Letter, 1863 November 3, Talcott to Brooks
National Park Service
Item Details
CreatorTalcott
Dates
Date Created
Descriptive Information
LanguageEnglish
Letter to Brooks from Talcott, including detailed information on Parrott guns in Fort Putnam (Gregg), Battery Chatfield, and Fort Strong (Wagner). Facts are provided for each gun, such as the date of bursting, number of rounds fired before bursting, the number of pieces each gun burst into, and how far the pieces were thrown. Descriptions of any fractures are provided, as well as other observations on the conditions of the guns after bursting.
Transcription[Letter, continued] hours after the accident. VII. Oct. [October] 31st a 100 pdr. gun burst at Fort Putnam. This gun was put in to replace the first one which burst and had fired but 138 rounds. The gun parted from the reinforce just within the band and the fracture ran forward some 3 ft. resembling no. VI. very closely. The pieces did not leave the battery. I was in the fort at the time it burst and could detect no flaw in the iron. The metal appeared to have given way with more difficulty than any other I have seen. Several small pieces half torn away remained within the reinforce band. The shell reached Sumter and burst there. There were 5 pieces found in the battery. No one was injured. VIII. Oct. [October] 31st a 100 pdr gun burst at Battery Chatfield. I could not ascertain how many rounds had been fired from it. probably in the neighborhood of 300. The fracture resembled most of the others running from just within the reinforce band forward some 2 ft. on the upper side of the gun. I did not see the gun until more than 24 hours after it burst, but Capt. Caldwell could discover no flaw in the metal. But one piece was blown from the gun. No one was injured. No one saw the shell after the accident. It probably exploded prematurely- The 300 pdr. has been silent for a couple of days now (Nov. 6) but the Ordnance Dept. have as yet been unable to decide whether the trouble is in the gun or only in the vent. In the latter case it can be repaired. If it is irreparable I will procure its history for you also. I am sorry I cannot furnish you with a
TopicsSouth Carolina--History
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
Artillery operations
Fort Sumter National Monument (Agency : U.S.)
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
Artillery operations
Fort Sumter National Monument (Agency : U.S.)
Physical Descriptions
Mediumcommercial correspondence
TypeStill Image
Formatimage/jpeg
Contributing Institutions
Identifiers
Digital Identifiersmt_brooks446_022_006
Permanent Linkhttp://purl.clemson.edu/BC59F981D530F8E3E7C9AE64CF985A9B
Batch ID20180328174717