| This cannon ball weighs two pounds, giving it its name of a two-pounder ball. The cannon from which this ball was fired was also called a two-pounder. Cannon balls such as this one were cast of solid iron. It was not intended to "blow up", but rather to strike a target object and cause that target object to break or splinter. And because this type of solid cannon ball did not "blow up" into pieces, it is the most common type found today as a relic. There were other cannon balls, which were cast hollow, and which would be filled with powder, shot and other projectiles, and fitted with a fuse. When the fuse was lit and the ball fired out of a cannon, it would either explode in transit over the enemy, showering the shot and other projectiles over the enemy, or it would strike into a target object, such as a flank of soldiers, and explode in their midst, spraying them with the deadly shot. |
