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PostPosted: Wed Feb 08, 2023 9:56 pm 
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Saw this on Facebook when I got home today. An unexploded ordnance shell found while doing the rehabilitation at Little Round Top:

https://www.facebook.com/GettysburgNPS/ ... ynt8bzaEZl

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PostPosted: Wed Feb 08, 2023 11:58 pm 
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Well, that's very interesting. I saw that one of the comments said "... that is a 3" federal Dyer shell ..." but I think it was a 2.9" shell.

I did a bit of research and the only Union guns near Little Round Top were from Hazlett's 5th United States Artillery, Battery D (link at https://civilwarintheeast.com/us-regiments-batteries/us-regulars/5th-united-states-artillery-battery-d/). Battery D had hand-carried their artillery pieces up the rocky hillside, and Hazlett died in defending Little Round Top.
Hazlett had his 10pdr Parrotts (2.9") right on the summit so I'd imagine the shell was found somewhere there. Here (http://www.civilwarartillery.com/projectiles/rifled/FAOIIIb15.htm) is a description, and picture of the standard 10pdr Parrott shell used at the time. It looks like the one recently found.

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PostPosted: Thu Feb 09, 2023 9:58 pm 
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I think you're spot on Paul!

A number of other comments mentioned it being from a 10pdr Parrott, which would make sense for everything else in the situation, that you've highlighted.

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PostPosted: Sat Feb 11, 2023 6:05 pm 
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Interesting.

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PostPosted: Sun May 14, 2023 5:06 pm 
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They ended up concluding it was a Dyer Shell from Reilly's Battery of Henry's Artillery Battalion in Hood's Division.

Opened more questions at Civil War Talk forum, which I suspect you've seen by now Paul.

In case anyone else is interested here's the convo: https://civilwartalk.com/threads/unexpl ... rk.200766/

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PostPosted: Sun May 14, 2023 8:00 pm 
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I've now looked at it. They are idiots. [Some even think it was 'fired' by the Confederacy, yet the round was completely intact.]

We know that Hazlett's 5th United States Artillery, Battery D was the only Union artillery there. We know that the battery was equipped with Parrott 10 pounders. The three inch version of the Parrott was not made until 1864. Therefore, it must be the 2.9" Dyer (http://www.civilwarartillery.com/projectiles/rifled/IIIA60.htm) and not the 3" Dyer (http://www.civilwarartillery.com/projectiles/rifled/FAOIIIb10.htm).

[Annoyingly, neither of them exactly correspond in measurement to their names; 2.9" Dyer is 2.93" and the 3" Dyer is 2.96". I'm a member of CivilWarTalk and I'm happy to argue many issues that are raised there. However, although it's tempting, I'm not going to argue with them over fractions of an inch. The history should tell them what it was given who was there in 1863 and when various ordinance came into existence. It would have been preferable for the NPS to properly examine and record details before rushing to blow it up (bdtex got it right about that on page 2, Post #33). It had been there for almost 160 years so it's unlikely that it would suddenly explode in the short time it would have taken to examine it (and they obviously took time to pick it up and position it for photographs).]

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