Watercap Fuze Tabs

[Ripcon]

I'm resurrecting this from a previous post I made over the summer regarding some navy watercap fuze tabs I found in Vicksburg, MS.
Cannonball Guy said:
"I must add my public congratulations on your EXTREMELY rare find. Those Watercap Fuze lead safety seals are almost never dug, because the Navy Watercap fuze was (of course) used almost entirely aboard ships. Vicksburg is one of the very-very few places where these lead safety seals have ever been dug. They're found at Vicksburg because during the lengthy siege the frustrated yankees dragged some huge 9''-calibre Dahlgren cannons off one of the Navy's ships and laboriously hauled them overland into position in the siege entrenchments, to add some major Heavy Artillery firepower to the usual Field Artillery cannons bombarding the Confederate entrenchments. Because you dug them yourself, it would be worth your while to look up the history of that Navy ship's cannons use on land at Vicksburg. It must have been located very close to where you dug those Navy Watercap lead safety seals."

I made a trip to Vicksburg and took a photo of a Confederate water battery position that is very near where the tabs were found. The position served two 10-inch Columbiad's. Is is possible that these safety seals were used by the Confederates as well? Were the safety seals only used on 9'' Dahlgren's or could the 10'' Columbiad have employed the same safety seals on their projectiles?
I've attached a picture of the history marker near the safety seal recovery site.

 

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[TheCannonballGuy]

Those same Watercap Fuze lead safety seals were definitely also used by the Confederates. We know for certain because identical ones have been found on unfired CS-made Watercap fuzes. (There's no way to tell a US-made lead safety-seal from a CS-made one.)

The same type of Watercap Fuze seals were used on various calibers of shells. Neither the size of the shell, nor the type of cannon matters. What matters is the type of fuze used in the shell. Watercap-fuzed shells were fired from Dahlgren cannons and Columbiad cannons. The Watercap Fuze was used anytime the shells were to be fired at a target on water.

 

[Ripcon]

Thanks, Cannonball Guy!

 

[Anduril]

Some more information on the Vicksburg water batteries here, in case you haven't already come across it in your own research.
https://markerhunter.wordpress.com/2013/05/23/defenses-of-vicksburg-part-2/

In total, 31 pieces of heavy artillery.
Also, sounds like a great place to spend an afternoon.
I was over that bridge in the past year or so, but did not have time for a walkabout of local the surroundings.

 

[NOLA_Ken]

CannonballGuy, is there any kind of estimate of how many of these have been found by relic hunters?

 

[callicles]

Some more information on the Vicksburg water batteries here, in case you haven't already come across it in your own research.
https://markerhunter.wordpress.com/2013/05/23/defenses-of-vicksburg-part-2/

In total, 31 pieces of heavy artillery.
Also, sounds like a great place to spend an afternoon.
I was over that bridge in the past year or so, but did not have time for a walkabout of local the surroundings.

Anduril,

That is a wonderful cite!! Thanks for sharing!!!!

 

[Ripcon]

Thanks for the site.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

NOLA_Ken asked:
> CannonballGuy, is there any kind of estimate of how many of these have been found by relic hunters?

Ken, the Watercap (waterproof) fuzes were made to be used aboard Navy ships. There were VERY few places where Watercap fuzes were used on land. So, very-very few Watercap Fuze lead safety-seals have ever been dug. From my 40+ years of dealing in such artillery relics, I would estimate less than 200. But that might be low. When they've been found, there's usually a batch of them. There could be a very quiet Vicksburg (MS) or Port Hudson (LA) or Fort Fisher (NC) relic-digger who has a jarfull from one cannon-emplacement... but he doesn't sell anything he's dug, nor post nor talk about his finds.

Another reason I suspect more have been dug than we know about... because ot the extraordinary rarity, most diggers do not recognize these lead artillery safety-seals as a civil war relic, so they toss them back into the hole.

An example of that is, upon seeing my civil war artillery relics at shows, several diggers have told me they threw away a civil war artillery fuze because they thought it was a plumbing-part.

 

[Ripcon]

Wow! That's the case with my fuze tabs.
I was hunting with 2 other people. There were about 20 or so tabs in the hole and we all divided them up amongst ourselves.
I wasn't sure exactly what they were but I knew they were from the war.