Civil War US/CS 12-pounder Cannonball, recovered at Cold Harbor, VA

This is another nice piece being offered, it is a US/CS 12-pounder solid-shot cannonball, used by both sides during the Civil War. It has a diameter of 4.50 inches, weighs 11-pounds, 14-ounces. This would have been fired from a 12-pounder smoothbore cannon (see pictures). It was recovered years ago at the Cold Harbor, Virginia Battlefield.

Shortly after the Battle of the Wilderness in Virginia, both armies were again on the battlefield of Cold Harbor, forming a seven-mile front that extended from Bethesda Church to the Chickahominy River.

At dawn June 3, 1864, the Union II and XVIII Corps, followed later by the IX Corps, attacked the entrenched Confederates, only to be slaughtered at all points. General Grant would later comment in his memoirs that this was the only attack he wished he had never ordered. This was a devastating loss for the Union, with 13,000 casualties compared to the 2,500 suffered by the Confederates.

According to Peter George, co-author of "Field Artillery Projectiles of the American Civil War", 12 pounder solid shots were the iconic Civil War cannonball, however, there were many more explosive cannonballs fired during the war than solid shots.

This ball is in excellent condition, having a mostly smooth surface, indicative of an early recovery.  In my book “Civil War Artillery – A Pictorial Introduction”, I go into more detail on these cannonballs and the guns that fired them.