Civil War 12-pounder cannonball, recovered at the Spotsylvania, Virginia Battlefield (SOLD,BS)

This is another great piece being offered, it is a US/CS 12-pounder solid shot cannon ball. It weighs 11-pounds, 11-ounces and has a 4 ½” diameter. They were the most common projectiles of any caliber used during the Civil War by both Federal and Confederate forces. The ball would be secured to a wooden cup sabot by two crossed iron straps nailed to the wooden cup. The cartridge bag or powder bag was tied to the groove cut into the base of the sabot. It was dug years ago at the Spotsylvania, Virginia Battlefield.

The Battle of Spotsylvania was the second major battle in General Grant's 1864 Overland Campaign. Following the bloody but inconclusive Battle of the Wilderness, Grant's army disengaged from General Lee's army and moved to the southeast, attempting to lure Lee into battle under more favorable conditions.

Elements of Lee's army beat the Union army to the critical crossroads of Spotsylvania Court House, Virginia, and began entrenching. Fighting occurred on and off from May 8 through May 21, 1864, as Grant tried various schemes to break the Confederate line. In the end, the battle was tactically inconclusive, but with almost 32,000 casualties on both sides, it was the costliest battle of the campaign.

This cannonball is in nice dug condition, only having some light surface rust, with no chipping or flaking. It has been lightly coated for preservation and is now ready for display. In my book “Civil War Artillery – A Pictorial Introduction”, I go into more detail about these cannonballs and the guns that fired them (see pictures).