Excavated Civil War Confederate Heavy Artillery Cast Iron Swivel Track

Excavated Civil War Confederate Heavy Artillery Cast Iron Swivel Track – This is one of the most unusual and rare, dug artifacts we have obtained. This substantial, semi-circular, cast-iron track was excavated, in the 1960s, in one of the large, Confederate, James River forts that were outfitted with large, Columbiad size, artillery pieces. These cannons had wheels on the rear underside of their carriages, allowing them to swivel the barrels up and down river; this track was one of the integral sections of the iron track on which the heavy guns rear carriage wheels swiveled. The track is cast iron and weighs about 30 – 35lbs. and remains in very good, dug condition; on the underside of the track are three, equally spaced, long spikes that were embedded in wooden slabs, beneath each length of track. We have never seen an original section of this type of heavy artillery track before, either excavated or non-excavated, available to collectors. We believe that this length of artillery track may have been dug at Battery Dantzler, a significant Confederate fort, on the James River, not far below Richmond.

Measurements: L – 56.25”; W – 5.5”; D – .25”