Freeman’s Farm, Saratoga Battlefield. This 3-ounce iron ball was one of several dozen in a British case shot round. When cannons fired case shot, the tinned iron cylinder of the round disintegrated and the iron balls inside exited the cannon in an ever-widening lethal cone. Late 1700s military texts say 3-ounce case shot balls were for 9-pounder cannons. British forces at Saratoga had medium 12-pounders and light 6-pounders, but no 9-pounders. Case shot for a 6-pounder used 1 1/4-ounce iron balls. Case shot for a 12-pounder often used 2-ounce iron balls. It is quite feasible, depending on the situation and resources, that 3-ounce balls might be used to make 12-pounder case shot rounds. This artifact agrees, as British forces at the Battle of Freeman’s Farm on September 19th, 1777, fielded two medium 12-pounders to repel American forces, where this piece of iron case shot was found during archeological investigation in 1975.
Collection: Saratoga National Historical Park, SARA 2205.
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