Musket Ball

[digitalchaos]

Got out with my new AT Pro and just getting use to it. In my back yard, I found a bunch of pocket change, pocket drop of wheaties (3), several dimes but no silver yet. The most interesting find in my 2 hours was this musket ball. Is there any way to date these things? Another enthusiast told me that the white color of the ball indicates that it is an older one. I was wondering if it may be from the colonial period or even the Civil War. I live just 25 miles East of Fort Ligonier and 100 miles north west of Gettysburg, its possible some of those troops passed through this area many moons ago.

 

[John-Edmonton]

It's hard to accurately date a found musket ball. Reading up on the area where you live should give you a clue. The white stuff on a lead ball is lead oxide, and does take many years to accumulate. Nice find by the way.

 

[digitalchaos]

This town was Settled in 1897, I do not believe that there were homes here during the civil war, not until they started taking the coal out of the mountains here. This is still a coal town, my home was built in 1920 and it was the first home on this property. I live in-between two colonial forts from the French and Indian Wars, Fort Ligonier and fort Bedford and close to Forbes Rd which connected these two forts and the rest of them all through PA and parts of Maryland. This thing may very well be colonial.

 

[grumpysrb]

Find the easiest path to walk between the two forts and you will find the path taken to them. If you found the ball in that area it would add to the possibility. It''s a great find. Maybe you can determine the caliber. Perhaps the different armies used a different caliber?

 

[digitalchaos]

i got some ideas from rookie01 in another forum on how to determine the caliber and other things, once i measure this one and weigh it, we will know more.

 

[senda]

Hello, good find. The appearance of this bullet ball, is old, has a lot of white layer and as said before, it takes some time to form, more than 100 years to appreciate.
You have a good proposal. Find the path between the two forts.
I love to search and find those roads in my area, most of its route this erased by the vegetation and in the worst cases covered by the new road, but ... there is always a sliver for an honest man with his detector. Ah! and do not forget that the most interesting in the old ways are the rest areas. Places along the way where you could stop for the night, eating. When a cart pulled by animals (cows, horses, mules)

 

[digitalchaos]

Thanks for the tips senda. I measured the ball and it is .65 in. it wieghs 26.5 g How much of that do you believe is oxide build-up?

Thanks all!

 

[senda]

I honestly do not know. I know the photo bullets that accompanied are 1838 spanish civil war , for sure, 174 years buried and they look similar .... I do not know what can influence this type of oxidation in the bulk, weight or volume of the part. I think their ratings less than Browm military muskets Bess and Charleville and may be of a Kentucky type rifle (so we call them in Spain) as I've seen (on the internet) some original of epoch in various calibers. Although I'm just a poor amateur think that round ball has over +/- 150 years.
best regards

 

[digitalchaos]

I was told that it could be a ball from a canister shot but the size does not matrch up with canister shots used during the civil war. However, the measurements do match those used in the US 1816 Musket but I do not know for sure yet, I am an ametuer at this stuff. They used a .69 cal. musket ball in the 1816 but I was told that they used smaller rounds at times, i do not know how true that is.

 

[gunsil]

Canister rounds were iron , not lead, and if there was canister fired in the area there would be a bunch of them around. Your ball is also small for canister. It is very difficult to determine how much diameter the lead oxide accounts for if possible at all. The lead oxide builds up but it also takes a small amount of lead off the surface to make the lead oxide. The oxide grows at different speeds in different soil conditions. A ball that has been in the ground for 100 years may have more or less oxide than one in the ground for 150 years from another area.I think you will have to accept that you have found a lead round ball of undetermined caliber that most likely dates to between 1800 and 1900. It may not be a musket ball at all, since they also used huge bore single shot pistols back in that time frame. Different countries also used many calibers that weren't standard to the U.S. and many immigrants brought their firearms of different calibers here and used them. There are many things we'll never be able to positively know about our wonderful relic finds, we just keep looking for more. Now go back and find the bowie knife the guy who lost the ball lost the same day!! Or the tomahawk the Indian dropped when that ball was fired at him but missed!!

 

[digitalchaos]

sounds like a plan gunsil thank you! Going back to my yard this evening, wish me luck.

 

[senda]

Canister rounds were iron , not lead, and if there was canister fired in the area there would be a bunch of them around. Your ball is also small for canister. It is very difficult to determine how much diameter the lead oxide accounts for if possible at all. The lead oxide builds up but it also takes a small amount of lead off the surface to make the lead oxide. The oxide grows at different speeds in different soil conditions. A ball that has been in the ground for 100 years may have more or less oxide than one in the ground for 150 years from another area.I think you will have to accept that you have found a lead round ball of undetermined caliber that most likely dates to between 1800 and 1900. It may not be a musket ball at all, since they also used huge bore single shot pistols back in that time frame. Different countries also used many calibers that weren't standard to the U.S. and many immigrants brought their firearms of different calibers here and used them. There are many things we'll never be able to positively know about our wonderful relic finds, we just keep looking for more. Now go back and find the bowie knife the guy who lost the ball lost the same day!! Or the tomahawk the Indian dropped when that ball was fired at him but missed!!

Yes! totally agree,100% . I have no vocabulary to explain more.... :sad: sorry
The second bullet on the right color is whiter in the same season but different field.
best regards

 

[gunsil]

sounds like a plan gunsil thank you! Going back to my yard this evening, wish me luck.

GOOD LUCK!!