CW relic need help with

[tndirtdigger]

I found this diamond shaped brass plate in an area with several CW relics. It has the green patina and the age looks period. Does anyone know what this may have attached to?

The musket ball was also found today. It appears to be larger than a .69 caliber and I put a .69 minie ball next to it and a quarter for size. Were there any guns that shot a musket ball that was bigger than a .69 caliber? The ball is lead so I would have to assume that it is not grape or canister shot as I have found them before and they were iron.

Thanks for any help and HH!!!

 

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[TheCannonballGuy]

Answer to your first question:
In the Colonial era there were guns that fired a musket ball bigger than .69 caliber. For example, the British "Brown Bess" musket of American Revolutionary War fame was .75 caliber and its musketball was .72-inch in diameter. Also, there was a French or Belgian (I can't recall which) musket that was 80-something caliber. But as you would suspect, very-very few of those muskets got used in the American civil war. It's more likely that your larger-than-.69" (but less than 1" diameter) lead ball is from a rare version of artillery Canister ammo.

Answer to your second question (which actually was an incorrect assumption that I must answer):
Some versions of civil war artillery Canister ammo contained lead balls. Nearly all of the civil war Smoothbore cannons (such as the 12-pounder caliber Napoleon gun) fired iron Canister balls. However, some Canister for Rifled cannons contained lead balls. Please borrow a digital caliper to get me a precise measurement of your lead ball's diameter, in hundredths-of-an-inch, so I can check to see if it matches up with any of the lead Canister ball sizes.