Did Civil War-era cannonballs fragment on impact?

They used a hollow ball at times that had black powder stuffed in them. Caused a lot of shrapnel on the battlefield, they can be very dangerous.

They used many types of ammunition in cannons during the civil war.

You can find out more about each type here.

Shells were hollow iron balls that were filled with gunpowder. The shells from that era can be very dangerous as the powder used then doesn’t become inert as it decays. In fact it can become more volatile.

Thanks for that, @WestRiverrat. I had thought that “balls were balls” and that when the artillerymen wanted smaller projectiles then they’d just shoot canister and grape. That’s a great link.