✅ SOLVED A cannonball possibly?? It's huge.

[mk4125]

So I ventured out after work and headed to one of my newer permissions (80 acres vacant land overlooking Sturgeon Bay of Lake Michigan). I have found a lot of fur trade items in this area along with a handful of War of 1812 finds... military buttons mostly. I decided to search the bottom of the bluff and within minutes located a loud mid-range signal under the roots of a leaning tree (pulling it up from the ground with it roots). I realized in the first few minutes that it was big and round. It took close to 2 hours to get this damn thing out from the trees grip... another 30 minutes to lug this thing to my SUV.

It is very smooth and perfectly round. I put it on 2 different scales and one says 64.6 pounds and the other says 65.1 pounds. Can this really be a cannonball I am trying to not get too excited.

 

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[TheCannonballGuy]

The very-precise weight (in tenths-of-a-pound) and size (diameter measurement) of cannonballs used in America from the Revolutionary War through the civil war are told in the historical data charts (called the "Shot Tables") in the US Ordnance Manual of 1861. Those size-&-weight measurements are what we cannonball collectors use to distinguish actual ("authentic") cannonballs from the many varieties of civilian-usage metal balls. If a found-in-America iron ball doesn't match up EXTREMELY closely with one of the cannonball sizes-&-weights in the 1861 Manual's Shot Tables charts, it is not a cannonball.
www.civilwarartillery.com/shottables.htm
I say "extremely closely" because a cannonball can be slightly smaller than a listed size, due to rusting, but it MUST NOT be larger than a size specified in the 1861 Shot Tables.

You've said your ball weighs between 64.6 and 65.1 pounds. The Shot Tables say an 8-inch caliber Solid Shot was specified to weigh 65 pounds. So, your passes the Shot Tables "weight test" for being a cannonball. But it also must pass the Shot Tables "Diameter Test." An 8-inch caliber cannonball was specidfied to be 7.88-inches in diameter.

So, you'll need to buy or borrow what is called a Diameter Tape (also called a Pi Tape) and use it to check the precise diameter of the ball you found. You should diminish the resulting measurement slightly, to counteract the thickness of the rust-encrustation on your find. Instructions and helpful photos are in an article I co-wrote, here:
SolidShotEssentialsMod

Many "iron" balls that turn up here are actually made of steel, not cast-iron. No steel cannonballs ever got used in America. Steel is a heavier alloy than simple cast-iron, because it is denser, generally weighing "about" 10% more than the same volume of cast-iron. The precise diameter of your ball will tell us whether it is made of steel or cast-iron.

Another factor in correctly identifying an excavated iron ball (as a cannonball or not) is checking whether or not a cannon which used that exact size of cannonball (or an Arsenal/Foundry which manufactured that size of cannonball) was ever in the close vicinity of where the ball was found. No 8-inch caliber (Smoothbore) cannons are known to have been fired on land in Michigan. I assume from your post's mention of this ball's dig location that you found it within a mile or two (at the most) from the deep waters of Sturgeon Bay on Lake Michigan. If so, that makes it at least "possible" that a US warship on Lake Michigan did some target-practice firing of an 8-inch caliber cannon. Your ball's precisely measured diameter will give us the answer.

 

[Tedyoh]

I hope the ball measures out for you...that would be a great find for MI

I can't help but ask what's the yellow liquid in the mason jar?



Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[mk4125]

EXCELLENT information T.C.Guy!!! I will definitely obtain a Pi tape to confirm the diameter...as far as the location found I would guesstimate that I was roughly 300 yards from the actual shoreline. Thanks again!

The very-precise weight (in tenths-of-a-pound) and size (diameter measurement) of cannonballs used in America from the Revolutionary War through the civil war are told in the historical data charts (called the "Shot Tables") in the US Ordnance Manual of 1861. Those size-&-weight measurements are what we cannonball collectors use to distinguish actual ("authentic") cannonballs from the many varieties of civilian-usage metal balls. If a found-in-America iron ball doesn't match up EXTREMELY closely with one of the cannonball sizes-&-weights in the 1861 Manual's Shot Tables charts, it is not a cannonball.
www.civilwarartillery.com/shottables.htm
I say "extremely closely" because a cannonball can be slightly smaller than a listed size, due to rusting, but it MUST NOT be larger than a size specified in the 1861 Shot Tables.

