Six Cannon Balls Found In Farm Field, Southern Illinois

[les]

Hi Guys: Do any of you know the sizes of Civil War Cannon Balls? Im asking this Because ,,,Being the curious person I am,, Several years back I was working on A Riding Mower for the Lady that I rented a house from,she was rather wealthy, Owned a farm that had been in her Family for over 100 years,, I knew this because of a Sign that was in her front yard which said something about it,
While working on the mower I went into the Shed, for some tools,, there on a Shelf covered with rust & Dust were these 5 Steel balls,, I thought maybe they were giant ball Bearings,being about 4" to 5" In Diameter,& I couldn't believe how heavy they were,yes I picked one up, after fixing the Mower,, I ask her about them,,She said That Back Years ago Her Grandfather was Clearing some Land & found them in the field behind the house, she pointed to a Pecan grove where they came from,she said that she thought they were from the civil war,but didn't know for sure,, they had been checked by someone & they were for sure Cannon Balls, She was a older lady,83 at the time, she then told me to come inside,, & told me to go into the den & take a look at one that had been cleaned & mounted,,there on the Desk was a Cannonball the same size around 4" to 5" which had been mounted with a tag saying found by so & so,,the year,,& found in union County Illinois,, Also while I was there She showed me some of the Prettiest arrowheads Ive ever seen that came from a mounded area in the same field,, would these Cannon Balls be from the Civil War Or maybe from a Earlier time?? I don't have a Clue how anyone would know? These Cannonballs Came from a Field in Wolf Lake Illinois, along Route 3 , It is rather close to the river but not real close, Id say this spot is probably a mile from the mississippi river, Is just North Of Cape Girardeau Mo., on the Illinois Side of the river,,,How far would a Cannon shoot from a Ironclad on the Mississippi? Maybe there was a battle in this field?
Les

[steve71]

well get permission search the heck out of that area for everthing,lol

[WW1jager]

They sound like they may be 12 pounders ( with a diameter of 4 to 5 in ) , a 12 pounder should have a diameter of 4.50 inches.I found what I thought was a 12 pounder but it was too small (4 3/16”) and it look like it may be a ore crusher ball, good luck . I have read some where that a 12 pounder had a approx max. range of about 1,600 + yards. I would call a 12 pounder a field type gun, I think that a navy ship would have larger guns.