Civil War Heavy Explosive Ordnance: A Guide to Large Artillery Projectiles, Torpedoes, and Mines

Stafford

391 Stafford Little is known of the designer of the Stafford family of projectiles. He was probably well connected politically, based on the political controversy highlighted below. The projectiles were sub-caliber projectiles, meaning that the bulk of the projectile was substantially smaller than the caliber of the rifle. This is similar in concept to the sabot rounds used in current models of Abrams tanks. The concept of sub-caliber projectiles is to achieve much higher velocities at short range than full-caliber projectiles can attain, enabling the shell or bolt to penetrate deeper in a narrower space. Stafford projectiles had brass ring sabots. Some were encased in a wood sleeve, others had a brass ring, or an enlarged head to fit the rifle bore. The sabot was a brass ring type, which was held in place by iron pins or nails driven into the metal core, into the wood casing, or between the two. Staffords were produced in several calibers, including 5.1-inch, 6.4-inch, and 8-inch. No survivors are known in the 8-inch caliber. One hundred 8-inch Stafford projectiles were purchased by the Union Navy and tested by the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron in 1863 off Charleston.1 They were reported on July 27, 1863, to have performed unsatisfactorily.2 Ironically, only five days before the navy test results were reported, Admiral Dahlgren, commander of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, issued an order to his fleet that seems to reflect confidence in the Stafford projectiles. The order was to load Stafford projectiles at night in the 8-inch Parrott rifles to be used in case they encountered Confederate ironclads.3 During July and August 1863, the Monitors, USS New Ironsides, and most of the rest of the blockading fleet were engaged almost daily in the bombardment of Battery Wagner and Fort Sumter. Given the operational order by Admiral Dahlgren to load Stafford projectiles in the 8-inch Parrott rifles overnight, it is only reasonable to assume that at least some of these projectiles were fired the next day at those targets, giving them battlefield provenance. One should assume that one or more Stafford shells or bolts may yet be battlefield recovered. Stafford’s representatives apparently protested to Congress the navy’s rejection of their projectiles, complaining that the navy failed to conduct the test objectively. Congress ordered a new test, to be conducted by the army. It was conducted at West Point on December 24, 1863. The test was declared to be a success with the bolts penetrating armor up to seven inches thick.4 However, it does not appear that any additional orders were placed for the Stafford projectiles by the navy or the army as a result of the West Point test. 1 H.A. Wise, Telegram to Lt. Cdr., Mitchell of July 7, 1863, unpublished document, U.S. Navy Box 137, National Archives. 392 RIFLED PROJECTILES 2 “Report of Commodore Turner on Tests of Stafford Projectiles, July 27, 1863,” RG45. 3 During this period, the Monitors in the Charleston area were the Weehawken, Nantucket, Montauk, Catskill, and Patapsco. Aboard the fleet in the Charleston area at that time were six 8-inch Parrott rifles: two on New Ironsides and one each on the Patapsco, Wabash, Canandaigua, and Ottawa. Navy ORs series 1, vol. 14, 385 & 390; & Navy ORs, series II vol. 1. 4 “Report to the Senate and House of Representatives on the History of Stafford Projectiles,” RG 45. STAFFORD 393 394 RIFLED PROJECTILES STAFFORD 395 396 RIFLED PROJECTILES US 6.4-inch Stafford Bulb Bolt Diameter: Length: Weight: Gun: 6.4-inch (100-pounder) Parrott Rifle 6.35 inches 20.25 inches 84 pounds Rarity: Sabot: Brass Disk Fuze: None Rifling: Unfired 10 Provenance: Nonbattlefield. No known battlefield recoveries. Comments: The bolt's weight and center of gravity are concentrated forward, probably to ensure stability of flight. There is no evidence regarding which design performed more effectively. It is also not known which patterns were used for the 8-inch Stafford bolts. The 8-inch Stafford bolts are the best documented, but none is known to have survived to modern times. Courtesy of the United States Military Academy Museum STAFFORD 397 ...