Back to the Battle of Bentonville (cannonball frag update)

gtoast99 · Oct 22, 2011

Hey ya'll! I went out with a couple hunting buddies (John in NC and FoundinNC on the forum) to a few spots near the Battle of Bentonville, NC for some diggin'. More pictures, story, and analysis plus John and Brad's finds over at the blog if you're interested.

For the rest of you, I'll just skip to the pics and video. From the first spot I got a fired three ringer, a small buck-and-ball, and a fired and hard-hit Enfield which is my first one of those. I got two dropped three ringers from the last field, and a cool lead percussion cap box finial.

I also got this large piece of iron in the first field, which my friends think may be a shell or cannonball fragment. If you watch the video to the end you can see it a lot more clearly than the pics would show. If it is, that would be a first for me as well. What's your opinion on it??

Thanks for looking, hope you enjoyed!!

beephead · Oct 22, 2011

I really enjoyed watching your video. It was nicely done. Thanks for sharing.

beephead

gtoast99 · Oct 23, 2011

Thanks! Anyone have an opinion on the "cannonball frag"? You can see it much better in the video than the pics.

Ya Dig? · Oct 23, 2011

The way the cannonball piece is curved on one side but not the other is curious. I hope it's from a cannonball! I really enjoyed the video. You can really get a sense of what your day was like. The dropped three ringers are my favorite.

gtoast99 · Oct 23, 2011

I happened across this image of a CS Polygonal Cavity shell for a 12 pounder. I know if it IS a shell fragment that it would be CS, as it was found in line with the CS fired bullets where the Union advanced towards their position. These do seem to be spherical outside and more or less flat on the inside. Apparently they were designed that way to fragment better for maximum effect. I've posted one image, but also some links to a few other examples of this shell.

What do you think??

http://americancivilwarrelics.com/Z163.htm
http://relicman.com/artillery/AAartilleryAAA.htm
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Civil-War-R...664?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2314cbcfb8
http://www.bulletandshell.com/Items/misc/item.php?id=00005

gtoast99 · Oct 23, 2011

Yup, that's exactly what it is. Here's a pic of mine from various angles as well as one found online here (scroll down to the bottom) which includes the fuse hole. According to their description:

Rather than merely splitting in two like prior round shells with smooth central cavities, this design would burst into a honeycomb effect of pieces, thus causing more destruction to clustered enemy forces. Pieces from such a "polygonal cavity" shell demonstrate a geometric shape as seen here.

Confederate made, and fits with the time and location of the battle as well as the location of that specific area of the battle and the other nearby finds. Very cool!

Ya Dig? · Oct 23, 2011

Wow, that's awesome! I'm glad it turned out to be what you wanted it to be.

gtoast99 · Oct 23, 2011

Thanks, me too! Lesson of the day, never ever ever throw it away unless you're sure haha.

John in NC · Oct 23, 2011

Nice video. I thought that looked like a frag. I have found a US fennel, but they are kind of straight and look nothing like yours. That is a really neat find.
John

Back to the Battle of Bentonville (cannonball frag update)

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