15" Cannonball

[misterphelps]

I’m pretty sure this is a cannonball, but I don’t know if it’s a shell or solid shot.

It’s 15 inches in diameter and about 47 inches circumference. It has one hole about 3/4 diameter and 1 inch or so deep. It’s appears to have a seam running around the circumference although it’s very faint and only visible when wet. It’s completely round without any flat spots.

Is there any way to determine if it’s solid / shell just by looking at it? I know it could be determined by weighing, but it’s extremely heavy so I don’t even know how I could manage to do that. It’s hard enough to move, let alone lift.

If it turns out to be a shell, who can I contact to disarm it? Any idea what it might be worth? I can’t find any other examples online. Thanks in advance for any info.

 

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[A2coins]

really cool hope its artillary related

 

[sawmill man]

My question is can you lift it? that thing must be three hundred pounds. if its solid.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Because no ball-bearings, Mining Industry ore-crusher balls, and Monument cannonball reproductions are anywhere near that large, I'm reasonably sure your ball is a genuine US Army 15-inch caliber Solid-Shot cannonball. The hole in it is called a lifting-ear. The US Navy's model of 15" Solid-Shot did not have lifting-ears. There should be another one located 180-degrees around the ball from this one. The other "ear" might be filled with rustcrust, making it difficult to see.

It is shown on page 83 of the book "Civil War Heavy Explosive Ordnance" by Jack Bell. That one weighs 454 pounds. The official civil war Ordnance Department diameter and weight specifications can be viewed for free, here:
Cannon bore, shot, and shell diameters for smoothbore guns

Fortunately for the Confederates but unfortunately for you, no Army 15"-caliber Solid Shot were used in combat during the civil war. The Navy used some in ironclad warship combat, but not the Army, and yours is definitely the Army model, due to having lifting-ears.

Because no Army ones were used in combat, it has less appeal to civil war artillery collectors than combat-used types. Even so, it does have "some" value. But selling it is complicated due to it weighing 454 pounds. I suggest you contact my friends Emike and CarlS at bulletandshell dotcom, the largest and best civil war projectiles sales (and discussion) website. Tell them Pete sent you.

 

[nhbenz]

Great information as always Pete!
---- 454 pounds!!...holy cow! ----

 

[HuntinDog]

Don't drop that thing on your toe!!
Awesome find

 

[misterphelps]

Because no ball-bearings, Mining Industry ore-crusher balls, and Monument cannonball reproductions are anywhere near that large, I'm reasonably sure your ball is a genuine US Army 15-inch caliber Solid-Shot cannonball. The hole in it is called a lifting-ear. The US Navy's model of 15" Solid-Shot did not have lifting-ears. There should be another one located 180-degrees around the ball from this one. The other "ear" might be filled with rustcrust, making it difficult to see.

It is shown on page 83 of the book "Civil War Heavy Explosive Ordnance" by Jack Bell. That one weighs 454 pounds. The official civil war Ordnance Department diameter and weight specifications can be viewed for free, here:
Cannon bore, shot, and shell diameters for smoothbore guns

Fortunately for the Confederates but unfortunately for you, no Army 15"-caliber Solid Shot were used in combat during the civil war. The Navy used some in ironclad warship combat, but not the Army, and yours is definitely the Army model, due to having lifting-ears.

Because no Army ones were used in combat, it has less appeal to civil war artillery collectors than combat-used types. Even so, it does have "some" value. But selling it is complicated due to it weighing 454 pounds. I suggest you contact my friends Emike and CarlS at bulletandshell dotcom, the largest and best civil war projectiles sales (and discussion) website. Tell them Pete sent you.

Thank you CannonballGuy! That's extremely helpful.

I just checked but could not locate anything that looks like another ear or hole in the ball in the 180 area. It's frozen to the ground now so I can't check the area 90 degrees from the first hole. If there isn't a second hole anywhere on the ball is it possible the first hole was drilled into it for some reason? If so it could be a Navy ball, right?

 

[A2coins]

how did they lift it to put in the cannon

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Misterphelps asked:
> "If there isn't a second hole anywhere on the ball is it possible the first hole was drilled into it for some reason? If so it could be a Navy ball, right?"

The hole in the ball appears to be less than one inch in diameter, which means it is too small to be a 15" shell's fuze hole. In the photo it seems to be the correct size for a loading-ear hole in a 15" cannonball. I cannot explain the apparent lack of a second loading-ear hole. The only reason to put a single hole in the ball is to create a mounting-hole to put the ball on a monument. A mounting-hole for that purpose would be threaded.

