lissa318 Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 (edited) Theyre not as regular in size as I thought. Theyre crudely cast and I would guess they are early canister shot. This is a canister for a 12-pounder from the Civil War era. The iron balls were packed into the canister with sawdust round them. MHS_canister_shot.jpg ["MHS canister shot" by Minnesota Historical Society - Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.] See the nipples on some of them (from the sprues where the molten metal was poured into the mould) and also the mould seams and size variation? That shot would be about an inch and a half in diameter. Shot for a 6-pounder would be about an inch in diameter, so I would guess yours might be from a 3-pounder. Those were light artillery pieces lugged around by infantry and could be pulled by a single horse. The British widely used such a weapon known as the grasshopper cannon in rough terrain frontier areas of North America in the 18th Century for example. Ames also made a 3-pounder from around 1840-1860, primarily used by townsfolk as a civil defence artillery piece. It would be too small for a Civil War field artillery piece although I guess in the early days of the war there was a lot of improvisation, but more in the South than the North. Yay! That's fabulous painshill thanks for the education as well!!! I have some more reading to do! . I'll certainly let you know if I find anymore as well... Fingers crossed! Thanks again I'm thrilled!!! Edited August 5, 2014 by lissa318 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashcraft Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 We find similar things in our clay. Ours are limonite concretions that will take on an iron hue when polished. Another possibility is iron phosphate nodule, which are used in making iron metal, this would require railroad tracks nearby. fkaa ashcraft, brent allen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
painshill Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 We find similar things in our clay. Ours are limonite concretions that will take on an iron hue when polished. Another possibility is iron phosphate nodule, which are used in making iron metal, this would require railroad tracks nearby. fkaa But those are not magnetic, surely? Or if so, only weakly when small amounts of secondary magnetite are present. 1 Roger I keep six honest serving-men (they taught me all I knew);Their names are What and Why and When and How and Where and Who [Rudyard Kipling] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Whatever they are, they'd make pretty good slingshot ammo! Which could suggest the reason for their presence, if not their origin... "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashcraft Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 But those are not magnetic, surely? Or if so, only weakly when small amounts of secondary magnetite are present. "DOH" moment, thought they were not magnetic. I have a whole string of them going on right now. fkaa ashcraft, brent allen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lissa318 Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Whatever they are, they'd make pretty good slingshot ammo! Which could suggest the reason for their presence, if not their origin... "DOH" moment, thought they were not magnetic. I have a whole string of them going on right now. fkaa Auspex, I am having a "the more I learn the less I know" moment... lol. There is slingshot ammo that is modern but much more uniform. It is similar though? The variation in size and lack of perfection in mine is what I find so intriguing. Our area in PA was inhabited in the 1700's and lots of artifacts have been found here. My uncle lives 7 miles from us and when they cut for an access road along his property quite a few arrowheads and pottery was found. I have yet to find any but knowing this is probably why I had high hopes about these balls from the beginning... lol. Wishful thinking based on the fact that it's possible?! I'm still hoping for early canister shot but if not that's ok. Would love to know one way or another! Thanks for your feedback. And ashcraft it is quite all right! I have many DOH moments myself... Daily. Haha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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