Images(7)

Shot, Case

Object number2018.28.3 a,b

Manufacturer Allegheny Arsenal

Manufacturer United States Army

OriginPittsburgh, PA

MediumIron; Pewter; Lead; Sulfur pitch

Credit LineGift of Pittsburgh Police Bomb Squad

Description24-pounder spherical case shot bisected into two halves (a-b). Halves create iron sphere containing lead case shot balls. Pewter fuze inserted into one side of each half. Inert.DimensionsDiameter (Sphere overall (a-b)): 5.75 in. (14.6 cm)
Diameter (Sphere overall with protruding fuze (a-b)): 5.938 in. (15.1 cm)
Height x Width x Depth (a): 5.875 x 5.688 x 2.75 in. (14.9 x 14.4 x 7 cm)
Height x Width x Depth (b): 5.813 x 5.688 x 2.813 in. (14.8 x 14.4 x 7.1 cm)
Historical NotesSpherical case shot (artillery shell) unearthed in 2017 during construction in Lawrenceville at the site of the Allegheny Arsenal. Members of the Pittsburgh Police Bomb Squad were called to examine the cannonballs. The officers removed three of the cannonballs from the site and removed the explosives, this is one of those three.Label TextUsed heavily during the Civil War, artillery spherical case shot consisted of a hollow iron ball filled with lead balls suspended in a sulfur matrix and a bursting charge. A pewter Borman time fuse, screwed in at the top, would ignite the bursting charge and shower shrapnel on enemy soldiers and animals.

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