Would grape or cansiter shot have been this crude?

[Diggin' Dixie]

Hey Folks,
I am a relic hunter and when someone I met heard about my hobby, they gave me these. They told me they were canister shot. I would assume they are something other than artillery related items due to their crudeness, but wanted to make sure. I measured them with electronic calipers and they measure 2.384 inches in diameter.

Thanks for any info

[peedeeartillery]

Originally Posted by Diggin' Dixie

Hey Folks,
I am a relic hunter and when someone I met heard about my hobby, they gave me these. They told me they were canister shot. I would assume they are something other than artillery related items due to their crudeness, but wanted to make sure. I measured them with electronic calipers and they measure 2.384 inches in diameter.

Thanks for any info

You have two nice canister shot, most likley Confederate. They were cast in a gang mold. There sould be sprue marks on opposite sides running along the mold seam line. Since they were packed in a can and not shot individualy down a barrel or tube, they didn't have to be perfectly smooth. It was a waste of time and effort to make them smooth if there was no need to. Remember, they were made to kill, not look pretty. They are real keepers!

[PCGeorge]

Umm... sorry, no, they are not Canister balls. Note that the original poster says they measure 2.38-inches in diameter. According to the 1861 Ordnance Manual, no Canister balls were that large. However, the Shot Tables in the Manual say that 18-pounder (5.3"-caliber) Grapeshot balls were precisely the size of these two balls.

As a caution-note for inexperienced collectors who may read this post, I feel I MUST mention that similar-sized balls, with a mold-seam, have been manufactured for non-military purposes, even up to today. So, the next test is to weigh these two balls extra-precisely. Balls of this size from the 20th Century tend to be made of steel (not cast-iron, as civil war ones were), and steel is a heavier metal than cast-iron. According to the Shot Tables, 18-pounder caliber Grapeshot balls (all of which were cast-iron) weigh precisely 1.8 pounds (1 pound 12.8 ounces). If these two balls weigh more than that, they are definitely modern-era steel balls.

By the way... the size-&-weight charts in the Ordnance Manual's Shot Tables can be viewed on the Internet, for free, at:
Descriptions of shot for smoothbore guns

Regards,
Pete [P.C. George]

[peedeeartillery]

According to McKee and Mason's book, Civil War Projectiles II Small Arms & Field Artillery, on page 66 it list:
2.38" Dia. 1.8 Lbs. Grape for 18# Gun - 9 shot per stand.

Besides, Confederate balls, including 12# and 6#, have the seam and sprue marks visible. The infromation shown on the web page is US standards. That dosen't mean that confederate standards were the exact same. There are cases in confederate ammuntion where there were more balls in a canister round of smaller caliber than the standard 27 in a US round.
At Cheraw, SC I have taken the same identical balls as well as 6# and 12# solid shot and shells out of the Great Pee Dee river where they were dumped by the Confederates when retreating from Cheraw.

[Diggin' Dixie]

I will find a way to weigh the balls. Thanks for the quick responses.

[peedeeartillery]

The Civil War Artillery Projectile and Cannon Home Page
Check out CS grape and canister on this site.