Hearing that you cannot find a second loading-ear hole causes me to suggest an authentification test which wasn't necessary until you said there seems to be only one hole in the ball. You'll need to buy what is called a Diameter Tape (also known as a Pi Tape) and use it to precisely measure the ball's circumference. You MUST be sure to keep the tape exactly on the ball's Equator. (You'll need an extra pair of hands for that.) For educational photos and instructions, please read the article I co-wrote, viewable online for free, here:
SolidShotEssentialsMod
The civil war Ordnance Department's very precise size-specification for the diameter of a 15"-caliber cannonball was between 14.80 and 14.85-inches. If your ball is more than a couple of hundredths of an inch larger or smaller than that, it isn't a cannonball.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

A2coins asked:
> "How did they lift it to put in the cannon?"

As shown in the civil war photo below, you would use a set of artillery loading-tongs, connected to a very thick wooden rod. The arm-tips of the loading-tongs were carefully fitted into the loading-ears (holes in the ball's sides). Then, in the case of a 15"-caliber Solid-Shot (454 pounds) cannonball, four burly artillerymen lifted the rod and ball to the cannon's muzzle.

I should mention, the marking on the photos, saying "XX in [20-inch] Columbiad Gun Practice" is incorrect, for several reasons. First, a civil war 20-inch cannon's Solid-Shot cannonball weighed 1,080 pounds, and its explosive shell weighed about 750 pounds. Four men could not lift that much weight. Second, using the width of the men's hands for comparison, the ball in the photo is definitely a good bit less than 20 inches wide, so it must be a 15-incher. (There were no cannonballs in between those sizes.) Another error in the photo's caption is, it's a Rodman gun, not a Columbiad.

 

[Plug N Play]

Great information, CannonballGuy, ... interesting !

... 40 lbs. of powder launching something like that 3 miles ...
Can't imagine what it would feel like to be aboard a ship when one of those came a knockin'.

According to this, the team could load and fire every 4 minutes.

(click pics to enlarge)

 

[misterphelps]

This is fascinating stuff! Thank you CannonballGuy! I also wondered what it must have been like to be on the receiving end of this item. That photo of the ball embedded in the iron plate is stunning, Plug N Play. For some reason I only considered wooden ships, but of course they had just entered the ironclad era! These monster cannonballs must have been a response to that new threat. I doubt the ironclads had 6 inch armor featured in that test plate - which means these 15 inch balls would have breached anything they hit.

I contacted Mike and Carl as per your suggestion, Pete. Mike said he doubted he had any more info than what you could offer. He did add, "Army ball is actually solid and weighs 454 pounds while the Navy ball is cored (i.e. hollow) and weighs 400 pounds". He estimated the value at $450 to $700.

Just measured the hole and it's slightly larger than a half inch wide and a bit more than a half inch deep. It doesn't appear to be threaded but the interior of the hole is a little wider than the opening. It may be possible that it was threaded at one time but the threads rusted out over time (it's been buried in dirt for a long time)? Would a Navy ball be perfectly smooth all around? Wondering how one could cast a hollow ball of this size anyway?

My next step is to get a pi tape for an accurate measurement. I think I've figured out a way to weigh it too, but will need to wait until it warms up a bit.

Solid Shot Essentials is a great piece, CannonballGuy. Many thanks!

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Great information, CannonballGuy, ... interesting !

... 40 lbs. of powder launching something like that 3 miles ...
Can't imagine what it would feel like to be aboard a ship when one of those came a knockin'.

According to this, the team could load and fire every 4 minutes.

(click pics to enlarge)
View attachment 1537044

View attachment 1537045

That would set the ears ringing of everyone on board! Yowzer!

 

[lookingharder]

Thought it might be a mortar but all I could find was either a 13 inch or 20 inch. Hmmmm.

 

[Jason in Enid]

It's an amazing find but I want to know you got that thing home!!

This is fascinating stuff! Thank you CannonballGuy! I also wondered what it must have been like to be on the receiving end of this item. That photo of the ball embedded in the iron plate is stunning, Plug N Play. For some reason I only considered wooden ships, but of course they had just entered the ironclad era! These monster cannonballs must have been a response to that new threat. I doubt the ironclads had 6 inch armor featured in that test plate - which means these 15 inch balls would have breached anything they hit.

I contacted Mike and Carl as per your suggestion, Pete. Mike said he doubted he had any more info than what you could offer. He did add, "Army ball is actually solid and weighs 454 pounds while the Navy ball is cored (i.e. hollow) and weighs 400 pounds". He estimated the value at $450 to $700.

Just measured the hole and it's slightly larger than a half inch wide and a bit more than a half inch deep. It doesn't appear to be threaded but the interior of the hole is a little wider than the opening. It may be possible that it was threaded at one time but the threads rusted out over time (it's been buried in dirt for a long time)? Would a Navy ball be perfectly smooth all around? Wondering how one could cast a hollow ball of this size anyway?

My next step is to get a pi tape for an accurate measurement. I think I've figured out a way to weigh it too, but will need to wait until it warms up a bit.

Solid Shot Essentials is a great piece, CannonballGuy. Many thanks!