The oldest baseball you have ever seen -

SBNation.com   

 "No other sport traverses American History like baseball and here is a perfect example of that - a baseball that was found in 1862 from the battlefield of Shiloh.

"The finder of this baseball was an African-American and orderly for the Union Army by the name of G.F. Hellum, who would go on to fight with the 69th Colored Infantry.

"The baseball like this one is referred to today as a "Lemon Peeler" and was softer than today's baseballs and more loosely made and not stitched in a universal pattern. It wouldn't be until later in the century with baseball becoming more competitive and organized did a consistent design known as the figure eight stitching took hold, the very same design still used today.

"The Battle of Shiloh was one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War, over 10,000 soldiers were killed for the Confederacy and 13,000 for the Union, so as you can imagine the game of baseball must have been a form of comfort for these soldiers during a time of great "bloodshed.

-Ron A. Bolton

Sources - Stephanie Grimes, KVL

Vintage Base Ball on the Battlefield: A Unique Sporting Event at Shiloh - National Park Magazine

Civil War Era: Did a Shiloh Battlefield Baseball Come From Nashville? Thought to be left by soldiers on the battlefield.