✅ SOLVED I’m at a old New Orleans Fort

Truth

Truth

Gold Member
Apr 13, 2016
14,332
32,145
Abita Springs La....Born in New Orleans
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2
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Detector(s) used
EQUINOX 800
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Is this a canister shot it was 8 inches down? IMG_0012.JPGIMG_0012.JPG
 

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Truth1253 asked:
"Is this a canister shot it was 8 inches down?"

Literally MILLIONS of iron balls have been manufactured for non-artillery use… such as ball-bearings, and Mining Industry ore-crusher balls. The only way to reliably tell whether a solid (not hollow) iron ball is a historical Artillery ball is to super-precisely measure its diameter, in hundredths-of-an-inch, using a digital Caliper or a Diameter (Pi) Tape. Then you compare your ball's very-exact diameter with the Historical data telling the precise diameter of actual Artillery balls, such as "Shot Tables" size-charts listed in the US (and Confederate-used) Ordnance Manual of 1861. That book, published in 1862, tells the exact diameter of the Artillery balls (cannonballs, Grapeshot-balls, and Canister-ammo balls) used in America from the Revolutionary War through the Civil War.

The Artillery ball size-data charts in the 1861 Ordnance Manual are viewable online, for free, here:
www.civilwarartillery.com/shottables.htm

Of course, to measure your ball's actual iron diameter, you'll need to remove ALL the rust-encrustation off of it. For a small ball like yours, you can simply put the ball on a concrete sidewalk or driveway, and beat the rust-crust off with a hammer.

If your (completely cleaned) ball's diameter does not match up within .02-inch (2 one-hundredths-of-an-inch) with a ball's size in the 1861 Ordnance Manual, it is not an Artillery ball.

Artillery balls used in Europe or Asia were mostly different sizes than American and British ones, so the 1861 Ordnance Manual is not very helpful for balls found on those continents.

For anybody interested in additional detailed information (with helpful how-to photos) on how to CORRECTLY tell if a ball is an Artillery ball, or not one, I co-wrote an Educational article viewable for free here:
SolidShotEssentialsMod
 

Last edited:
Upvote 0
TheCannonballGuy said:
Truth1253 asked:
"Is this a canister shot it was 8 inches down?"

Literally MILLIONS of iron balls have been manufactured for non-artillery use… such as ball-bearings, and Mining Industry ore-crusher balls. The only way to reliably tell whether a solid (not hollow) iron ball is a historical Artillery ball is to super-precisely measure its diameter, in hundredths-of-an-inch, using a digital Caliper or a Diameter (Pi) Tape. Then you compare your ball's very-exact diameter with the Historical data telling the precise diameter of actual Artillery balls, such as "Shot Tables" size-charts listed in the US (and Confederate-used) Ordnance Manual of 1861. That book, published in 1862, tells the exact diameter of the Artillery balls (cannonballs, Grapeshot-balls, and Canister-ammo balls) used in America from the Revolutionary War through the Civil War.

The Artillery ball size-data charts in the 1861 Ordnance Manual are viewable online, for free, here:
www.civilwarartillery.com/shottables.htm

Of course, to measure your ball's actual iron diameter, you'll need to remove ALL the rust-encrustation off of it. For a small ball like yours, you can simply put the ball on a concrete sidewalk or driveway, and beat the rust-crust off with a hammer.

If your (completely cleaned) ball's diameter does not match up within .02-inch (2 one-hundredths-of-an-inch) with a ball's size in the 1861 Ordnance Manual, it is not an Artillery ball.

Artillery balls used in Europe or Asia were mostly different sizes than American and British ones, so the 1861 Ordnance Manual is not very helpful for balls found on those continents.

For anybody interested in additional detailed information (with helpful how-to photos) on how to CORRECTLY tell if a ball is an Artillery ball, or not one, I co-wrote an Educational article viewable for free here:
SolidShotEssentialsMod
Click to expand...

So do you recommend me do electrolysis on it cannonballguy?
 

Upvote 0
Cool find Brother hope its the prize would look nice in your display case.
 

