Cannonball found in Northern York County
You might not to be too surprised to find Civil War artifacts in York County around Hanover, where Union General Kilpatrick met up with Confederate General Stuart, or near Wrightsville, where Union troops dug in to defend the bridge crossing the Susquehanna River against Confederate General Gordon. But–a cannonball in northern York County?
The article accompanying the photo above, from microfilm at the York County Heritage Trust Library/Archives of the July 2, 1948 York Dispatch, reads:
CONFEDERATE CANNONBALL?–Paul Boring, York RD 1 tavern owner holds a cannonball he found while mowing a field on a 44-acre tract he owns near Maytown in the Pinchot Park area. He believes the cannonball fell from a supply wagon when Confederate troops marched toward Carlisle in the Civil War. Boring, whose ancestors were well rooted in the area during the Civil War, recalls his grandparents relating stories of how Confederate troops sought food and horses in that area of the county. Boring says he was removing litter from the field when he stepped on a round object sticking about an inch above the ground. He dug it up and discovered it was a cannonball, still in good condition.
The explanation sounds like a good guess to me. Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart was all over York County during those last days of June, 1863, dragging a captured wagon train with him. His refusal to abandon the prize has been blamed for his late arrival at the Battle of Gettysburg. You just never know what might turn up where.
Click here for my previous post on a Civil War sword unearthed near Hanover.
Click here for the aptly titled Cannonball blog by Scott Mingus, Sr. for many posts about Confederate movement in York County.
