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Shot, Case

Object number2017.151.29

Manufacturer Allegheny Arsenal

OriginPittsburgh, PA

MediumIron; Asphaltum

Credit LineGift of the U.S. Army

DescriptionFragment of twenty-four-pound (24 lb.) spherical case shot. Fragment of iron sphere containing partial asphaltum matrix with semi-circular depressions from non-extant lead case shot balls. Roughly triangular in shape.DimensionsLength x Width x Depth: 3.25 × 2.5 × 1.188 in. (8.3 × 6.4 × 3 cm)
Historical NotesPart of a collection of fragments of spherical case shot and cannon shells. These were part of a large group of artillery shells unearthed in 2017 during construction in Lawrenceville at the site of the Allegheny Arsenal. The shells were transferred to the U.S. Army to be destroyed. These fragments were given to the History Center after the U.S. Army exploded the shells.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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