Any Civil War Historians Here ?

Looking for more info on this ball resting on a .38 special

Half inch highly ferrous 127 grain.

Found in research case shot, cartridge shot, grape shot.

Found on old earth in Santa Clara California

 

If it is ferrous (iron) ball then I am not sure, perhaps Grape Shot it is.

To me, it looks similar in size and shape to muzzleloader ammo, although would almost certainly be lead not ferrous (iron.) Kind of like this:
https://www.midsouthshooterssupply....-diameter-128-grain-lead-round-ball-100-count

 

No Civil War battles were fought in California, hardly any in Texas, so that makes the chance of the ball being grape shot lower unless it was used in putting a down a major sympathy rebellion. Research into Civil War history local to the find may reveal any rebellion skirmishes.

Finding a ball in California doesn't necessarily mean it's from the Civil War, since small arms were muzzle-loading prior to the Civil War era. California has been occupied by Europeans for a very long time. Scaling from your photo, I estimate the ball at 0.53" or 0.54". A common muzzle-loading caliber is .54. High iron content may reflect lead scarcity, or military origin, when the ball was made. Finding that ball may just mean that, a long time ago, a settler or soldier missed his dinner.

But...given the proximity of western mines, that raises other interesting questions.

 

A 1/2 in steel ball bearing weight is right about 129 grains. It's possible it's a ball bearing from some kind of farm equipment. Could still be pretty old just might not have as interesting of a history.