AREAS OF LEAD MYSTERY

[gldnbrew]

I really need help to figuring this one out. All the lead pieces you see in the photos below were found in a remote 1812 battlefield [in the woods]. These lead pieces are ONLY found in the areas that I find canister and grapeshot [three separate and distinct areas], and no where else outside of these areas. I think they were put in the cannon along with the shot [canister or grape] and fired, others I talk to say no, but don't have an answer either. I hope one of our experts here has the answer or at least a logical explanation.

 

[duggap]

I would think there were a bunch of guys setting around casting ammo. You are finding the slag.

 

[gldnbrew]

I had originally thought that, but it is spread out over too big an area and it is only a piece or pieces here and there. In that scenario, casting the musket balls, everyone would of had to have their own separate fire. I don't think they would of done that. I think if they were casting musket balls, it would of been at the main campsite, which is about a mile from the battle sites.

 

[Don Griffith]

I agree, duggap. HH

 

[Pointman]

Could there have been a fire later that melted pieces of lead in the soil? Is there charring?

 

[huntsman53]

I agree that they are slag from casting lead balls. The slag may have been retrieved by the Soldiers making the balls for making more lead balls at a later time but were lost in the heat of the battle and/or possibly lost when some of the Soldiers fell on the battlefield.


Frank

 

[MuckyBottles]

If your a fisherman, they could save you money..I keep all the lead slag I find, melt them down and cast fishing weights..

 

[capsmith]

I will have to disagree about it been waste from casting.Of the casting that I have done. Most of the waste is kind of round and smooth.I just dont see anything like the waste I have generated.
Also it looks like there is to much lead in those pieces, just for cleaning the impurity off of the top of the pot.

 

[longcut]

Let's just say , the US was camped in the area and had fires going and the soldiers were melting lead to pour bullets .... It is night ,and the British see the fires. The British open fire and land canister and grape real close ............. The US soldiers throw buckets of water at the fires to put out the "here we are" fires and in the turmoil , lots of water gets thrown into the hot lead ........................ molten lead blows like hell when water hits it ................... you can look at the ceiling of my carport and see what one drop of water will do to molten lead ,,, can u say "paint a ceiling gray "

 

[capsmith]

Let's just say , the US was camped in the area and had fires going and the soldiers were melting lead to pour bullets .... It is night ,and the British see the fires. The British open fire and land canister and grape real close ............. The US soldiers throw buckets of water at the fires to put out the "here we are" fires and in the turmoil , lots of water gets thrown into the hot lead ........................ molten lead blows like hell when water hits it ................... you can look at the ceiling of my carport and see what one drop of water will do to molten lead ,,, can u say "paint a ceiling gray "

I thought about something like that, but normally you would get alot of splatter, thin lead like tin foil, wouldnt you?
But if you could put the right amount of water in a pot it miight blow out in bigger pieces.

 

[gldnbrew]

Let's just say , the US was camped in the area and had fires going and the soldiers were melting lead to pour bullets .... It is night ,and the British see the fires. The British open fire and land canister and grape real close ............. The US soldiers throw buckets of water at the fires to put out the "here we are" fires and in the turmoil , lots of water gets thrown into the hot lead ........................ molten lead blows like hell when water hits it ..

Which is a good scenario, but I believe not the case in this particular battle. The main camp was about a mile away and the only soldiers that would of been in these areas, before the battle, would of been the look outs [guard duty]. Besides the British were ambushed at this spot and would of had no prior knowledge of where the American camp site was, for the British to fire their cannons at. If you go back and look at the photo's, only a couple of the pieces of lead came out of the same hole or even a close by location [arms length or better]. Basically it is a piece here, a piece there, but all the lead pieces were confined to within the three separate and different shot areas, which range in size from a basketball court to slightly larger than a football field. I also do not think it is reasonable that an army would have 15 or so separate fires inside an area the size of a basketball court, for making ammo.

 

[longcut]

Try this .............. ok , so the canister and shot u are finding are in the US lines , that means the British were firing the cannons ............... so . being on foreign soil , maybe u are right and the British used every bit of ammo they could .............. just throw some slag in the barrel too .................... but I doubt slag would travel that far alone .................... Suppose the British saved the slag and loaded a canister with it ................ that would put all that slag mixed in with the "sho nuff" canister and shot .................. I have a headache now ..................

 

[augoldminer]

Not from casting bullets as there would also be sprues cut off from the bullets.

My guess is this was a open field that was used for both cannon and rifle range.

Some of the lead pieces in the photos look like twisted pieces from hitting something.

Sometimes they built log back stops just to catch bullets then would burn the the logs to recover the lead.

You have to remember back then you did not just walk to the store to buy lead for making bullets.
Everything that could be recycled in those days was.