Cannonball??

[jtw1313]

Is this a cannon ball? Probably weighs like 8 lbs

 

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[cannonball]

It sure looks like a solid shot. If you ask the cannon ball guy he would need an exact weight and size to ID it.

 

[jtw1313]

The exact weight is 7 lbs 15.7 ounces
4 inches in diameter

 

[Retired Sarge]

The exact weight is 7 lbs 15.7 ounces
4 inches in diameter

Look in the first column very bottom. TCBG can either confirm or shoot this down. Found the chart here, at the bottom of the page.

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

 

[Truth]

I have the same 8 pound cannonball the cannonball man will need specifics but what I do know is the French were the only ones who used 8 pound cannonballs. I found mine on the other side of the fort across the bayou it was deep. The French was the first ones who built the fort until the Spanish came and took over the French only had it from 1701 to 1708 I would do some research and see if there was any French heritage there.

 

[diggingthe1]

I just recently found a similar one. I have another I found a few years ago. I live in a mining town and hope you don't mind if I jump in and ask how I would tell a mill ball from a Canon ball. They seem very similar. I can take some pictures later this am. One has a seem in the middle. Jtw, I hope you can get a positive I'd!!

 

[diggingthe1]

Well here is a picture for reference. They are 3 inches across. If you run across these at a an old mining town they are probably mill balls.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Sorry to have to tell you, your 7 pound 15 ounce ball is definitely not a cannonball. To determine with certainty whether or not a found-in-the-USA iron ball is an actual Artillery ball (cannonball, Grapeshot ball, Canister-ammo ball) or one of the many civilian-usage lookalikes, we check the data in the US 1861 Ordnance Manual's data charts, which tell the very-precise diameter and weight measurements of all the sizes of Artillery balls used in the US from the Revolutionary War through the civil war. There is no match-up for your ball's precise weight and diameter in the manual's charts.
Cannon bore, shot, and shell diameters for smoothbore guns

Although the RevWar era French army had an 8-Pounder caliber cannon, its solid-shot cannonballs weighed 8 French pounds, which was about 10% heavier than the British Avoirdupois pound. So, an 8-Pounder cannonball actually weighed almost 9 British/American pounds.

 

[Truth]