CIVIL WAR ERA 4 ½ POUND CANNON BALL PLUS EXTRAS

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4 ½ POUND - 3 1/8 INCH IRON CANNON BALL This iron cannon ball weighs 4 ½ pounds and is 3 1/8 inches in diameter. I do not know exactly w the cannon ball itself came from because I got it at an interesting estate sale. However, I am also adding a dozen Civil War and Indian War era bullets from the Union Army Fort Craig , New Mexico , to make a more interesting collection. I dug the bullets at the old Fort several decades ago. Cannon balls of this type were fired in mass. A canister was loaded with half-inch up to 3-inch canister cannon balls, giving a deadly "shotgun" effect with a wide shot pattern. Most of the Artillery units using cannons were assigned to the larger, strategic forts. T were over a dozen such forts in the southwest. The smaller forts had only Dragoons, Infantry and Volunteer units assigned. The cannon ball's patina may be a clue from what part of the country it was found. I have noticed that many of the darker patina cannon balls were found back east in the acid soil, while the iron relics that I dug had a lighter, rusty-looking patina because they were found in the alkali sands of the desert. I am adding 12 BULLETS - three Civil War era Minie Balls and three Round Balls of varying sizes, plus six Indian War bullets from the 1874 Springfield cartridge-shooting trap-door Breechloader rifle. All of the bullets are different in size or shape or base configuration - a nice sampling of bullets from Ft. Craig . In 1854, the government established Ft. Craig on the Rio Grande River in the Territory of New Mexico to protect the settlers against the Comanche, Navajo and Apache Indians who attacked the wagon trains traveling up and down El Camino Real (The Royal Road) between Santa Fe and Mexico City , an extension of the Santa Fe Trail . Settlers had to traverse the most dangerous part of the journey - the Jornada Del Muerto (Journey of Death). Fort Craig was important prior to and certainly during the Civil War, then during much of the Indian Wars. It was Colonel E. R. S. Canby versus Brigadier General H. H. Sibley, when the 2,500-man Confederate Army invaded New Mexico from Texas in 1862, heading north for Santa Fe . The 3,000-man Union Army soldiers engaged the Confederates just a mile east of the fort on the other side of the Rio Grande River . The Battle of Val Verde was one of the bloodiest battles per-capita of the Civil War because of the enormous casualties taken by both the Federals and the Rebels compared to the relatively small number of soldiers in the battle. Kit Carson was also t, a scout for the Union Army. The Confederate Army then proceeded up the Rio Grande , occupied Santa Fe , and then fought the Battle of Glorieta Pass before returning to southward to Texas by another route over the mountains to bypass Fort Craig . Fort Craig lasted until 1885, and is now the FORT CRAIG NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE - fenced in and protected. We dug these items decades ago with permission. You are invited to look carefully at the photos to see if this belongs in your collection. THANK YOU FOR LOOKING! AND HAPPY BIDDING!!! PAYPAL, Money Orders and Cashiers Checks are all accepted. I will promptly ship upon receipt of your payment. SHIPPED USPS: $15 If you are not satisfied that the collection is as photographed and described, then I will refund your payment upon its return. However, the buyer must pay the same return postage and insurance. Only bids from the U.S.A. accepted and Shipping only to the U.S.A. Thanks, Jack read more

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