MrMarsHill
Full Member
- Jan 15, 2019
- 168
- 528
- Detector(s) used
- Garrett ACE 300, current main user.
Garret AT Propointer, current main user.
Garrett GTAX750, classic machine and I love it!
Bounty hunter tracker iv, missing knob bought used on eBay... Still find
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
I've posted about a cannonball I was hoping to buy recently, it was NOT authentic. I passed. My father and I have our legendary cannonball search in the pond, but haven't recovered it yet. Today I got a call at 10:30am, my dad asked if I could free myself and head out to the French Broad river in Asheville, NC to do a little magnet fishing for some artillery. The battle of Asheville is easily researchable with a quick google search, but here is a SHORT rundown. A few hundred confederate troops were holding the city of Asheville towards the final days of the war. The union planned to take the town. The confederates in Asheville had 4, 12lb napoleon cannons. I'm not sure what artillery the union forces had if any. There are still earthworks in the park here dug during the battle. It is said that the 2 forces shot at each other from sun up to sundown. The union got word the war was basically over( and were tricked into believing they faced a much larger threat in Asheville) so they beat a hasty retreat up the French broad river back towards Tennessee... my country(western NC, Eastern TN). As the federal soldiers left they were said to have dropped everything that was not immediately important. Basically lots of stuff should be all over the trails and the river. The only listed casualty from the battle is an officer who's horse fell on top of him "WHILE THE TROOPS WERE CROSSING THE FRENCH BROAD RIVER NEAR THE BATTLE SHORTLY AFTER". My father and I have been researching every possible lead to find where they crossed, but the best way to find a crossing is always to get out and look for it. We had a decent sized area in mind to focus on today. Looking for shallow spots across the water, signs of old trails etc. My dad pulled into an outcropping of big rocks in the middle of the river in a rather wide and shallow/flat area and started using my propointer at we have taped to a pole for our recent pond hunts. In a few minutes he had a signal. When the sediment cleared, he could see the 2 ,3 ring minie balls in a deep crevice between the Rocks. He reached Down to get the minie balls(he dropped one putting it in his boat and we never found it again!) The pinpointer got another signal. The sediment cleared and he couldnt see anything. This hole was deep so he got his magnet fishing magnet out and dropped it in the crevice. He started yelling for me that something was sticking to his magnet in the same spot as the minie balls. I was in my chest waders poking around with my magnet stick and looking for bottles etc. I worked my way to him. About 50 feet from him I hear him talking to himself and obviously pulling something heavy out of the river... or he was stuck and cursing the river, lol! He proceeded to pull this large iron ball out of the water and we both almost $#!+ our pants! Hysterical laughter and all that good stuff! Obviously this needs IDing, (and I know the chances are slim) but it was lucky to find something so cannonball like on a cannonball hunt in a BIG river one way or the other. Our research has us about 3/4 mile as the crow flies from the dead center of the battle. Cannonballs should have surely made it into the water. Not to mention the 2 minie balls found in the same crevice just a few feet apart. I cant tell if the minie is fired(looks to be to me) or not? I didnt even see it in person. I figured dropped minie balls in the MIDDLE of the low spot in the river would almost surely mean they crossed nearby These pics are what my mom sent me when they got the ball home and rinsed off etc. I am taking my accurate scale and large caliper over tomorrow for measurements and will get better pics. I understand there isnt much that can be done but speculate until we get the real weight and diameter. I will say my parents weighed the ball on their bathroom scale and it WAS barely over 12lbs... how much I am not sure. I know the listed size is supposed to be 4.5" give or take on the 12lb if my memory serves me correctly? This appears to be VERY close by eye. Again, useless info until I can get accurate measurements. I couldnt wait to post the story and the pics so I will just have to update tomorrow. If this is a confederate cannonball from my local area, Battle of Asheville, it will be a VERY special find for us. I know we are heading back asap for more searching. The soldiers were even said to have abandoned lots of rifles etc and I cant imagine a better time to ditch something than when you are running through a wide and rough river. Not to mention all that would be dropped! I'd love to find where the officer went down on his horse... you know he lost some great stuff. If anybody has any opinions based on the pics, I'm open to hearing them! This is definitely a very perfectly round, metal ball in the general size I'm looking for. It does have what I would consider a sprue hole and a mold seam, but the ball appears to have been finished pretty well. I'm well aware of the other possible items this could be, but given the area we were hunting, other relics found in the immediate area and even the size of cannons KNOWN to have been fired directly towards the area... I cant help but be hopeful! Thanks for the ongoing support I appreciate every comment! I plan to start posting some of my bottle hunts and other adventures soon. I am a doer, not a documentarian... but I'm trying to change that lol! Thanks for reading!
Jim Brown
Bonez Customs and Collectables
@bonezcustoms on IG
Jim Brown
Bonez Customs and Collectables
@bonezcustoms on IG
