You couldn’t miss the large metal ball with the black pockmarked surface speckled with shades of tan. Neither could you get past the three green stickers plastered on it.
It was obvious to me as an auction regular that this weapon would be a hot item. Three people had already left bids on it before the auction had gotten started, and long before the auctioneer would even get to it. When it finally did come up for auction, I was certain that even more men on the floor of the auction house would engage in the bidding.
The owner of this cast-iron ball had written its description in what looked like white paint:
U.S. 24 Lb Coehorn Mortar Shell
When I think of mortar shells, the image of firepower from the Civil War comes to mind. I figured that was when this type of weapon was used most often, and this one looked like it was a holdover from that war. But how the heck did it end up here and what’s with the name?
Curious, as always, I Googled. It seems that I was right about when mortar shells were more widely engaged. This one was used in a Coehorn, a lightweight mortar that fired short-range shells, and unlike the bigger mortars was capable of being carried by two men but easier with four, according to the blog “To the Sound of the Gun.” The mortar was invented by the Dutch Baron Menno van Coehoorn, who first used it in a battle against French forces in the 17th century. It was subsequently used by other European armies.
The mortar fired a 24-pounder (16.8 pounds) shell, apparently like the one at auction, which was standard.
Its small stature made it very easy to move around, it required very little gun powder, and it could be easily adjusted, making it particularly good in sieges and other such locations, according to civilwarwiki.net. The mortar itself weighed 164 pounds (296 pounds when mounted on a mortar bed). It was capable of sending its shells into targets 50 yards to 1,200 yards away.
The Coehorn was used by both Union and Confederate troops during the Civil War, as well as several other wars.
In a history of the First Connecticut Artillery during the Richmond campaign, Col. Henry L. Abbot asked in almost daily correspondence in July and August 1864 for replenishment of his supply of Coehorn mortar shells. Abbot had been placed in charge of a unit of men and weapons – called a siege train – to support the battle to take the Confederate capital.
The 2009 book “In the Trenches at Petersburg” tells of the Coehorn and how it was carried by four men in the trenches. It also related the nerve-wracking experience of Union soldiers as mortar fire rained down on them:
“Mortar rounds ‘were a continual torment to us for we could never tell where they would drop and we could not tell when or where they would burst,’ recalled a Union infantryman. They made ‘a swishing noise’ as they flew through the air caused by the burning fuse as the ball lazily rolled in flight. ‘The boys said they were whispering and talking among themselves, saying ‘Which one? Which one?” Because of this effect, the Confederates called them ‘Demoralizers.'”
The Coehorn mortar was much smaller than the ones I’d seen in documentaries and photos. It was so small that one site noted that one could be purchased for personal use. I assume that would be as a collectible.
Interestingly, I found a shell posted on Craigslist that looked just like the one at auction. It had the same inscription and an asking price of $295. According to the seller, the deactivated shell had been purchased at an estate sale of a Civil War historian/collector who was said to have purchased it from a private Civil War museum in Virginia.
I wasn’t around when the shell sold at auction, so I don’t know what it sold for. I’m suspect, though, that it’s the same one for sale on Craigslist. As I always say, you can find just about anything at auction.
