Possible Cannonball?

[PatrickN]

Hello all, was hoping for some help with identification. Please see pics for possible cannonball inquiring after. Those who have looked at it so far are split down the middle on real or mill ball. It is about 4 inches diameter (done with a tape measure so not exact). It weighs 9.02 pounds. I did clean it up a little with a brush so I included how it looked originally as well. As you can see, it lost some of its outer layer which probably affects its diameter and weight and lends to the split on what it is. Thank you for any comments!

 

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[Rmeav8r]

Did you dig it? You’re at the right place to find out what it is.....you will know soon. If you dug it its a really cool find!

 

[Mud Hut]

Cannon bore, shot, and shell diameters for smoothbore guns

 

[Dug]

I wonder if we can set up a CannonBallGuy light much like a batman light? Maybe the letters CBG instead of a bat?

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

That ball's weight is within the correct range to be a 9-Pounder caliber Solid-Shot cannonball. But it MUST also be in the correct diameter range (4.0 to 4.10-inches). You'll need to use a hammer to knock the rust-encrustation off of two spots which are on exactly opposite sides from each other on the ball. Then use an "oversize" digital caliper to precisely measure the ball's diameter, by putting the caliper jaws on the two cleaned-off spots. Then make two more cleaned-off spots far away from the first two, and do the measuring again. if the ball is what engineers call a "True Sphere" you will get the same measurement at both locations. If the ball is out-of-round, the measurements will not be the same.

Actual cannonballs were very carefully manufactured to be a True Sphere (and then carefully measured by an Artillery Ordnance Inspector), because if the ball is lumpy/bumpy or out-of-round it could jam in the cannon's barrel during loading or firing -- either of which situation is very bad news for the cannon's crew.

So, there are three tests:
Precise weight measurement
Precise diameter measurement
Out-of-roundness test.

After you've done those test, look for an exact match-up in the historical cannonball diameter-&-weight charts (called the "Shot Tables" charts) in the US Ordnance Manual of 1861, viewable for free online here:
Cannon bore, shot, and shell diameters for smoothbore guns
If there's no exact match-up, the ball is not a cannonball.

 

[PatrickN]

Thank you everyone for all of the comments!! Looks like I need to get an oversize digital caliper if I am to truly determine what it is. More to follow once I do. Thank you again!!

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

PatrickN, I somehow forgot to mention that a high-quality stainless steel (not plastic junk) "oversize" digital caliper can be bought at Harbor Freight Tools (stores or online) for about $20. I said "oversize" because most versions of digital caliper can only measure an object about 3-&-1/4-inches wide. All of the actual civil war era cannonballs are larger than that, so I bought the "oversize" version because it can handle up to 6-&-1/4-inches wide.

If the $20 oversize caliper proves your ball is an actual 9-Pounder caliber Solid-Shot, the caliper will have paid for itself, because a nice-condition excavated 9-Pounder sells for about $100. But if the ball turns out not to be a cannonball, you will still find some uses for that caliper from time to time, measuring other excavated relics (such as military uniform buttons), coins, bullets, and etc.... because their PRECISELY-MEASURED size matters a lot for correct identification.

 

[PatrickN]

Thank you for the suggestions and mentorship Cannonball Guy!!

 

[Anduril]

This coming week, I will post a link to a caliper manufacturer who makes some truly nice precision calipers for the money.
I'm not saying the $20 Harbor Freight ones are junk, but side-by-side to a "real" set of quality calipers there really is no comparison.

I just can't remember the name of who made them. (They were about $70, for a 6-inch set)
We use many calipers at work (frequently), and was in the market a couple years ago to acquire more of them.
On a little bit of a whim, we looked at this company (whose name I can't remember) to see if their calipers were any good. So we tried out one.
Well, they are! And, they are about half the price ($70) of the Mitutoyo calipers (starting at $140) that we had been using up until that point (although we still buy Mitutoyo occasionally).
You're not going to go wrong with a Mitutoyo, but those might be out of the price range for some folks here, or can't justify that price with the amount of expected use.

