
(2.17-inch caliber) Whitworth rifles were surrendered. Whitworth Pattern I, Sub-pattern
II, shells in this caliber are extremely rare. The small bursting cavity of the Whitworth
pattern made the projectile fragmentation inadequate, usually into only a few pieces.
Whitworth projectiles were extremely accurate and achieved distances far greater than any
other Civil War projectile. For information about Sir Joseph Whitworth
click
here.
