Posted on 05/02/2008 5:26:59 PM PDT by nuconvert
Virginia Man Killed In Civil War Cannonball Blast
May 02, 2008
CHESTER, Va. — Like many boys in the South, Sam White got hooked on the Civil War early, digging up rusting bullets and military buttons in the battle-scarred earth of his hometown.
As an adult, he crisscrossed the Virginia countryside in search of wartime relics — weapons, battle flags, even artillery shells buried in the red clay. He sometimes put on diving gear to feel for treasures hidden in the black muck of river bottoms.
But in February, White's hobby cost him his life: A cannonball he was restoring exploded, killing him in his driveway.
More than 140 years after Lee surrendered to Grant, the cannonball was still powerful enough to send a chunk of shrapnel through the front porch of a house a quarter-mile from White's home in this leafy Richmond suburb.
White's death shook the close-knit fraternity of relic collectors and raised concerns about the dangers of other Civil War munitions that lay buried beneath old battlefields. Explosives experts said the fatal blast defied extraordinary odds.
"You can't drop these things on the ground and make them go off," said retired Col. John F. Biemeck, formerly of the Army Ordnance Corps.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Be careful out there, boys.
Does that make his wife the last Civil War Widow?
Whoops! I wonder what the record is for the oldest ordnance kill?
Today is the anniversary of Stonewall Jackson’s getting shot at Chancellorsville.
That had to suck.
“Does that make his wife the last Civil War Widow?”
Seeing as how there are other peole out there doing this, probably not the last
Ping. Thought of you both for different reasons.
I know a guy who broke his leg while re-enacting a Civil War battle. A cannon rolled over his leg.
When they took him to the ER, the doctor said to one of the nurses “get me some whiskey - and a saw”
They couldn’t hit an elephant at this dist...
I found a couple Minie balls and some grape shot at an old fort near Ft Campbell many years ago. I still feel the thrill I experienced when I found them.
That is a funny remark, even in a sad situation.
cause for celebration
Considering that a high percentage of shrapnel and shell projectiles did not explode (esp. Confederate), there undoubtedly will be more accidents like this.
Heck, still a lot of WWI and WWII stuff out there.
Not technically grape shot, but canister shot. Grape shot was pretty much absolete by the time of the Civil War.
Ah . . . if it blew up it was not a cannonball. It was a shell.
A cannonball is a solid chunk of metal. A shell is a hollow sphere filled with explosive. They look different — and even if you cannot tell by looking at it (due to corrosion hiding the fuse hole), a shell would be lighter than a cannonball of the same size.
First rule of restoration: Know what you are restoring.
Dr. with a sense of humor. lol
Neat
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