Here we see a 4.2-inch U.S. Army Schenkl shell from the Civil War period. This specific one was fired into the grounds of Confederate held Fort Morgan on the Gulf Shores Peninsula at the Eastern shore of Mobile Bay in 1864 while that installation, one of the last rebel forts, was under joint Army-Navy siege. Note the fuze and internal shrapnel balls.
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The Schenkl is one of the most easily recognized Civil War era projectiles due to its unique shape. A cylindrical PapierMaché sabot was wrapped around the tapered cone base. When fired the sabot was forced forward and was expanded into the rifling by the cone. There are vertical raised ribs on the tapered cone to insure rotary motion was imparted to the projectile.
The paper sabot disintegrated as the shell left the muzzle which made this type safer than metal sabot types when firing over the heads of friendly troops, as there was no danger of injuries from separated sabot fragments. On the negative side, the PapierMaché was very sensitive to moisture. Too damp and the sabot would swell, interfering with loading. Too dry and the paper would crumble before it performed its function, often causing the shell to tumble as it left the gun.