Last edited:
Upvote 0
Truth1253 wrote:
> Ok I beat it with a hammer. 3.74 inches and 5.33 ounces.

The photo shows your de-encrusted iron ball from the old fort site is definitely NOT 3.74-inches in diameter. The photo of the caliper's LCD screen indicates the battery is going bad. Judging by the old "ruler" increments on the caliper, the ball appears to be a hair or two over 1.30-inches in diameter, maybe about 1.33-inches, which puts it "right in the ballpark" for a civil war era 24-Pounder caliber Howitzer cannon's Canister-ammo ball. The 1861 Ordnance Manual's "Shot Tables" precise-size-&-weight chart for Canister-ammo says your ball's digitally-measured weight of 5.33 ounces (which includes a teeny tad for the remaining rust-crust's weight) is also correct for being a cast-iron 24-Pounder caliber Howitzer Canister-ammo ball. The Manual says that size of Canister-ammo ball should weight .32 pound, which translates to 5.12-ounces. Add about two-tenths of an ounce for the remaining rust-dirt crust, and that;'s your ball's 5.33-ounces weight.

So, in my opinion, your find IS the one-out-of-a-hundred rusty iron balls that turns out to actually be a historical military cannon-ammo ball. Congrats! :)
 

Upvote 0
TheCannonballGuy said:
Truth1253 wrote:
> Ok I beat it with a hammer. 3.74 inches and 5.33 ounces.

The photo shows your de-encrusted iron ball from the old fort site is definitely NOT 3.74-inches in diameter. The photo of the caliper's LCD screen indicates the battery is going bad. Judging by the old "ruler" increments on the caliper, the ball appears to be a hair or two over 1.30-inches in diameter, maybe about 1.33-inches, which puts it "right in the ballpark" for a civil war era 24-Pounder caliber Howitzer cannon's Canister-ammo ball. The 1861 Ordnance Manual's "Shot Tables" precise-size-&-weight chart for Canister-ammo says your ball's digitally-measured weight of 5.33 ounces (which includes a teeny tad for the remaining rust-crust's weight) is also correct for being a cast-iron 24-Pounder caliber Howitzer Canister-ammo ball. The Manual says that size of Canister-ammo ball should weight .32 pound, which translates to 5.12-ounces. Add about two-tenths of an ounce for the remaining rust-dirt crust, and that;'s your ball's 5.33-ounces weight.

So, in my opinion, your find IS the one-out-of-a-hundred rusty iron balls that turns out to actually be a historical military cannon-ammo ball. Congrats! :)
Click to expand...

Outstanding!!!!
Nice Find...
 

Upvote 0
TheCannonballGuy said:
Truth1253 wrote:
> Ok I beat it with a hammer. 3.74 inches and 5.33 ounces.

The photo shows your de-encrusted iron ball from the old fort site is definitely NOT 3.74-inches in diameter. The photo of the caliper's LCD screen indicates the battery is going bad. Judging by the old "ruler" increments on the caliper, the ball appears to be a hair or two over 1.30-inches in diameter, maybe about 1.33-inches, which puts it "right in the ballpark" for a civil war era 24-Pounder caliber Howitzer cannon's Canister-ammo ball. The 1861 Ordnance Manual's "Shot Tables" precise-size-&-weight chart for Canister-ammo says your ball's digitally-measured weight of 5.33 ounces (which includes a teeny tad for the remaining rust-crust's weight) is also correct for being a cast-iron 24-Pounder caliber Howitzer Canister-ammo ball. The Manual says that size of Canister-ammo ball should weight .32 pound, which translates to 5.12-ounces. Add about two-tenths of an ounce for the remaining rust-dirt crust, and that;'s your ball's 5.33-ounces weight.

So, in my opinion, your find IS the one-out-of-a-hundred rusty iron balls that turns out to actually be a historical military cannon-ammo ball. Congrats! :)
Click to expand...

OMG!!!!!! And you’re right my batteries are going bad!!!! Omg thank you sooooo much for freaking me out right now. Lol
 

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Thoughts on worn 1 Real cob

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