This happened at the Prairie Grove reenactment last weekend.
From what I got of the story, they were clearing weapons after the battle on Saturday. The Musket in question is reported to have been one of those Loyalist Arms semi-sort of 1842 repro's.
A posting on FB from a participant named Jeffery Stewart:
"I was standing next to the soldier whose barrel exploded. It is believed that the M1842 Springfield he was using was intended to be a display piece; not for firing (he said that he paid only $400 for it, these muskets usually cost closer to $700). When the barrel exploded we we clearing weapons by firing caps after the battle had ended. The blast blew the gun against the side of his face and knocked him to the ground. He might have had a mild concussion, but did not have any cuts and no shrapnel was produced by the explosion. During the battle I never noticed the soldier acting in an unsafe or reckless manner. Fourthly he was in the front rank, if he had been in the rear rank the blast would have injured or burned a few front rank soldiers."
Tjhe one picture shows dirt/mud/grass in the barrel, I wonder if the barrel got clogged while the man went down after taking a "hit" and no one thought to check...
Well, it pays to be careful!
Kevin Dally
From what I got of the story, they were clearing weapons after the battle on Saturday. The Musket in question is reported to have been one of those Loyalist Arms semi-sort of 1842 repro's.
A posting on FB from a participant named Jeffery Stewart:
"I was standing next to the soldier whose barrel exploded. It is believed that the M1842 Springfield he was using was intended to be a display piece; not for firing (he said that he paid only $400 for it, these muskets usually cost closer to $700). When the barrel exploded we we clearing weapons by firing caps after the battle had ended. The blast blew the gun against the side of his face and knocked him to the ground. He might have had a mild concussion, but did not have any cuts and no shrapnel was produced by the explosion. During the battle I never noticed the soldier acting in an unsafe or reckless manner. Fourthly he was in the front rank, if he had been in the rear rank the blast would have injured or burned a few front rank soldiers."
Tjhe one picture shows dirt/mud/grass in the barrel, I wonder if the barrel got clogged while the man went down after taking a "hit" and no one thought to check...
Well, it pays to be careful!
Kevin Dally
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