Thanks, guys. The monument ball idea sounds plausible. As for someone stealing it, I wonder why it's so pitted from rust on the "bottom." I don't know of many monuments around Portland that have
stacks on fake cannonballs--this wasn't exactly a major area of Civil War activities. There are a few monuments for WWI, and some cannon in the town squares. So, mystery solved? Maybe I'll take it
out back and see how far I can put it. BTW, when I was in high school and a couple of years later I was a member of a CW artillery club. We had a battery of 4-inch (approx) cannons, and a replica
Napoleon made out of a naval gun. Now, that's black powder shooting! Currently, I am a member of a black powder club, in the character of my g-g-g-grandfather, who was a militia member in the
War of Independence. Hence the username, Minuteman (or should I say SIXTY minute man?)