Civil War Cannonball?

[jersey_md]

Thank you to everyone that posts on this forum, it has been extremely interesting and educational.

I have what I believe to be a Civil War cannonball. My grandfather found this while working on a construction site in Georgia in the 1970s, unfortunately he has passed away and I can not get any more details of the location.

The ball is approximately 4.5 inches in diameter and about 9lbs (measurements not exact). I've done some research and there does seem to be a mold seem (first picture) on the ball. Also, in the top drill hole (2nd picture-may be hard to see) the interior of the ball seems to be a lighter color and possibly a different material.

I was hoping "TheCannonballGuy" or someone with similar expertise could point me in the right direction.

Thank you very much.

 

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[Red James Cash]

Most likely a mortar round.

 

[jamesbibb]

What you have is confederate manufactured "side load" 12lb round shell "case shot" It would've had a lead or iron plug in the hole on the side of the copper time fuze thats on top of your ball. The case shot shell would have been loaded with iron balls through the hole on the side. With the time fuze it was intended to detonate over head of opposing enemies and shower shrapnel and case shot upon them.

Very nice

 

[jersey_md]

Thanks you very much.

I have always been curious about what it was, it has been sitting in my bookcase since my grandfather passed away. I will do some reading to find out more about it.

Any more information would be greatly appreciated.

 

[jersey_md]

Is there any chance this could still be dangerous?

 

[ekeisler]

I highly doubt it. It looks like it had a 2nd fuse and that fuse is gone.

 

[jersey_md]

Thanks

 

[ekeisler]

Is the inside hollow?

 

[ohiowhiteguy]

Is there any chance this could still be dangerous?

take it outside and hit it with a hammer..
if we don't hear back from ya in a while i'm sorry bout my advice..
OWG...

 

[jersey_md]

take it outside and hit it with a hammer..
if we don't hear back from ya in a while i'm sorry bout my advice..
OWG...

Hahaha no it is not hollow, there is a dark gray center that you may be able to see in the above picture where I assume the fuse had been.

 

[ohiowhiteguy]

Hahaha no it is not hollow, there is a dark gray center that you may be able to see in the above picture where I assume the fuse had been.

all kidding aside be careful my friend..really...
OWG...

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

As my posting-name indicates, Historical artillery projectiles are my specialty area of relic study. I'm the co-author of the book "Field Artillery Projectiles Of The American Civil War."

Jamesbibb has already correctly identified your grandfather's find as a civil war cannonball, specifically, a Confederate-made "sideloader" Case-Shot (antipersonnel) shell. Being 4.5 inches in diameter means it is a 12-pounder caliber shell. It was fired from a 12-pounder Howitzer or a 12-pounder Napoleon cannon. The latter are the big bronze ones you see at US National Battlefield parks.

Being an excavated (dug up) one from the civil war era (1861-1865), it is not dangerous to handle... or even to drop on the floor. We relic-hunters have dug over 100,000 civil war artillery shells, and there seems to be no record of even one of those 100,000+ having exploded during the digging-up process. (They almost always get hit by the digger's shovel, several times, during excavation.) However, I must mention that artillery projectiles from later time-periods can still be dangerous to handle.

We know that some of the excavated civil war shells still have good powder in them, but merely dropping one is not enough to set it off. With civil war ones, you have to do something far more "provocative" than that, such as drilling into it, or putting it into a fire.

Your civil war Confederate "sideloader" Case-Shot shell has two open holes in it, which let water get inside and ruin the powder. However, if you want to have a "friendly" EOD expert remove what's left of the powder, send me a PM and I will tell you the contact information. Do NOT call the Police or Army about it... they will simply destroy it. You've got a valuable historical archeological artifact -- it'd be a shame for it to be destroyed.

Since you asked about what is inside it... here's a photo showing one of the type you've got which has been sawed in half. It contained a small (1-ounce) charge of gunpowder, in the tunnel directly below the (copper) fuzeplug, surrounded by about 80 small (.56-inch) iron balls, which were cemented in position by a matrix of asphalt or pine-resin. You can see the lead "sideloader plug" (which is missing from yours) at the 10-o'clock position in the upper left side of the shell.

 

[tennessee digger]

Excellent post Pete (TheCannonballGuy) and excellent I.D. jamesbibb!! Good job guys.

 

[jersey_md]

Thank you to everyone that has helped me to identify this shell. Knowing what this artifact is gives it so much more meaning and has made it even more important to my family. I look forward to sharing this information with my own children.

My grandfather introduced me to the Civil War, bringing me to Gettysburg as a child and giving me multiple books on the battle. Understanding what he found helps to keep his legacy alive. It makes me miss him and wish he was still alive to talk to him about what his "cannonball" really is.

Thank you all.