Cannonballs were among the first shells used in fire weapons. They were considered the most convenient for firing smoothbore cannons. They were used to destroy the bodies of ships, the walls of forts and field fortifications.

There was no single standard for making cannonballs. Nobody even thought about the caliber of it. The only condition was that the cannonballs had to be smaller than the cannon barrel. The first attempts to unify the caliber were made by Western European casters. In Russia, the requirements appeared under Peter the Great: it was believed that the gap between the cannonball and the barrel for field artillery should be no more than 1/29 of the diameter of the barrel.

Twelve copper cannons of different caliber and weight were installed in the Pogar fortress. They were served by Cossack gunners. Mentions of Cossacks and the Pogar fortress can be found in one of the documents of 1726,

The territory of the fortress was surrounded by a fortress wall and towers with gates — bramas. The towers had 14 loopholes with cannons. The largest loophole tower was called Promachinskaya and was located in the direction of the town of Starodub — to the southwest. Four large loopholes faced southeast. Ammunition was stored in a stone armory near the city administration building.

In the first half of the 17th century, the Pogar artillery fired several times at the arrays that tried to take the town. The Pogar gunners also participated in numerous military campaigns of the Pogar Sotnya as part of the Starodubsky Regiment. In the train of artillery, they carried armatas (one of the first names of artillery in Russia), kuli (bags of gunpowder), cannonballs and buckshot of various calibers and for different purposes. The Pogar artillery was preparing to reflect the attack of the Swedes in 1708 during the war with Sweden, but eventually, the enemy did not storm the town.

For many years, until the late 17th century, Pogar residents had a tradition to greet Cossacks returning from military campaigns with gun salutes. When the important dignitaries of Russia, Cossack colonels and other important guests visited the city, a salute using the fortress guns was made.

In the late 18th century, when the Pogar fortress lost its strategic importance, all the cannons and cannonballs were taken to the city of Bryansk to the Arsenal factory. They were melted down for civilian products.