You've said your ball weighs between 64.6 and 65.1 pounds. The Shot Tables say an 8-inch caliber Solid Shot was specified to weigh 65 pounds. So, your passes the Shot Tables "weight test" for being a cannonball. But it also must pass the Shot Tables "Diameter Test." An 8-inch caliber cannonball was specidfied to be 7.88-inches in diameter.

So, you'll need to buy or borrow what is called a Diameter Tape (also called a Pi Tape) and use it to check the precise diameter of the ball you found. You should diminish the resulting measurement slightly, to counteract the thickness of the rust-encrustation on your find. Instructions and helpful photos are in an article I co-wrote, here:
SolidShotEssentialsMod

Many "iron" balls that turn up here are actually made of steel, not cast-iron. No steel cannonballs ever got used in America. Steel is a heavier alloy than simple cast-iron, because it is denser, generally weighing "about" 10% more than the same volume of cast-iron. The precise diameter of your ball will tell us whether it is made of steel or cast-iron.

Another factor in correctly identifying an excavated iron ball (as a cannonball or not) is checking whether or not a cannon which used that exact size of cannonball (or an Arsenal/Foundry which manufactured that size of cannonball) was ever in the close vicinity of where the ball was found. No 8-inch caliber (Smoothbore) cannons are known to have been fired on land in Michigan. I assume from your post's mention of this ball's dig location that you found it within a mile or two (at the most) from the deep waters of Sturgeon Bay on Lake Michigan. If so, that makes it at least "possible" that a US warship on Lake Michigan did some target-practice firing of an 8-inch caliber cannon. Your ball's precisely measured diameter will give us the answer.

 

[mk4125]

LOL. Not sure actually...light was fading so I grabbed anything around me for size comparison.

I hope the ball measures out for you...that would be a great find for MI

I can't help but ask what's the yellow liquid in the mason jar?



Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[Davers]

Weight look's Good Buddy.

Just get that measurement.

I say a 'Banner' find in from the early 1800,+ all the effort you put into that Bad Boy.

Did you loose a-lot of rust rolling / Carrying it to the Truck?

Iron reacts funny sometimes , I seen Ball's , & other shells come out 'Caked' with rust while some in Water or well drained soil remain smooth.

I truly hope for the Best .

Ill add, With that Brass Tinkler you dug , with this yr on a Roll. 'no pun' lol

 

[mk4125]

Weight look's Good Buddy.

Just get that measurement.

I say a 'Banner' find in from the early 1800,+ all the effort you put into that Bad Boy.

Did you loose a-lot of rust rolling / Carrying it to the Truck?

Iron reacts funny sometimes , I seen Ball's , & other shells come out 'Caked' with rust while some in Water or well drained soil remain smooth.

I truly hope for the Best .

Ill add, With that Brass Tinkler you dug , with this yr on a Roll. 'no pun' lol

Thanks good sir! This has definitely been an amazing year for sure! As far as the rusting goes this thing was sitting in some very dry beach sand (oak trees grow well in it). The top side of the ball has virtually zero rust...bottom side has the most but even that isn't all that much. Most every thing I pull out of there is in great shape!

 

[devldog]

Like the others, I sincerely hope this turns out to be the real thing for you. So far, so good. I know you put a lot of work in getting that bad boy to the surface. That would truly be a banner find for sure. Keep us posted on this if you will, and again, the Best of Luck to you.

 

[mk4125]

I brought down to a guy that owns a local machine shop.. he measured and comes back at 7.87" inches (rusted side to rusted side). The upper side (as it rested in the sand) is not rusted and when that is used it measures at 7.88". He placed on his scale and it weighed in at 64.982 lbs.

 

[Budman231]

very cool !

 

[unclemac]

...so...real?

 

[Davers]

Thanks good sir! This has definitely been an amazing year for sure! As far as the rusting goes this thing was sitting in some very dry beach sand (oak trees grow well in it). The top side of the ball has virtually zero rust...bottom side has the most but even that isn't all that much. Most every thing I pull out of there is in great shape!

Man you got to love soil like that.

Congratz Again on another sweet Relic.

I never dug a whole Ball, or Shell only Pieces, but ill take,em.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Unclemac asked:
"...so...real?"

