[Civil War] 28 Musket Balls and Grape Shot, Found Near

[Civil War] 28 Musket Balls and Grape Shot, Found Near Gettysburg

A group of Civil War ammunition recovered from near Gettysburg. The lot consists of twenty-eight .69 caliber musket balls, all 0.625" in diameter and weighing approximately 1oz. The musket balls are remarkably standardized, with only one outlier which may have been made with a different material. This ball is larger, 0.75" in diameter, but weighs only 0.5oz. The other item in the group is a small solid cast iron ball, 2" in diameter and weighing 1.4lbs. The balls have expected wear and aging, but are very fine.

Throughout the Civil War, firearms, ammunition, and artillery was constantly evolving and improving. However, many soldiers still used rifles and muskets similar to those frequently used in the American Revolution. Lead musket balls were usually 0.50 to 0.75 caliber and packed into paper cartridges with black powder to provide the user a more rapid loading of their weapons. However, with the adoption of the rifled musket, smooth ball shots began to fade from use as the war progressed. Grapeshot was made out of 2-inch cast-iron balls that would be packed into a cloth sleeve and bound with rope. When fired, the bundles were highly effective at causing mass casualties on the battlefield.

The Battle of Gettysburg took place from July 1-3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburgh, Pennsylvania, and was the bloodiest single battle of the war, with over 50,000 casualties. Many relics from the battlefield were collected by Gettysburg citizens or early visitors. Today, however, the National Park Service prohibits any treasure hunting on the protected land.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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