RARE, American Civil War, Hanes Excelsior Percussion Hand Grenade. 23121 Various Other Ammunition

The Hanes Excelsior hand grenade was one of the two main hand grenades used in the American Civil War and was the invention of W.W. Hanes in early 1862. The Hanes grenade was a simple weapon, merely a cast iron ball with a hollow centre which was filled with gunpowder. The grenade measures approximately 2 inches in diameter and had 12 evenly spaced protruding percussion nipples round its circumference onto which percussion caps were placed. When thrown, the force of the percussion caps striking the ground detonated the grenade. The Excelsior hand grenade has percussion nipples, each requiring attachment of a percussion cap before throwing the grenade. It would only take one cap to trigger the explosion, and soldiers trying to use Hanes’s grenade found out the hard way that it was too easy to accidentally set off one of the percussions caps. The percussion caps used were not the same type of caps used to fire percussion muskets and revolvers, rather they were special grenade caps produced by DuPont which used a very refined form of mercury fulminate, causing the caps to be highly sensitive to percussion. While this ensured that the grenade would hopefully detonate reliably it also made the grenade very dangerous to carry unless its percussion caps were not in place. Any bump or jostle of the grenade could cause an accidental explosion. Due to the dangerous nature of the grenade, they were rarely used when issued. This is an original Hanes Excelsior hand grenade from the American Civil War and is in excellent condition. and has a carrying loop attached to the casting. 11 of the original percussion nipples are present as is the wire carrying ring. The casing of the grenade has a nice patina to the surface. Due to the dangerous properties of this hand grenade, very few were made or issued. The price includes UK delivery and no licence is required to possess this inert grenade and adaptor in the UK if retained as part of a collection or display. Sn 23121