Cannonball from Gettysburg area! BIG & HEAVY

[wbtaylor73]

55 years ago my brother-in-law found (dug up?) this cannonball during a Boy Scouts camping trip to the Gettysburg area.
He died awhile back and it was given to his sister.
She needed $$$ so I bought it for $100.00.

Details: The cannonball has a diameter of 6.37 inches and weighs 40 lbs. It's solid and there are no holes in it.

If anyone knows anything about this, I'd appreciate any help given as to what I may have.

Is it a $100 piece of garbage?

 

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[Tony in SC]

Looks like the real thing. Post over on the What is it Forum. Cannon ball guy can tell you all you need to know.

 

[smokeythecat]

It may be ok. Check out artillery at Gettysburg, I don't think they had anything that big there. There were no prior long term gun emplacements there, as it was deep in Union territory and nothing nearby to defend. The battle of Gettysburg was somewhat unexpected when Confederates were scrounging for supplies and Burford's Union cavalry came upon them. I hope I remembered that right.

 

[birdman]

I'm sure it's well worth what you paid.

 

[Trezurehunter]

Sounds like its Civil War history. I think it's well worth the $ 100 that you paid.

 

[vpone]

really great artifact !!!! I would have paid $100 for it.

vp

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Smokeythecat wrote:
> Check out artillery at Gettysburg, I don't think they had anything that big there.

Smokey is on the right track, as usual. ALL of the cannon types & sizes (calibers) which were present at the battle of Gettysburg are well-documented in historical records. (For example, see the book "A Concise Guide To The Artillery At Gettysburg" by Gregory A. Coco.) This ball's finder says its precisely measured diameter is 6.37-inches. That means this Gettysburg-found ball is definitely not a cannonball. The Official Records (as told in the Coco book) say the largest size of cannonball that was ever present at Gettysburg was 5.68-inches in diameter (24-Pounder/5.82" caliber). As explained in my first reply in another discussion of this 40-pound 6.37" ball, here:
Cannonball from Gettysburg area! BIG & HEAVY (treasurenet.com)
it is a rock-crusher ball (a.k.a. "Mill-Ball") associated with a Rock Quarry & Stonemilling facility which operated in the Gettysburg area for over a century.

 

[CRUSADER]

Smokeythecat wrote:
> Check out artillery at Gettysburg, I don't think they had anything that big there.

Smokey is on the right track, as usual. ALL of the cannon types & sizes (calibers) which were present at the battle of Gettysburg are well-documented in historical records. (For example, see the book "A Concise Guide To The Artillery At Gettysburg" by Gregory A. Coco.) This ball's finder says its precisely measured diameter is 6.37-inches. That means this Gettysburg-found ball is definitely not a cannonball. The Official Records (as told in the Coco book) say the largest size of cannonball that was ever present at Gettysburg was 5.68-inches in diameter (24-Pounder/5.82" caliber). As explained in my first reply in another discussion of this 40-pound 6.37" ball, here:
Cannonball from Gettysburg area! BIG & HEAVY (treasurenet.com)
it is a rock-crusher ball (a.k.a. "Mill-Ball") associated with a Rock Quarry & Stonemilling facility which operated in the Gettysburg area for over a century.

I was waiting for your input & I'm not surprised by it. (I thought it looked wrong [Milling Ball jumped to mind], but that was a feeling, not based on your experience, so I stayed quiet)
Provenance is not a seller saying where it was found, unless that seller is trustworthy. (Having said that a milling ball may have been found there...lol)