Ms. Lane:
A 2 1/2-3 inch diameter is rather small for an explosive shell. (Civil war and earlier field artillery are classified not by bore diameter but by the weight of the projectile, refered to as "pounder" (abbreviated "pdr"). A 6 pdr would be 3.6 inches in diameter.
Ask her two questions: is it iron (test it with a magnet)?, and how much does it weigh?
If it's not iron, it's not a cannonball.
Thomas Kavanagh PhD
Seton Hall University Museum
-----Museum discussion list <[log in to unmask]> wrote: -----
To: [log in to unmask]
From: Anne Lane <[log in to unmask]>
Sent by: Museum discussion list <[log in to unmask]>
Date: 05/01/2007 12:12PM
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Cannonballs, Again
I tried to find all the recent postings about explosives in the archives, but my search wasn't entirely successful. I had a call from a woman who has a cannonball that she and her family have had for years, just had it around the house, the kids play with it - anyhow, she heard recently about the dangers of old unexploded ordnance, and called me in a panic. I said I would try to find out some info for her. She said it's an iron ball with a seam around it. It's somewhere between 2 1/2 and 3 inches in diameter and heavy for its size. No apparent fuse hole. I told her it's probably safe, but she'd like to know who to take it to for reassurance, somebody who wouldn't just take it from her and blow it up. I know y'all discussed this recently, but I can't find all the posts. Identification would also be cool...
Thanks,
Anne T. Lane
Anne T Lane, Collections Manager
Charlotte Museum of History
3500 Shamrock Drive
Charlotte NC 28215
704-568-1774, ext 110
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