A Natchez resident found a relic from the Civil War era along the Mississippi River Saturday. Butch Johnson was at Anna’s Bottom when he saw a cannonball on the riverbank.

&uot;The water was down so low,&uot; said Johnson, who brought the cannonball into Natchez. &uot;It was quite heavy — about the size of a bowling ball.&uot;

On Monday, Johnson called the Adams County Sheriff’s Department, who suggested he call the Camp Shelby ordinance team.

The team destroyed the cannonball Monday at the county’s firing range on Foster Mound Road.

&uot;It was pretty interesting,&uot; Johnson said. It was one of those things you &uot;don’t know what to do with.&uot;

Adams County Sheriff Tommy Ferrell said this type of cannonball was called a &uot;fused&uot; cannonball because it had an explosive charge inside instead of being solid.

When the ordinance team exploded the ball, steel balls larger than a grape exploded from inside the ball into the gully, Johnson said.

It is standard practice for the ordinance team to destroy old war shells.

&uot;Normally when they encounter those things, they try to destroy them so there won’t be any problem,&uot; Ferrell said.

&uot;They just don’t mess around with old ordinances like that.&uot;

Ferrell described the find as rare but not totally uncommon and remembered one case in which someone found a cannonball in their attic.

When these types of things are found, it is best to destroy them, Ferrell said.

&uot;Old ordinances like that cannot be used as souvenirs,&uot; Ferrell said. &uot;It’s too unstable.&uot;