Cannon Ball ID needed.

[NJ Marty]

I have always wanted to know if these are cannon balls. I found both on the same property here in NJ years ago that dated pre Revolutionary war. The one on the left measures 3 inches across and weighs 3lbs 7.2 oz. The one on the right measures 2 and 7/8 inches across and weighs 1lb 7.2 oz.
Thanks
Marty

 

[timekiller]

I think there is little to no doubt about the one on the left.Being a cannon ball, the vent spuce kinda gives it away.Most likely some sort of 3" field cannon.
Take Care,
Pete,



[Field Cannon : The field cannon was the primary battlefield artillery piece. It fired its shot on a relatively flat trajectory to 'bounce' the ball across the battlefield and plow through enemy troop formations. The casualty rate of field artillery was quite heavy. There were several types and sizes of field artillery. Cannon are categorized by the size solid shot they fire. 1½, 3, and 6 pound shot were some of the most common. Their wheels were large to permit the easy movement over irregular terrain. Larger sizes (12, 24, 32 pound shot) were used primarily against fortifications during siege warfare, as these pieces were too large to move around the battlefield. The largest number of casualties recorded by a single cannon shot was 42, hit by a 32 pound cannonball*.

/color]

 

[timekiller]

After spending a few hours of freshing up I think they are both solid iron cannon balls & most likely Rev.War.The only other thing they could be is Grapeshot.Canister shot was not that big.But you would have to have found them around the water or a fort of somekind.As the cannon's that would had been needed to fire such large grapeshot would be to heavy to be moving all around with.
Here is a Rev.War one like the one on the right.The other 3" one not much doubt(solid iron cannon ball).IMHO
Take Care,
Pete,

 

[artyfacts]

Cannon balls. The smaller of the two has an odd weight. Here are a couple of sites with a little skinny. Arty

http://www.civilwarartillery.com/shottables.htm

http://www.militaryheritage.com/caseshot.htm

 

[timekiller]

Cannon balls. The smaller of the two has an odd weight. Here are a couple of sites with a little skinny. Arty

http://www.civilwarartillery.com/shottables.htm

http://www.militaryheritage.com/caseshot.htm

Note the shot table site. Cannon Bore Diameters
Foreign and/or pre-1860 bore and projectile diameters
will vary from this table


But if you like to read here's some more.
Rev.War
http://americanrevolution.org/artillery.html
http://xenophongroup.com/mcjoynt/yrtnarty.htm
http://www.11thpa.org/artillery.html
War of 1812
http://angloboerwarmuseum.com/Boer12v_fake_cannonballs.html
Cilvil war
http://www.cwartillery.com/FA/FA.html
I'm sure I have more if needed.
Take Care,
Pete,

 

[artyfacts]

Thanks Pete, enjoyed the reading. If you come across any other sites with bore and shot diameters for foreign and domestic Revolutionary and earlier time periods I'm interested. I know that cannons stayed around as long as they fired through the ages, and it wouldn't be unlikely if a antique cannon showed up at a new battle. Thanks again and nice finds Marty. Arty