Cannonball found at Fort Sumter likely to be used for training

A cannonball spotted jutting out of the lower parade ground at Fort Sumter is being kept by the U.S. Air Force and likely will be used as a training aid, park officials said this week.

In August, a keen-eyed visitor at Fort Sumter, where the first shots of the Civil War were fired, noticed the corroded round. Experts from Joint Base Charleston were called in and they removed the ordnance (Photo: Charleston police).

The Picket asked Brett Spaulding, chief of interpretation at Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historic Park, for information on what became of the cannonball.

It was found to be solid shot, with no potentially hazardous black powder or fuse, he said. Spaulding said he not know what type of ordnance was found.

Spaulding in August said officials don’t have any documentation that would provide clues to how the shell came to be buried in the parade ground, when that occurred and whether it had been fired. It’s possible it was on site for 160 years, but he warned against speculation.

Confederates bombarded the South Carolina fort in April 1861, leading to its surrender. Union forces pounded away at Rebel defenders for the remainder of the conflict. Officials said they are uncertain whether the shell was Confederate or Union. No measurements were made on site.

The park said artifacts occasionally surface. “While digs have occurred on site, foot traffic, weather, erosion from elements, etc. can cause resources to be uncovered,” officials said in response to a question over how the shell just now was seen.

The Picket reached out to Joint Base Charleston public affairs for comment.