[CIVIL WAR] Historic Powder Barrell Used at Ft. Sumter in 1861

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Day 3: The American Civil War: Gettysburg & M...

By Fleischer's Auctions

Oct 11, 2025

Set Reminder 2025-10-11 09:00:00 2025-10-11 09:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Day 3: The American Civil War: Gettysburg & More https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/fleischers-auctions/day-3-the-american-civil-war-gettysburg-more-19251
Featuring rare artifacts, documents, ephemera, photography, and weaponry relating to the American Civil War. The catalog's emphasis is the Battle of Gettysburg and includes offerings from the collection of noted Gettysburg scholar, Marshall D. Krolick. Fleischer's Auctions info@fleischersauctions.com

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• Lot Description

  POWDER BARELL USED BY CONFEDERATE FORCES TO BOMBARD FT. SUMTER IN 1861, BEGINNING THE CIVIL WAR 

   

  PERHAPS THE ONLY EXTANT EXAMPLE 

   

  Tin barrel with red and green paint. Embossed to top: "Patent. July 12 1859."  Label to opposite reads as follows: "Hazard Powder Company / Hazardville / Conn. / U. S. / Warranted / Government / Proof / Cannon," with a pair of crossed cannons. Approx. 9 1/2 (diameter) x 11 1/2 in. 

   

  An exceptionally rare survivor, this early Hazard Powder Company metal drum once contained powder used by Confederate artillerymen in the bombardment of Fort Sumter in April 1861, the attack that ignited the Civil War. Unlike the more familiar wooden powder kegs of the period, surviving examples of Hazard’s metal receptacles are virtually unknown; this specimen may represent the only extant example retaining its original printed label, definitively linking it to the shipment procured by South Carolina in advance of secession. The consignor notes that the Hagley Museum and Library preserves a comparable label alone. With this respect to the example offered here, the extreme rarity of a complete container cannot be expressed enough.

   

  Colonel Hazard, whose company supplied the Confederacy with some 80,000 pounds of powder just prior to South Carolina’s secession, fell under federal suspicion during the war for his friendship with Jefferson Davis and longstanding Southern business ties. It was this powder, manufactured in Connecticut, that propelled the very first shots fired at Fort Sumter and subsequently supplied Confederate arsenals in the conflict’s opening phase. 

   

  Note: This lot cannot be packaged and shipped in-house. Successful bidders winning items marked as being packaged and shipped by a third-party service are responsible for paying the third party directly. We are happy to offer complimentary drop-off service to local third-party packing/shipping companies in Columbus, Ohio.

   

  [Civil War, Union, Confederate] [Relics, Militaria] [Militaria, Accouterment, Equipment, Uniforms] [Ordnance, Artillery, Ammunition, Arms & Armor, Guns]

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• Shipping Info

  • Fleischer’s Auctions packages and ships most items in-house. Consideration is made to ensure the lowest rate charged possible while still meeting our package safety standards. Large items and large framed pieces may not be able to be packaged and shipped in-house, these items will be marked in the catalog as being packaged and shipped by a third-party service. Bidders that are successful in winning items marked as being packaged and shipped by a third-party service are responsible for paying the third-party directly. We are happy to offer complimentary drop-off service to local third-party packing/shipping companies in Columbus, Ohio. Once an item is dropped off and no longer in our possession, Fleischer’s Auctions is not to be held liable for the item’s safe handling or shipment to the successful bidder.

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