Oh, and I came up with 2,444.
There are 2444 balls in the pile ...
I get 2,444 by a different method.
etc.
Think of how much powder (at 20 lbs per shot) the shooting of all those shot would take. Over twenty four tons. And that isn't the only pile. I can't believe the Rock had half that much on hand. The shot must have been there to keep it from blowing away in the wind.
George,
Not only did they have regulation military stacks of shot/shell, they also got creative, and used the cannon balls for landscaping decorations.
Alcatraz Island "Cannon balls were ubiquitous on Alcatraz and in addition to their functional purpose, they served a
decorative function on the post. They were used to define the parade ground space in front (south) of the
Citadel and were stacked in long pyramidal rows. (A row of Rodman cannons are lined up behind one of
these stacks in one photograph.) These rows are shown in photographs of the era, and the row on
the east side of the parade ground was shown in maps from 1867-1894. (Ernst 1867, Presidio 1879, U.S. Army
ca. 1870s, Rodgers 1894) The cannon balls were also placed in smaller stacked pyramids next to guns in
fortifications. Photographs of the era show the cannon balls lined in rows on the tops of walls, such as in
the planter that bordered the west side of the Officers’ Row houses and along the low retaining wall that
defined the south edge of the garden area in front (south) of the Citadel. They were set individually on
the ends of steps or levels of retaining walls (used much like a pot of flowers to define the change of
levels and transition from the public to private space of the house or porch). They were used as
ornaments in the planting beds, stuck on top of short pipes to create something that resembled a gazing
ball."
Cannon balls lined up in front of the Citadel.