The ball matches up quite precisely with the 1861 US Ordnance Manual's diameter-&-weight specifications for an 8-inch caliber Solid-Shot cannonball. As additional proof, this ball's diameter-&-weight ratio shows it is made of cast-iron, not steel. (Steel cannonballs were extraordinarily rare, only known to have been made in 10-inch caliber, and none were used in America.) So, yes, this ball is really a cannonball.

 

[submariner]

Wow! Congrats! Quite a find!

 

[Old Pueblo]

Unclemac asked:
"...so...real?"

The ball matches up quite precisely with the 1861 US Ordnance Manual's diameter-&-weight specifications for an 8-inch caliber Solid-Shot cannonball. As additional proof, this ball's diameter-&-weight ratio shows it is made of cast-iron, not steel. (Steel cannonballs were extraordinarily rare, only known to have been made in 10-inch caliber, and none were used in America.) So, yes, this ball is really a cannonball.

So do this ball must have been fired in some live fire practice, if found in Michigan, right? And do you know how long after the Civil War these were in use? Probably at least a few years, I imagine?

 

[mk4125]

So do this ball must have been fired in some live fire practice, if found in Michigan, right? And do you know how long after the Civil War these were in use? Probably at least a few years, I imagine?

The only thing I can think would be that a boat had a cannon mounted on it (of this caliber) and touched one off toward shore. I have found some war of 1812 'Cannon Corps' buttons in the immediate area but not sure if that carries any weight at all if this is a Civil War era piece.. stumped guys.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Mk4125 guessed:
"The only thing I can think would be that a boat had a cannon mounted on it (of this caliber) and touched one off toward shore."

That's what I said in my first reply about the ball you found.

Mk4125 also said:
"I have found some war of 1812 'Cannon Corps' buttons in the immediate area but not sure if that carries any weight at all if this is a Civil War era piece.. stumped guys."

Your 8-inch caliber Solid-Shot cannonball's diameter (7.88-inches) tells us it is definitely a civil war era cannonball. At the time of the War of 1812, cannonballs were a bit smaller in diameter than in the mid-1800s, because for safety reasons the "windage" was greater and a fabric "patch" was used to fill the windage. For example, a civil war 12-Pounder caliber cannonball was specified to be 4.52-inches in diameter. In the RevWar and War Of 1812, the same caliber ball was about 4.42-to-4.45-inches in diameter.

Old Pueblo asked:
"And do you know how long after the Civil War these were in use? Probably at least a few years, I imagine?"

Yes, until about 1875. The advent of Ironclad (armored) warships made smoothbore cannons (the type which fire cannonballs) obsolete, because the balls just bounced off the armor. As soon as possible after the civil war, the smoothbore cannons on warships got replaced by rifled cannons, which fired bullet-shaped explosive and armor-piercing projectiles. The last of the US Navy's heavy-caliber smoothbores were decomissioned in the 1870s.

 

[Old Pueblo]

Mk4125 guessed:
"The only thing I can think would be that a boat had a cannon mounted on it (of this caliber) and touched one off toward shore."

That's what I said in my first reply about the ball you found.

Mk4125 also said:
"I have found some war of 1812 'Cannon Corps' buttons in the immediate area but not sure if that carries any weight at all if this is a Civil War era piece.. stumped guys."

Your 8-inch caliber Solid-Shot cannonball's diameter (7.88-inches) tells us it is definitely a civil war era cannonball. At the time of the War of 1812, cannonballs were a bit smaller in diameter than in the mid-1800s, because for safety reasons the "windage" was greater and a fabric "patch" was used to fill the windage. For example, a civil war 12-Pounder caliber cannonball was specified to be 4.52-inches in diameter. In the RevWar and War Of 1812, the same caliber ball was about 4.42-to-4.45-inches in diameter.

Old Pueblo asked:
"And do you know how long after the Civil War these were in use? Probably at least a few years, I imagine?"

Yes, until about 1875. The advent of Ironclad (armored) warships made smoothbore cannons (the type which fire cannonballs) obsolete, because the balls just bounced off the armor. As soon as possible after the civil war, the smoothbore cannons on warships got replaced by rifled cannons, which fired bullet-shaped explosive and armor-piercing projectiles. The last of the US Navy's heavy-caliber smoothbores were decomissioned in the 1870s.

Thank you.

 

[Charlesp54]

This was one of the best "What Is It" That I have followed in awhile. Very happy it turn out to be the Real McCoy.