We begin the New Year with a bang as our featured treasure for January is this “grenade” from the 1715 Fleet. Officially known as a “Hand Thrown Incendiary” these small devices, much like the modern hand grenade, could be lobbed by hand from one ship to another while engaged in close combat. About the size of a baseball or softball, these lethal weapons were hollow and packed with black gunpowder. A small hole in the grenade was fitted with a fuse made of wood which was set into the ball. The fuse itself had a hole in it running its entire length which contained a material soaked in potassium nitrate or some other solution that would allow for a more controlled burn. These devices needed no maintenance. All that was required was that the user have the ability to light the fuse and throw it, hopefully far enough away to avoid injury to oneself. If used correctly it would kill or wound by fragmentation. (see Small Arms of the Spanish Treasure Fleets (Noel Wells, 2006), pps. 99-104).
Unlike its cousin the cannonball, a grenade (though made of cast iron) was still several pounds lighter due to its hollowed-out construction. At about 2 pounds it made for an easy toss by a combatant. All in all, a very effective anti-personnel weapon.
According to Wells, several grenades were found aboard the wreck of the pirate ship Whydah. This vessel was lost in a storm off the coast of Cape Cod in 1717. The grenades found there, although somewhat smaller in size, were virtually identical to those found on the wreck sites of the 1715 Fleet. (see Small Arms of the Spanish Treasure Fleets (Noel Wells, 2006) p.106).
Our featured treasure, an intact iron grenade, weighs 580 grams (1.279 pounds) with characteristic hole for inserting powder and a wooden fuse. It was previously offered as Lot 1370 in Sedwick Treasure Auction 31, May 2022.
Many thanks to Daniel Frank Sedwick, LLC and Connor Falk for providing the image for our Treasure of the Month. For more information about these early incendiaries we recommend reading Small Arms of the Spanish Treasure Fleets cited above.
See our Treasure of the Month for February 2023 for more information regarding cannonballs.
