Authorities detonate live Civil War cannonball found in Kansas museum

Belle Montgomery

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(I realize the detonation video is from elsewhere but thought it needed to be shown since Kansas didn't)

PLEASANTON, KS (KMBC) — A live cannonball from the Civil War era that had been on display for 20 years at a Pleasanton museum was detonated Friday afternoon.
The 90-pound cannonball was donated to the...
Rest Of Article: https://wkow.com/news/top-stories/2...onate-live-cannonball-found-in-kansas-museum/
 
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I hate seeing these as the shell could have been made inert and still remain on display.
Indeed. What a shame! A bunch of "authorities" - in their ignorance and desire to see something go boom - destroy a perfectly good historical artifact. :nah disagree:
 
Just look at the age of the "authority" figures it's easy to see why they had no knowledge or respect of that "dangerous" history they saved us from considering they were probably in diapers when the museum got it let alone when/how/why it was made in the first place. I feel lucky I survived riding my 60's era Sears bike without a helmet without them there to save me! Whew!:rofl:
 
The "expert" says it could be on the mantel and fall off and kill the grandkids. What a crock. While it might have gone boom if exposed to fire it certainly would not have gone off simply by being dropped. Black powder does not degenerate into fragile components like some modern propellants can do. Even I know that (and one can find that out using simple Google searches).

Geez.
 
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To be fair here, the article indicates the Fort Riley EOD unit conducted the detonation. The military EOD teams are highly trained explosives experts. These are the very same men and women putting their lives on the line disarming IEDs in various warzones across the world. I would certainly like to see artifacts preserved as much as possible. But if the decision was made to detonate the item rather than have someone take the time to disarm it, there may have been a good reason for it.
 
To be fair here, the article indicates the Fort Riley EOD unit conducted the detonation. The military EOD teams are highly trained explosives experts. These are the very same men and women putting their lives on the line disarming IEDs in various warzones across the world. I would certainly like to see artifacts preserved as much as possible. But if the decision was made to detonate the item rather than have someone take the time to disarm it, there may have been a good reason for it.
I would like to know if and who they consulted as a "valid" Civil War arms historian/expert "authority" before they made their decision to destroy it.
 
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This isn't the first time that a passerby noticed something that the staff hadn't and I doubt that it will be the last. A prime example of this was the 12# Napoleon with the ball wedged in the bore in the Rhode Island State House that had been there since 1874, a child in 1962 asked if it was still loaded and when the staff checked, it still was. The National Guard did an outstanding job of rendering it safe it by drilling a hole on the underside of the breech and removing the powder. Photo by Billy Hathorn.
Cannon_at_RI_State_House_in_Providence_IMG_3048 (2).JPG
 
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This isn't the first time that a passerby noticed something that the staff hadn't and I doubt that it will be the last. A prime example of this was the 12# Napoleon with the ball wedged in the bore in the Rhode Island State House that had been there since 1874, a child in 1962 asked if it was still loaded and when the staff checked, it still was. The National Guard did an outstanding job of rendering it safe it by drilling a hole on the underside of the breech and removing the powder. Photo by Billy Hathorn.View attachment 301644
Yes! Outstanding...why couldn't they figure that out in Kansas?
 
They have been known to use their powerful explosives to 'detonate" solid shot, out of ignorance or out of "an abundance of caution."
Google Lawrence Christopher, the local EoD spent a funfilled afternoon wondering why the solid shot and bolts didn't want to go "boom". They would have had better luck blowing up an anvil.
 
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