Military History/brass ball

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Expert: Keith H. Patton - 11/1/2009


Question

cannon ball
I see you had another cannon ball question. I also got this ball, Brass %26  weighs 1lb.1/2 It also has a plug on both ends. I also had a shot putt. Which I acquired years ago. The smaller one I bought yesterday at auction. The home was an early 1800's place. The cemetery has an early gravestone of 1811 thru 1865. So what do I have? Sorry for the long post. Curt

Answer
First, the "plug" is really where the sprue was cut off.  The sprue is a piece formed during the casting, there the mold is filled.  Ever build a plastic model?  Remember the linear sprues connecting all the pieces that you had to remove the pieces from?  That is sprue.  If the ball was cast singularly like in a bullet mold it would have one sprue "scar" this one was probably cast in a multiple mold where several were cast at once all connected by sprue that was cut off and ground down.  If it is hollow, the plugs were put in place to seal the hole left by the casting method used.  From the picture though it looks like a sprue scar.  You don't say what the diameter is.  At 1.5 lbs it cannot be too large or it would have to be hollow.

Cannon balls were not made of brass because brass was expensive.  It was phased out in use as cannon for the same reason, that and its softness compared to iron.  Eventually even cannon were cast in iron once the fine art of fitting reinforcing bands was perfected.

What I think is that since the civil war artifact market started booming, some enterprising relic thief liberated a pile of ornamental brass cannon balls from a cemetary or monument and started selling them as civil war cannon balls.  The only uses for cast brass balls I have come across is for shot put, and industrial weights and ornaments.

I would assume that you have an ornamental ball.

Keith H. Patton

Expertise

I can answer questions pertaining to weapons and tactics, personalities, battles, and strategies in european and U.S. history.

Experience

I was a history major, and had done extensive research in the subject area. I have designed and tested numerous computer games for various
historical periods.

Education/Credentials
B.A History M.S. Science
I have had the opportunity to live abroad and walk numerous battlefields both in the United States, Europe, and the Pacific.

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