Rare - Section of French and Indian War Bar Shot, found at Lake Champlain

This is another nice early piece coming out of a 60-year collection of Revolutionary War and French and Indian War artillery. Being offered is a section of a French & Indian War Bar Shot. This projectile has a diameter of 5 inches, weighs 8 pounds, 3 ounces. It was recovered many years ago from Lake Champlain, NY.

Bar Shot was fired from a cannon, this one would have come out of a 24-pounder. They were used both on land and on sea. The round was principally designed for naval warfare where the spinning balls would rip through the enemy ships masts and rigging, leaving them dead in the water and an easy target.

Between 1664 and 1763, the Champlain Valley witnessed a continuous struggle between the French and British Empires for control of Lake Champlain and its tributaries. These water routes were strategic highways that provided access into the interior of the Northeast in a period when the only viable means of transportation over rugged land was by water.

Expeditions and forts were continually raised in defense of rival claims of the Champlain Valley and its waterways. Armies and war parties transported themselves on Lake Champlain in fleets of canoes, bateaux, radeaux, row galleys, schooners, and sloops. This period came to an end after the French and Indian War, when Britain assumed control of most of France’s territorial claims in North America.

This section is in overall good condition, very solid and no chipping or flaking. considering it is over 250 years. In “Collector’s Illustrated Encyclopedia of the American Revolution”, there are examples (see pictures). This is one of those relics that you never come across – the first I have seen or acquired. It definitely merits a place in an advanced collection or museum. A great piece of French and Indian War history as well as Naval history.