✅ SOLVED Cannonball! ID help and preservation recommendations please

[brianc053]

Good evening all.
A friend from town found this (apparent) cannonball at a private construction site in the Ironbound section of Newark, NJ.
We are please looking for help with:

a) identification of the gun that would have fired the cannonball, and
b) preservation of the cannonball so it does not rust away.

The cannonball is a consistent 1.89inches/48.1mm in diameter and weighs 440g.

PS - we are assuming it's a Revolutionary War-era cannonball, and we understand that Colonial troops were in Newark at 2 different times during the Revolutionary War: 1776 retreat across NJ and a small garrison in 1780 that was attacked by the British. If there are any historians who'd like to share thoughts on the reason this cannonball would be in that area, we'd love to hear opinions.

 

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[TheCannonballGuy]

Thank you for already providing the ball's SUPER-PRECISE weight and diameter measurements. Those are two of the most-important identification clues for correct authentication of iron balls. Note, the vast (meaning, multi-millions) majority of iron balls ever manufactured in all of history were made for Civilian purposes, not for artillery usage.

According to the data preserved in the "Shot Tables" ammunition precise diameter-&-weight charts in the US Ordnance Manual of 1861:
www.civilwarartillery.com/shottables.htm
your 440gram/15.52-ounce 1.89"-diameter iron ball is a RevWar-though-1812-War era 1-Pounder caliber Solid-Shot cannonball. The 1-Pounder cannon's bore diameter was very close to 2.00-inches, which leaves about a 1/10th-inch gap called Windage between the ball and the bore's walls. Unfortunately, there is no way to know with certainty which side in those wars manufactured it, because both sides used 1-Pounder cannons.

You might enjoy ready (and viewing additional charts in) a very detailed article on the contents of the Shot Tables. (More info than at the Link I provided in the paragraph above.)

Cannon bore, shot, shell, canister, and grape shot diameters for rifled and smoothbore cannon.

Rifle Canister Cannon Bore Diameter Cannon – RifledPattern # of PiecesDiameter & Shot Material 1.7-inch Whitworth? 24 .65-inch lead shot 2.25-inch CS Mountain Rifle 27 .70-inch lead shot 2.6-inch 6-pdr.

www.historicalpublicationsllc.com

 

[Older The Better]

Nice someone got a real ball, more often than not they don’t match any known specs… out of curiosity when did cannon balls fall out of favor? Civil war? Did some carry into Indian wars? Later?

 

[brianc053]

Thank you for already providing the ball's SUPER-PRECISE weight and diameter measurements. Those are two of the most-important identification clues for correct authentication of iron balls. Note, the vast (meaning, multi-millions) majority of iron balls ever manufactured in all of history were made for Civilian purposes, not for artillery usage.

According to the data preserved in the "Shot Tables" ammunition precise diameter-&-weight charts in the US Ordnance Manual of 1861:
www.civilwarartillery.com/shottables.htm
your 440gram/15.52-ounce 1.89"-diameter iron ball is a RevWar-though-1812-War era 1-Pounder caliber Solid-Shot cannonball. The 1-Pounder cannon's bore diameter was very close to 2.00-inches, which leaves about a 1/10th-inch gap called Windage between the ball and the bore's walls. Unfortunately, there is no way to know with certainty which side in those wars manufactured it, because both sides used 1-Pounder cannons.

You might enjoy reading (and viewing) a very detailed article on the contents of the Shot Tables. (More info than at the Link I provided in the paragraph above.)

Cannon bore, shot, shell, canister, and grape shot diameters for rifled and smoothbore cannon.

Rifle Canister Cannon Bore Diameter Cannon – RifledPattern # of PiecesDiameter & Shot Material 1.7-inch Whitworth? 24 .65-inch lead shot 2.25-inch CS Mountain Rifle 27 .70-inch lead shot 2.6-inch 6-pdr.

www.historicalpublicationsllc.com

Thank you TheCannonballGuy! I absolutely will enjoy reading that detailed article.
- Brian

 

[brianc053]

...
your 440gram/15.52-ounce 1.89"-diameter iron ball is a RevWar-though-1812-War era 1-Pounder caliber Solid-Shot cannonball. The 1-Pounder cannon's bore diameter was very close to 2.00-inches, which leaves about a 1/10th-inch gap called Windage between the ball and the bore's walls. Unfortunately, there is no way to know with certainty which side in those wars manufactured it, because both sides used 1-Pounder cannons...

An additional question TheCannonballGuy: What is the best way to preserve the cannonball? Do you have any idea how museums preserve theirs?

I've read about preserving old forged iron items and one method involved baking the item in the oven at about 225 degrees for a day to dry it out completely, and then applying some sort of coating on it to keep out moisture. (Lacquer maybe?)
I guess it could also just be rubbed lightly with oil.
I'm pretty ignorant on the subject of preserving 250+ year old iron.
- Brian