Tennessee Sabot side-loader projectiles are extremely rare. The Confederates substituted
iron case-shot balls for lead due to the shortage of lead needed for small arms
ammunition. The iron balls were inserted through the hole on the projectile's side, and
the hot, liquefied matrix was poured into the side-loading hole. Since the Confederates
could not drill into the iron balls to form the bursting cavity without great difficulty,
the bursting cavity was formed by a dowel inserted into the fuze opening. After the matrix
cooled, the dowel was removed, a threaded lead plug was screwed into the loading hole,
powder installed, and the fuze adapter was screwed in.
