I have an ignorant question concerning cannonballs....

[MalteseFalcon]

I saw a post by someone today (I am slowly reading the "Today's Finds" forum at a rate of about one page per day) where the gentleman posted a picture of a full-sized cannonball he had found.

This question is fueled in part by Hollywood, and their ongoing desire to have big fiery explosions in their movies wherever possible, and certainly in films about war.

So, can cannonballs be classified as UXO? My thought has always been that you shoot a cannonball at something, it will blast through it like any normal projectile that size, but without any big explosion (like today's artillery shells, hand grenades, etc.). But then, I could be totally wrong.

If one were to find a full sized cannonball, would one be in any danger of Metal Detecting around the Pearly Gates sooner than expected?

Thanks in advance for your answers.

 

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[JakePhelps]

Depends, if its a solid shot then its just a round iron harmless ball of metal, but if its a caseshot, then it could have gunpowder and grapeshot in it still...No idea on how you would tell if your cannonball was solid or not but i wouldnt tap it with my shovel to find out

 

[hollowpointred]

im no expert but i would guess that the gunpowder in a shell from the civil war would probably be so wet and deteiriorated that it wouldnt ignite.........but thats just a guess.better to be safe than sorry though.

 

[cavtrooper]

Civil war artillery projectiles can be either solid shot, case shot, or explosive. Case shot and explosive rounds can be easily identified from solid shot by a fuse located somewhere on the projectile. Most CW fuses were timed fuses and they were usually ignited by the propellant charge. This was far from fool proof and that is one reason why so many are found intact. They also experimented with some types of contact fuses. Solid shot on the other hand will be solid, no holes, or anything made from another type of metal attached to them(the fuse). Although CW shells have been in the ground for almost 150 years, they were made in such a way that it is very hard for moisture or water to get to their charge and the should be considered live. However, they are relatively safe to have around until they can be demilled. Excercise some caution and they should be fine. (don't let them roll around in the back of your pickup on the way home or keep them next to your wood stove at home). If you are worried about having them around there are people who specialize in demilling them. Do not take them to the police or to a military base unless you want them destroyed. I hope this helps.

 

[MalteseFalcon]

Thanks so much fer the info.

I of course did realize that some cannonballs were solid, but just did not know if there were any that could have an explosive charge inside.

Living in Tennessee, and planning on getting a detector sometime in the near future, I am reasonabley sure that I will be finding relics from the CW. I drive by one area every day going to work and back that I know had a fierce skirmish during the Battle Of Nashville, and there is a huge wooded area there. Dang it, now if I see anything with potential, I start drooling LOL.

So yes, better safe than sorry. I just wanted to know, in case I get a massive signal, and dig up an 8-incher or something like that.

I would assume case shot and explosive rounds would have some kind of hole where the fuse once was, as even if the fuse went out before getting to the surface of the ball, it would have deteriorated long ago by the ravages of time...

Once again, thanks...

**BOOM!**

 

[DigEmAll]

As I was reading some old posts, I found the one above.

Just the clear things up a bit, black powder becomes more unstable each time it gets wet and drys. You should exercise EXTREME CAUTION with ANY cannon ball while digging it up and even MORE CAUTION if it has a fuse. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DRILL IT YOURSELF! Have an expert EOD guy do it. DO NOT STORE UNEXPLODED ORDINANCE IN YOUR HOME OR CLOSE TO IT!

After it has been demilled, go play soccer with it if you want!

 

[CWnut]

here's a link that will give you a little info on CW projectiles

http://www.civilwarartillery.com/

 

[entsminger]

I have found some 30 shells and cannon balls through out the years and most were loaded. I carried them around and bumped many with out any problem.However, after having them disarmed I took the powder and made fire crackers. Even after being flushed out and dried the powder would ignite and burn very easily so it's only logical that any one of them could have exploded had I banged it the wrong way. I would be very carefull with any that seem to still be loaded aspecially if they have a percussion fuse.Yes, never give them to the army or police.They will just destroy them.

Scott in Arlington Va.

 

[Monty]

Cannon balls used black powder as their energy source. Black powder can be wet and as soon as it dries out it will ignite! Monty

 

[Roadquest]

I always say it good to know what you don't know....

