✅ SOLVED Civill War Cannonball ID needed

[smokeythecat]

Found last week on a CW battlefield in VA, this is iron and apparently was part of something larger. I believe part of artillery shell. Measures about 4" tall and 3" in diameter. The metal is about 1/2' thick. It is too thick for a kettle and too thick for a wheel bearing or cast iron stove part. "Knob" on the top and shown on the right pic is just an extra piece of rust. Any idea what type of shell and USA or CSA use? Please see the other post for another item found nearby.

 

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[TheCannonballGuy]

Photo attachment didn't post, so I fixed that.

It appears to be a fragment of an exploded cannonball. The thickness and width measurements you provided indicate it was part of a 12-Pounder (4.62"-caliber) Case-Shot (antipersonnel) shell. Along with its internal gunpowder charge, that type of exploding cannonball contained about eighty .65"-diameter lead (or iron) balls, intended to increase the casualties caused by the fragments of its iron body.

I should mention, there was another type of 4.62"-caliber exploding cannonball, which contained only gunpowder (no antipersonnel balls inside it). That type was a simple "blasting" artillery shell, used to blow apart fortifications or buildings. But that type's fragments were about 1/4" thicker than yours (.70" instead of .45" thick). Since you say your fragment is about .5" thick (excluding the rust-encrustation), it is definitely from the Case-Shot (antipersonnel) version.

You asked whether your fragment is from a USA or CSA shell. The shape and size of a cannonball's fuze-hole can tell us whether it is a USA or CSA shell. But your fragment isn't from the fuze-hole area of the shell. So, unfortunately, it seems to show no clue that would tell us whether it is yankee-made or Confederate-made.

Here's a photo of a sawed-in-half Bormann-fuzed Case-Shot (antipersonnel) cannonball, showing the fuze and threaded fuzehole and some of the .65"-diameter lead antipersonnel balls. I should mention, some of the balls in it look smaller, but that's because the saw of course didn't split all of the balls in half... it just sliced the edge of some of them. The black-ish area going down through the center is the gunpowder charge which would explode the shell.

 

[Rean.c]

I've actually did a lot of research on mortars AKA exploding cannonballs and that does not look like a fragment from one at all


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[Rean.c]

It just looks like a chunk of metal sorry to tell you, if you can get a picture of the inside with more curve to it


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[Rean.c]

They never made " exploding cannonballs " thinner then .5 inches, so that's a good sigh. And made them as thick as 2 inches thick. And yes cannonball guy they did fill them with led balls and some they didn't. And remember they made them out of iron so your fragment would be a little on the heavy side


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[AlabamaRelic]

I've actually did a lot of research on mortars AKA exploding cannonballs and that does not look like a fragment from one at all


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TheCannonballGuy knows a lot about cannonballs.

 

[Rean.c]

Oh I understand that and I'm not taking nothing away from no one. But the pictures smokey has presented do not justify what it is


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[Rean.c]

This is my exploding cannonball fragment I've found personally. it should be fairly easy to identify. Considering the fact that it broke into fragments and didn't bend and look like a chunk.

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[smokeythecat]

This shell only has a 3" diameter. If the walls were 2" thick, the math would not work. The walls are about 1/2" thick. No thinner, I haven't cleaned the rust off. I have one of the 13" mortar shells Rev War from Yorktown and those have walls about 2" thick. So it seems possible a cylindrical object like a 10 pound Parrott would be reasonable. The top however, shows no evidence of a hole for a fuse. Any additional thoughts appreciated. Here's pics of the inside.

 

[Rean.c]

Those pictures look a lot better! And it certainly looks a lot more like it should. And I meant they made them up to 2 inches thick and the smallest were .5 inches so that's another good indicator, the next question is did you find it in a spot with significance? Because if you found it in Australia i wouldn't imagine it is what it actually is


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[smokeythecat]

Private farm near Brandy Station that saw some major action. Found 3 ringers, round balls, a NY button, part of a 6 pound case shot, and the wierd thing from the other post nearby. Site has produced Confederate and Yank buttons over time.

 

[Rean.c]

Nice man! That's defiantly a exploding cannon ball. Seems like a really historical area. Here's some cannonballs I found in Lunenburg. They were all around the same area with my exploding cannon ball fragment was.

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[smokeythecat]

I just like playing in the dirt......

 

[Rean.c]

Lol wouldn't be much fun metal detecting if you didn't. I do it to get out the house and learn about some historical events


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[smokeythecat]

I had the weird sensation of standing on the exact spot my earliest know immigrant ancestor first stepped foot on in America last year. It was a strange feeling coming back to that property 350 years later and realizing we'd just gone in a circle for that long.

 

[Rean.c]

Haha yea that's what it's all about!! Not to many people are interested in that kind of stuff, I'm actually looking for a old settlement that dates back to the 1500's. It's never been found and I know the area it's In roughly. It may take many years.. It's in this area of Cape Breton where the biggest treasure of gold coins was found in North America. The island to the right is a really famous Island called Scatteree island


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[Rean.c]

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[diverrick]

Cannonball guy that cross cut section made my hair stand on end!! Can you imagine going into battle knowing they are lobbing these things at you? It must have been terrifiying!! Not to mention all the other stuff going on at the same time. No wonder some ran the other way, What sane person would not?

 

[Rean.c]

Lol a sane person would stay and fight for their home land, and warfare today is a lot more scary then that!


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[Charlie P. (NY)]

War ain't pretty. I think I'd rather take a cannon sub-ball than a minie ball. But neither would be much fun.

Have you seen the 155mm anti-personnel round we used on the North Koreans? One of my first bosses was chief on a self-propelled gun in Korea when one of his unit accidently put one of these into the mess tent.

9,000 little steel darts.