Tiny iron case shot?

[Ethan S.]

I found these two tiny iron balls today nearby where there was some fighting on the Gettysburg campaign. Because I had only a very small yard to hunt, I didn't find much. Artillery was falling about 300 yards to my south, with scattered fragments all about.

I've never seen iron balls this small, comparable to a large bit of buckshot. But they didn't make iron buckshot, did they?

My girlfriend is convinced it's tiny case shot, but I'm not so sure about that either. Any thoughts?

 

[ThatDixieGuy]

I'd say it's likely case shot or canister, especially that close to an impact zone. I've found them like that in a variety of sizes in the field alongside fragments & shells, as well as underwater sites.

 

[Ethan S.]

I'd say it's likely case shot or canister, especially that close to an impact zone. I've found them like that in a variety of sizes in the field alongside fragments & shells, as well as underwater sites.

Even that small?

 

[R. Porter]

Conquistadors in Mexico used iron balls instead of lead in their muskets. While that is too long ago and too far away it could still suggest the possibility of small arms ammunition. What was happening on the property during the war and later? Could they be bearings?

 

[Ethan S.]

Conquistadors in Mexico used iron balls instead of lead in their muskets. While that is too long ago and too far away it could still suggest the possibility of small arms ammunition. What was happening on the property during the war and later? Could they be bearings?

That I know of, not much. The house was built in the 1920s, and maps show varying property owners that kept it as a field for a long time. After that, still not much. Just was a town house for varying residents throughout its history. I won't rule out bearings until I know for sure what they are, just hard to tell.

 

[alan polk]

If they are from the war, I would guess that those are iron case-shot balls likely from a Confederate side loader round. When the Confederates ran into lead shortages, they switched to iron case-shot balls instead of lead ones. Due to the inability to drill into the powder cavity with iron balls in the shell, they created an extra hole in the side of the shell to insert the iron balls.

 

[LafayetteCountyDigger]

Confederate 12 pound side loaders used iron case shot , we found quite few in a cs impact area