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

=Monty ]
Cannon balls used black powder as their energy source. Black powder can be wet and as soon as it dries out it will ignite! Monty
****************

HI MONTY I have finally had enough free time to go over back posts. You are quite right, in fact, in the manufacture of Bp it is kept wet to minimze an explosion - works just fine when later dried .
Tropical tramp Till

 

[DigEmAll]

Actually, when it goes through a wet/dry process repeatedly the larger particles break down, it mixes the chemical composition on a higher level, which will make it combust more readily and will therefore give a higher yield.

The better it's mixed, the better it burns, and the more care that should be taken.

 

[trk5capt]

Everyone Has Warned You, Here Are Some Pics Of What To Look For. trk5capt...

 

[MalteseFalcon]

I finally got around to re-reading this thread.

Thanks for the info.
8)

 

[Peg Leg]

Just read this posting I felt that this must be PLAINLY STATED.
Old gunpowder that was used in mining will in time turn to NITRO. Not all will do this butf enough to make it very dangerous to handle.
I have been in many old abdoned mines in AZ andthe first thing I look for is a GREASY SHINNY spot at the entrance of the mine-either side. If you see this DO NOT ENTER THIS MINE cause the old blasting powder has turned to NIRTO. The same applies to cannon shells that were loaded with black powder.
Check out the POSTING about the oldest cannon recovered from a ship. It was in the ocean for 400 to 500 years and WAS STILL LOADED with a charge and if ignited it would have gone off.
Peg Leg

 

[shortz]

http://www.thetreasuredepot.com/cgi-bin/relic/relic_config.pl?read=98693 Heres a story about a guy where the shell exploded while he was drilling into it .

 

[DETREASUREHNTR]

Now this is a thread that was very informative and I am glad to know that the power is still dangerous. If I had ever found one I would not have even considered the fact it could still be a live round. I think I may just take a picture if I find one, I don't know any private EOD guys.

 

[stefen]

An ignorant question concerning cannonballs is only ignorant if asked after the damn thing goes BOOM.

 

[outdoorsup]

Ok, here is the word from an EOD guy. As stated in a few post, there are solid rounds and powder filled rounds, and there are rounds that were ignited when fired and then detonated at a predetermined time and there were rounds that detonated on impact. The most dangerous rounds are those with the impact fuze. Of all the impact fuzes, the Tice fuze is the most dangerous and one of the most rare. A web search for civil war Tice Fuze will bring up several sites with pictures. The Fort Sill website has a lot of great info but it takes a bit of searching to find it.

A common mistake concerning gunpowder and Nitroglycerin is that they are one in the same. This is not the case. Old dynamite was often made from combining Nitro. and an inert substance such as sawdust or the like. Over a period of time the Nitro will soak through the inert substance and through the wax paper holding everything together. When this happens crystals often form, and this is a dangerous situation. As an EOD Tech. when this situation is encountered, the dynamite is destroyed in place 99.9% of the time. The other .1% is only when a detonation absolutely can not take place. Then the dynamite is moved but only after certain steps take place. I will not get into these steps because it's not worth dying for. Gunpowder will not soak out because it is a solid and not a liquid like Nitro. Gunpowder can get wet and is then relativly safe to transport, but will dry out and work just as good as it did before. Nitro based dynamite is rarely used because of the rotation schedule that has to take place in order to store it. Rotating the sticks prevents the Nitro from soaking through and forming crystals.

I have absolutely no problem with transporting a powder filled cannonball with a powder type of fuze and I have only a few reservations about transporting an impact fuze but I will not transport ANY fuzed cannonball and allow it to bounce around in the back of my vehicle. I would sand bag it down first. I would not store a fuzed cannonball in my house until it has been inerted and I would look around for an expert on inerting as soon as I could because the longer you wait the less likely you will get it done. I would not contact the police unless you no longer desire to have the cannonball around and the military will tell you to contact the police and the police will contact the military and then the round will go away. The laws says that ANY military ordnance found, reguardless of what time frame it is belongs to the government and the government will take it back. When the EOD team shows up the round will be taken away and either destroyed or retained for training. You will NOT be allowed to keep the item. This is fact and I have destroyed lots of ordnance and I have retained an equal amount of ordnance.

Civil war ordnance is a great collectable but only if done correctly, and I hope I have shed a bit of light on the subject. And I kant' spele so dont' laf

 

[TreasureTales]

If anyone wants to know what could happen when trying to disarm CW ordnance, check out www.americandigger.com and read the article about the man from Georgia who was SEVERELY INJURED while trying to do so...and he had lots of experience. The article can be accessed by clicking on the banner near the top of the website's homepage. DANGEROUS to mess with explosives of any type, ESPECIALLY old material.