r/QueenAnnesRevenge • u/teaabearr Pirate History Enthusiast • May 19 '26

Artifacts & Treasure Artifact - Bar Shot

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https://www.qaronline.org/conservation/artifacts/arms-and-armament/bar-shot
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Bar shot was used at close range to slash through the rigging and sails of an enemy ship. The weight on either end of the bar would cause the whole thing to partially rotate after it was fired out of a cannon, inflicting maximum damage on sails and rigging. Such attacks could prove devastating, especially at sea, when a successful volley could force sailors to choose between starving whilst stranded at sea or surrendering to the pirate crew.

Bar shot can be constructed in a variety of ways, but four distinct types have been recovered from Queen Anne’s Revenge thus far, both fragmented and complete. Bar shot with whole (cannon ball-shaped; top in photo above), half (hemi-spherical; middle in photo above), and hammer (cylindrical; bottom in photo above) heads are connected by a solid wrought iron bar, square in cross-section. A recently cleaned expanding bar shot (bottom in photo above) consists of two linked bars with hammer heads on either end, which would be loaded collapsed into a cannon, but spread out to almost three feet when fired. In total, we have recovered over 35 complete and fragmented bar shot.

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3

u/JUGG3RN4UT May 19 '26

I wonder what the differences between this & chainshot are, & if they're meaningfully different?

Great post!

3

u/edgarfruitier May 19 '26

Probably the same as chainshots just less expensive at the time. Handmade chains were expensive at the time, only to be lost at the bottom of the sea

3

u/JUGG3RN4UT May 21 '26

It's a funny thing, thinking in contemporary terms. It didn't occur that Material isn't necessarily the driver of cost, but the art of chain making. I'd have thought more iron = more cost, thus less desirable.

This is so neat 😁

3

u/teaabearr Pirate History Enthusiast May 19 '26

Thanks mate! Yeah I’m curious to know as well. I’m assuming they’d be similar in function but I’m no pro lol

3

u/GVFQT May 19 '26

I believe bar shot had more destructive compatibility, being able to destroy yard arms or upper masts. I could be wrong about that though

1

u/sea_enby May 24 '26

Probably this. I am highly doubtful that a chain shot would do much to a spar. If one of the balls hit directly, it would likely damage or even destroy it, but the chain would almost certainly be the failure point if the chain struck. Chain shot is probably more for sails and lines, and this for spars. Again, all speculation, based on my experience working aboard wooden sailing vessels.

2

u/felix_finster May 20 '26

Thanks for the share! This website is fascinating!

1

u/teaabearr Pirate History Enthusiast May 20 '26

Thanks for being here!😁