This relic is a large cannon ball shell fragment. This fragment is 5” x 4”. Iron is very rusty and pitted. This portion exhibits the typical random fragmentation of round cannon balls.

This comes from the Gregory A. Coco collection. He acquired it from the relic hunter (named on tag) at Fort DeRussy, Louisiana. The accompanying tag also shows map where found.

Fort DeRussy was a Confederate earthwork built in 1862 to defend the lower Red River Valley in Louisiana. The fort was named for Colonel Lewis G. DeRussy, the oldest West Point graduate to serve in the Confederate Army. A portion of Rear Admiral David D. Porter's Mississippi Squadron captured the fort on May 5, 1863, with portions being destroyed on May 9, 1863, by the USS Benton. The remnants of the garrison at the fort surrendered to the Union Army on March 14, 1864.

Gregory A. Coco was born in Marksville, Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana in 1946. He served in Vietnam and was a Park Ranger at Gettysburg NMP for many years. Greg enjoyed historical research and authored many books relating to the Battle of Gettysburg, most notably “A Vast Sea of Misery” and “A Strange and Blighted Land”.   [jet] [ph:L]

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