Civil War Case Shot?

[davcw]

Wonder if you could help me identify this cannonball? It has me stumped. It looks like a fused case shot ball but doesn't match the specs on The Civil War Artillery Projectile and Cannon Home Page. I measure the diameter at 4.01 inches and weighing in at 6.9 pounds. The diameter shows it could be a 9 pounder, but the chart doesn't show that any case shot were made in the 9 pounder class. 9 pounder class isn't even civil war, is it? It also has a distinct ridge around the center. What's up with that? I see a hole on the opposite side of the fuse, but it's filled in (pic 2). Has it been drilled and defused then filled in again? I have no history on the ball. Can you help?

 

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[ponz]

The seam around the ball indicates that it is not a cannon ball at all. The "Cannon Ball Guy" taught me this...It's probably a milling ball of some sort.

Ponz

 

[davcw]

I agree about the seam, but why would a milling ball have what looks like a fuse on it? If that's not a fuse, then what could it be on top?

 

[davcw]

Another thought .. A solid shot with a diameter of 4.01" would weigh 9 pounds according to the Civil War Artillery web site charts. This ball weighs in at just under 7 pounds, so I would conclude that it is not solid?

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Davcw asked me to comment.

That is an "intriguing" iron ball... because some of its characteristics indicate it is a hollow exploding cannonball, but other characteristics indicate it isn't a cannonball.

For the moment, instead of listing all the Yes and No characteristics, I'll deal with the main one which indicates it is not a cannonball. In the photos, it appears to have a 3/8"-wide groove encircling its top, about 3/4" down from what might be a fuze-hole. In my 40 years of closely examining genuine cannonballs I've never seen such a groove on a cannonball, and nothing like it appears in any of the various books showing cannonballs which got used in America.

Other thoughts in response to the info you've provided:
1- The diameter-to-weight ratio you reported (6.9 pounds, 4.01"-diameter) proves the ball is hollow, not solid.
2- As the size-charts in the civil war era US (and Confederate) Ordnance Manual shows, no 9-Pounder caliber explosive cannonballs (Common-Shell or Case-Shot) were manufactured in the civil war era, nor for several decades prior to that.
3- As Ponz mentioned, the presence of a large ironcasting-mold seam projecting outward from the ball is an indication that it is not a cannonball. However, I've seen a very few crudely-cast Colonial Era cannonballs which have a small projecting seam. The size of the seam on your ball is "borderline"... meaning, I lean away from it being a cannonball, but I cannot absolutely exclude the possibility, based just on the seam. The groove around the ball's top is a much more important problem.
4- A helpful clue for identifying an iron ball as an artillery ball or a Civilian-usage ball is the location where it was found. We check to see whether or not a cannon which fired that specific size of ball was ever at that location. Where did you find that ball?

The ultimate test about your hollow ball is to carefully, SAFELY remove the rust-crust which fills the hole, to see whether or not there is any gunpowder inside it. Send me a T-Net Private Message telling me your phone number, so we can discuss how to get that done safely.

 

[davcw]

Here is a view of the top of the ball.
Thanks CannonballGuy for your in-depth knowledge and ideas. The ball was found rolling out of an old farmhouse being demolished here in the foothills of Colorado north of Denver. A mining area on the plains with a spectacular view of the mountains. Hardly a spot where the colonial British carried a 9 pounder during the Revolutionary War! But, maybe someone's treasure from back East?

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Thank you for cleaning the rust-encrustation out of the groove encircling the top of the ball, and posting new photos showing it. The groove means the ball is definitely not a cannonball.

Thanks also for providing the location where the ball was found. I agree, it's "highly unlikely" that a Revolutionary War (or even civil war) 9-Pounder muzzleloading cannon ever got used in Colorado. I mention the civil war because there is historical documentation that five old obsolete 9-Pounder cannons got used by "needy" Confederates during the civil war... but all of those five were east of the Mississippi River, AND there were no hollow shells for them at that time, just Solid-Shot cannonballs.

 

[davcw]

The last two photos were just different angles and views. I didn't clean it up at all. To me, the top looks like something screwed into the iron ball that was cut off to accommodate it, then rounded to match the shape of the ball. Any ideas what it (hollow iron ball) could have been used for, if not for the military? Thanks again for your time and expertise.

 

[lockster99]

What about ornamental iron fence post topper.