Cyrus Alger (1781-1856) was an inventor and famous metallurgist who lived and worked in the Boston area. The first gun ever rifled in America was made at his works in 1834. He invented the first malleable iron cannon in 1836 and improved time fuses for spherical shells.
In the mid-1800s Cyrus Alger needed to find a new place to test his experimental cannons because South Boston (location of his iron foundry) was a bit too residential to do more test firings. So, he decided to move the tests to Nut Island.
He and others from the South Boston Iron Foundry (also known as the Cyrus Alger Iron Company) fired their cannons across the bay towards the cliffs on Peddock's island. Not all cannon's fared well. The center object is all that is left of an 11-inch Rodman rifled cannon that burst during a test. The two objects to the side are projectiles that were used in that type of cannon.
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