Another "What is it"

[Deathontwolegs]

Hi guys. I found this today and am wondering if it's civil war related or not a projectile at all.

Thanks.

 

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[RobRieman]

Can't say if it's civil war related but that's what a mini ball looks like that's lived underground for a long time! Nice find!

 

[Deathontwolegs]

Thank you! Someone mentioned today that it might be a musket ball.

 

[SCDigginWithAK]

It's either a musket ball or pistol ball can't tell from your pic Minié balls are shaped differently, not round.

 

[recondigger]

If you could give us some exact measurements we would be able to find out what type of firearm its from.

 

[CRUSADER]

Looks to be a 19th C Lead Ball to me, no idea how you could prove CW though?

 

[NOLA_Ken]

It looks like a musket ball to me, and a pretty big one at that. You'll need to get a precise measurement in 100ths of an inch to get an idea of caliber and possibly an idea of what it was for. As for dating it, that might be hard to do. Were any datable relics found near it?

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Your lead ball has the appropriate amount of lead-oxide "patina" on it to be from the 1800s or earlier.

SCDigginWithAK is correct, it is not a Minie-ball, which is a shape of bullet named for its inventor, French army Captain Minie, about 1850. Understandably, a lot of people confuse that name for a bullet with "mini ball" - but despite the confusing name, a Minie-ball is not ball-shaped. A Minie-ball's body is cylindrical with a more-or-less cone-shaped top (like modern-era bullets). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minié_ball

As NOLA-Ken said, we need super-precise measurement of the ball's diameter, in 100ths-of-an-inch, to see whether or not its diameter matches up with any of the various known sizes of musketballs and artillery Case-Shot balls. Please use a Digital Caliper to make that measurement. See photo below.

I notice that your lead ball is somewhat out-of-round (meaning, not a perfect sphere), so there are three possibilities:
1- It is not a "projectile" ball -- as noted above, we need precise measurement to prove it is or isn't firearms-related.
2- It is a fired musketball which smacked into something with just enough force to slightly "smush" it out of its original perfect-sphere shape.
3- It is a civil war artillery shell antipersonnel ball, known as a Case-Shot ball. Unlike musketballs, which needed to be manufactured perfectly-round to load and fire properly in a gunbarrel, Case-Shot balls (which were contained inside an explosive artillery shell) did not HAVE to be perfectly-round.

I've included the possibility that it is a civil war artillery Case-Shot ball because you found it near Bristow VA... and there was a civil war battle there in October 1863 which involved artillery. At that time, the town's name was spelled "Bristoe." Battle of Bristoe Station - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Civil war Case-Shot artillery shells contained at least 40 (or more) lead antipersonnel balls. So, if your ball is from a Case-Shot shell, there ought to be quite a few more of them in the nearby vicinity. See photo below, which shows a sawed-in-half specimen of civil war Case-Shot cannonball and the lead balls inside it.

 

[Deathontwolegs]

Wow, thanks! I have a friend who just confirmed he has a digital caliper. I will post a measurement tomorrow.

BTW, I found this aprox 5 miles east of the entrance to the Shenandoah National Park on Rt 33 in VA.

 

[Deathontwolegs]

Well, I finally got to measuring. I'm not sure of the settings on the device, but I'll post what I have.

The ball has a couple of flat places so I took several readings:
.04435
.04530
.05880
.05465
.05120
.05100
.05930

Hope you guys can help identify.

Thanks for looking!

 

[flyadive]

Well, I finally got to measuring. I'm not sure of the settings on the device, but I'll post what I have.

The ball has a couple of flat places so I took several readings:
.04435
.04530
.05880
.05465
.05120
.05100
.05930

Hope you guys can help identify.

Thanks for looking!

I believe you have the decimal point In the wrong location..
So it is a 1/2" dia round ball (0.5465) and not a 1/16"- or 2 thousands of an inch if its in Millameters.
HH

 

[Deathontwolegs]

I believe you have the decimal point In the wrong location..
So it is a 1/2" dia round ball (0.5465) and not a 1/16"- or 2 thousands of an inch if its in Millameters.
HH

device displays 0.05465. i'm sure you're right though. i'm trying to place this in a specific time period, i.e civil war....

 

[Swartzie]

To place the ball in a time period you will have to dig other targets on the same site and see what period they are from. And even then it would be an assumption.
-Swartzie

 

[Thommy]

Can't say if it's civil war related but that's what a mini ball looks like that's lived underground for a long time! Nice find!

Not a "mini ball". It is either a musket ball or canister shot. A Minie Ball is a cylindro-conical, hollow-base bullet with three concentric rings. Invented by Claude-Étienne Minié