Is This A Shot Musket Ball?

[Erik in NJ]

Found this today in NJ in the side yard of a church that dates back to the mid 1600's. I have permission from the Pastor as there will be some construction here in the near future. I spent about 4 hours there beore my vacation and basically got skunked. Frustrating to find nothing in a field with so much potential! I'm surmising that this area was once wooded or it has been filled. Either way it seems to be pretty much devoid of targets.

Perhaps the most interesting thing found was this item. It's very heavy and by the heavy white patina I'm guessing a lead musket ball. It's no longer round, but measures approx. 3/4" x 1/2". This area was inhabitted by Dutch, Indians, and saw Washington's troops march near by. The patina is very solid and thick. Best 3D shape description is it's kinda like the shape of a "flying saucer" though it's not terribly symmetrical.

Thanks for any help!

 

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[romeo-1]

Sure is!

 

[Erik in NJ]

Thanks brother for the quick reply! Any idea on caliber or whether it was American or Brit? Any way to get an approx timeframe? Thanks again!!

Best, Erik

 

[romeo-1]

Looks like a .75 caliber which would make it likely from a British gun.

 

[ivan salis]

the british brown bess was the stardard military musket for the british during the rev war era -- 3/4 inch or .75 caliber

 

[High Plains Digger]

Not that I know anything at all, but I think I remember that the Brown Bess was somewhat after the Rev war. At least that is what I was told about a bayonette that I own. Was I told wrong? I am so confused.......it is the state I live in!

Thanks

Dan, Confusion USA

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Some time ago, while doing research on "Brown Bess" musket parts for this forum, I came across reliable Historical info that its design and manufacture does preceed the US Revolutionary War by several decades.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Bess
and
http://www.11thpa.org/Bess.html

The name "Brown Bess" has quotes around it because that name was not officially adopted by the British ordnance department. But according to the 11th PA website (linked above), that musket's nickname appears in a 1771 newspaper.
Quoting from that website:
THE BROWN BESS PATTERN: Britain's military long arms during the 18th century were officially considered in two groups: Land Service and Sea Service. We are concerned with the former. The unofficial term, "Brown Bess," has various claims for its origin, but a mention in the April 2-9, 1771 issue of the Connecticut Courant verifies the name's acceptance in America preceding our War for Independence.

 

[Erik in NJ]

Thanks for the additional information guys! There were British guns in the area. I'll provide better measurements with a digital caliper (as soon as I can find the darn thing )

 

[ivan salis]

ops --erik this one is the out of round one --the other one you posted is round --this one is the "fired" round --the other round one the dropped one. --ivan

 

[Erik in NJ]

Thanks Ivan - the dropped ball is almost certainly British, but seems to be 1/16" shy of 3/4". My guess due to the age of the property and id of the openwork bridle boss is that it was dropped 1600 - 1700. That would make it .68 or .69 caliber? Could it have been from a pistol? This ball likely had nothing to do with the Rev War.

The fired round I found yesterday in NJ could very well have been fired in anger during the Rev War by a British soldier, but it's so out of round it's hard for me to tell what the caliber could have been. The curvature on the front has at least a diameter of 3/4". Would weighing it help?

 

[ivan salis]

the bore was 75 to 72 caliber (so about 3/4th of a inch hole in barrel ) so of course the ball had to be a bit smaller to fit into the hole and come out smoothly -- to seal the gap between the barrel and the ball --a bit of patch (thin cloth) was used to form a seal .

load process goes as follows --- pour course gunpowder load down barrel --put greased "patch cloth" over barrel end --place ball on top patch cloth -- using ram rod --shove frimly and steady somewhat hard --pushing ball and patch down the barrel until is sits upon the powder load -- then cock the hammer --- pour fine priming powder in priming pan -- aim & squeeze trigger **** when the flint set in the hammer strikes the steel in the flashpan --sparks are made which fires up the fine powder in the priming pan -- the fire travels from the priming pan thru the flash hole in the barrels side and sets the main course gunpowder charge off -- BOOM -- now redo it -- good troops could fire 3 or more rounds a minute .

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Erik in NJ wrote:
> Would weighing it help?

Yes. I've previously used extra-precise weighing to determine the original caliber of fired bullets which are too smushed/dented for accurate size-measurement with calipers. Your photo of your fired musketball shows it got smacked out-of-round by impact, but because it didn't lose any of its metal body, its original weight has not changed.

Of course, you're going to need to use a super-precise weighing scale, such as a Jeweler's scale ...or a precious-metals dealer's scales ...the kind that measure weight down to fractions of a gram.

 

[Erik in NJ]

Thanks Ivan and CBG,

I do have a jewers scale at home (this one I can put my hands on!) -- I'll try weighing it tonight and post the results here.

Regards, Erik