Name/Title
Cannonball GettysburgEntry/Object ID
2025.001.1Description
This is a 12-pdr solid shot engraved by Gettysburg resident Edward Woodward. Mr. Woodward was a local gunsmith who, with the growth of tourism after the fighting at Gettysburg, opened a shop selling bullets, shells and other battlefield relics. He was known for having made desk sets and for engraving shells and cannonballs found on the battlefield. Some items were engraved with the exact location where they were found while others were marked “Gettysburg” and the date “1863”. The first known items made by Woodward were dated September 1865 and given to veterans who visited the battlefield.
Engraved on one side is “GETTYSBURG / 1863”. The engraving is strong and very readable. The engraving of the word “Gettysburg” ends with a flourish…a fern frond-looking detail continuing off of the last “g”. This is a typical characteristic of Woodward’s work.
It is brass, has been rendered non explosive, and has 3 feet attached to the bottomCollection
Civil WarLexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Primary Object Term
CannonballNomenclature Sub-Class
AmmunitionNomenclature Class
ArmamentsNomenclature Category
Category 05: Tools & Equipment for Science & Technology
