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Civil war cannon ball

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Oldbrass
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Civil war cannon ball

Post by Oldbrass » Fri Aug 12, 2022 3:53 pm

Found this out back this morning. Thought it was a rock but after looking more it appeared perfectly round. Brushed it off and sure enough a magnet sticks. It's just a hair over 4.5" . I did some research and the 12 pound field howitzer had a 4.62" bore. My powder scale doesn't go to 12 pounds but It's heavy. It's origin is a mystery known only to the Confederate cemetery down the holler., I wouldn't have wanted it pointed at me.
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clovishound
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Re: Civil war cannon ball

Post by clovishound » Fri Aug 12, 2022 4:18 pm

Does it have a fuse, or fuse hole? A lot of the cannon balls were shells and filled with gunpowder. They would have a variety of fuses, some of which are still very dangerous. The mercury fulminate would be the main one to watch out for, they normally were brass fuses.

Had a fellow I knew at work that had lost a leg. As a boy, he and his friend were playing on one of the local beaches, and found a parrot shell. Parrot shells are notoriously dangerous. They started messing with it and it went off, resulting in his losing his leg.

I found a 12 pounder in one of the local rivers back when I was do a lot of diving. Yours is in much better shape. Sitting in brackish water for well over a century takes it's toll.

What part of South Carolina are you in?
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Oldbrass
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Re: Civil war cannon ball

Post by Oldbrass » Fri Aug 12, 2022 4:21 pm

In Calhoun County about 20 miles south of Columbia.
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Headhog
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Re: Civil war cannon ball

Post by Headhog » Fri Aug 12, 2022 5:35 pm

What a great find and a very neat piece of history.

Paul
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clovishound
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Re: Civil war cannon ball

Post by clovishound » Fri Aug 12, 2022 6:41 pm

Oldbrass wrote:
Fri Aug 12, 2022 4:21 pm
In Calhoun County about 20 miles south of Columbia.
Just up the road.
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Oldbrass
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Re: Civil war cannon ball

Post by Oldbrass » Fri Aug 12, 2022 6:51 pm

clovishound wrote:
Fri Aug 12, 2022 6:41 pm
Oldbrass wrote:
Fri Aug 12, 2022 4:21 pm
In Calhoun County about 20 miles south of Columbia.
Just up the road.
Just got here, there's a rifle range not far I gotta check out
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Vaquero
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Re: Civil war cannon ball

Post by Vaquero » Fri Aug 12, 2022 8:50 pm

Nice find oldbrass, I have a couple myself.

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BrokenolMarine
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Re: Civil war cannon ball

Post by BrokenolMarine » Sat Aug 13, 2022 6:17 am

Nice... Great find.
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markiver54
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Re: Civil war cannon ball

Post by markiver54 » Sat Aug 13, 2022 10:44 am

How does it compare to a shot put ball?...just a thought.
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brm4450
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Re: Civil war cannon ball

Post by brm4450 » Sat Aug 13, 2022 11:37 am

High school boy’s shot puts are 12 pounds
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