I guess I'm saying: For a bit more money, you can get a lot more durability, repeatability, dependability, etc..., over the $20 Harbor Freight.
But, the Harbor Freight ones DO measure accurately - at least when new, and with taking reasonably gentle care of them.

 

[dognose]

nice, so was this dug?

 

[PatrickN]

Ok team, just an update to this. These two balls were dug but not me so I do not know anything about where found. I did get a caliper and measured them. Both are perfect spheres and again weigh in at 9 pounds. The diameter comes in just at 4". As you can see from the original pics they have lost an outer layer due to rust which I think affects their diameter and weight. Thanks for all the comments and help!

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

PatrickN, thank you for providing the addition super-precise-measuring results. It confirms the ball is a RevWar era 9_pounder Solid-Shot cannonball. Cannonballs from that era were slightly smaller (and thus, slightly lighter) than the civil war era cannonball measurements given in the US 1861 Ordnance Manual. Being Colonial-era 9-Pounder caliber means either British or US-made, because the French did not make 9-Pounder cannons.

Two requests for you:
Please add your location to your T-Net Profile info. It helps us to know the state and city (general area0 where a posted relic was found.
Did the ball's finder tell you the location he/she found it at? If so, please tell us.

 

[PatrickN]

Thank you for the information - that is so exciting for me to hear!

I updated my data. I live in Washington, DC but the military is moving me to San Antonio, TX in July.

I found the balls in an estate sale near Hermitage, MO. They, along with some smaller balls, were scattered amongst a bunch of stuff. I got them all as I thought they looked cool. I have six smaller balls as well, which may be canister or grapeshot not fully sure. I have included some pics here. Like the two 9lbs, the four smaller ones were dirty and rusty and I just brushed them up. The other two were found as shown here. The measurements are as follows:

Four Smaller Ones:
1.56" to 1.60" in diameter, 9.5ozs
1.53" to 1.57", 9.3ozs
1.54" to 1.59", 8.8ozs
1.54" to 1.56", 8.9ozs

Two Larger Ones:
2.05" sphere, 1lbs 4.4ozs
2.02" to 2.05", 1lbs 4.2ozs

 

[Truth]

PatrickN, thank you for providing the addition super-precise-measuring results. It confirms the ball is a RevWar era 9_pounder Solid-Shot cannonball. Cannonballs from that era were slightly smaller (and thus, slightly lighter) than the civil war era cannonball measurements given in the US 1861 Ordnance Manual. Being Colonial-era 9-Pounder caliber means either British or US-made, because the French did not make 9-Pounder cannons.

Two requests for you:
Please add your location to your T-Net Profile info. It helps us to know the state and city (general area0 where a posted relic was found.
Did the ball's finder tell you the location he/she found it at? If so, please tell us.

I found the 8-Pound French cannon ball in New Orleans TCG

 

[Truth]

Thank you for the information - that is so exciting for me to hear!

I updated my data. I live in Washington, DC but the military is moving me to San Antonio, TX in July.

I found the balls in an estate sale near Hermitage, MO. They, along with some smaller balls, were scattered amongst a bunch of stuff. I got them all as I thought they looked cool. I have six smaller balls as well, which may be canister or grapeshot not fully sure. I have included some pics here. Like the two 9lbs, the four smaller ones were dirty and rusty and I just brushed them up. The other two were found as shown here. The measurements are as follows:

Four Smaller Ones:
1.56" to 1.60" in diameter, 9.5ozs
1.53" to 1.57", 9.3ozs
1.54" to 1.59", 8.8ozs
1.54" to 1.56", 8.9ozs

Two Larger Ones:
2.05" sphere, 1lbs 4.4ozs
2.02" to 2.05", 1lbs 4.2ozs

View attachment 1912674View attachment 1912675View attachment 1912676View attachment 1912677

Yeah I would love those kind a garage sales. Congratulations and welcome to TNET

 

[Anduril]

As promised, the caliper manufacturer is a company named "SPI".
Link here: https://www.mscdirect.com/browse/tnpla/54325659

They make several sizes.
Just about as good as a Mitutoyo, but half the price - and noticeably better than Harbor Freight.
Easily worth the extra $$ in my opinion. (And they don't pay me to say that!)