View of Stones River National Cemetery over the barrel of an M1857 Napoleon 12-pounder smoothbore, a style of artillery weapon used in the Civil War. Photo illustration obtained via Wikimedia Commons

A Decatur resident digging in their backyard unearthed what appeared to be a cannonball, Decatur Police Lt. Jennifer Ross said.

A Decaturish reader said the discovery summoned five Decatur Police vehicles, a firetruck and a bomb squad truck to the home on Greenwood Avenue.

Ross said, “A resident was digging in their backyard and unearthed what appeared to be a cannonball.  DeKalb PD bomb squad removed the item.”

No additional information was available. Given Atlanta’s history as a Civil War battleground, the discovery of cannonballs is not an uncommon occurrence. In 2013, construction workers digging at the site of what would become the College Football Hall of fame found one.

According to the website Civil War Cannons, “Places like Atlanta, Virginia and other southern states may continue to unearth cannonballs, considering that an estimated 100,000 of them were fired by Union soldiers in the summer of [1864] alone.”

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