Revolutionary War 6 pound shot

[philliephanatic]

I am looking for any experts out there on Revolutionary War era ammunition.

 

I purchased a 6 pound shot supposedly from the Battle of Brandywine that was found on Birningham Hill in the 1940s. The photo I was buying from had a shot with rusting and pitting on a cannonball of that era. I received the pictured shot in the mail.

 

I didn't think it looked like the photo of the item I purchased and I thought it looked too clean to have been found 140 years after the battle. I weighed it and found that it weighed 7 pounds 5 ounces. I used some heavy square objects to get a rough diameter of the shot and it is about 3 3/4 inches in diameter.

 

I just wanted to see if there are any experts out there to give their opinion on it. The seller seems to think there would be some variation on weight but I don't think it would be off by over a pound on the heavy side after being in the ground. I haven't been able to find any tables for Revolutionary War Cannon Balls, but the chart I found from the Civil War shows a diameter of 3.58 Inches and a weight of 6.1 pounds for a 6 pound cannon ball. I am thinking this might be a fake and that I should send it back.

 

Any help would be appreciated.

[digi-shots]

I don't know if this will help or not.... I recently was researching the British frigate, the HMS Augusta (Battle of Redbank), and was looking up various guns & projectiles..

 

Here are some notes I made on size & weights:

 

6# = 3.49 inch diameter

9# = 4 inch diameter

12# = 4.40 inch diameter

18# = 5.04 inch diameter

 

 

You might trying searching for the type of gun/cannon that would have used a 7# shot and see if that gun/cannon was present as Brandywine.

[digi-shots]

Here's a civil war site that gives sizes and weights, not sure how it might differ from earlier Rev War

 

http://www.civilwarartillery.com/shottables.htm

[philliephanatic]

Thank you. I think I found that same table. They couldn't be too different as they still used cast iron to make projectiles. I am thinking I did not get a real cannon ball and should return it.

[philliephanatic]

Thank you for your help. I hope someone may have additional information so I can learn as much as possible

[Bodes]

May not be a fake, just something wrongfully misrepresented....Could be a steel ball used in cement trucks....They were put in the mix to keep the cement from clumping while being turned....Bodes

[Flashlarue]

IMHO not a cannonball.