Civil War cannonball found with fusing still intact in Maryland

Claude Bauer

First Sergeant
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Jan 8, 2012
Its just a Boreman and can be easily drilled and disarmed. The term you used above "diffused" is not correct. The DESTROYED it:banghead:
 
...and then there's this, where a recovered cannonball proved deadly:

Virginia Man Killed In Civil War Cannonball Blast​


https://www.foxnews.com/story/virgi...PGELgaLSepLj8UBqLp2uNRwMowp68JHuY8DdNRzRfK27a
True. But it's a probability thing. That somebody somewhere has been unlucky doesn't necessarily mean something is seriously dangerous, at least for someone with some level of knowledge. I could post all sorts of articles about people getting killed or seriously injured by common things. If one isn't knowledgeable then, yeah, call the cops but it's always a bit of a disappointment to see these artifacts get blown up when they could have been been made safe fairly easily by someone with the knowledge.
 
That somebody somewhere has been unlucky doesn't necessarily mean something is seriously dangerous, at least for someone with some level of knowledge...they could have been been made safe fairly easily by someone with the knowledge.

What's your definition for level of knowledge?

"White...devoted most of his time to relic hunting....White estimated he had worked on about 1,600 shells for collectors and museums. On the day he died, he had 18 cannonballs lined up in his driveway to restore."

"Sam knew his stuff, no doubt about it," said Jimmy Blankenship, historian-curator at the Petersburg battleground. "He did know Civil War ordnance."
 
What's your definition for level of knowledge?

"White...devoted most of his time to relic hunting....White estimated he had worked on about 1,600 shells for collectors and museums. On the day he died, he had 18 cannonballs lined up in his driveway to restore."

"Sam knew his stuff, no doubt about it," said Jimmy Blankenship, historian-curator at the Petersburg battleground. "He did know Civil War ordnance."
I don't want to argue about this. I understand your point. If one wishes to avoid all risk then step away and call the bomb squad.
 
...and then there's this, where a recovered cannonball proved deadly:

Virginia Man Killed In Civil War Cannonball Blast​


https://www.foxnews.com/story/virgi...PGELgaLSepLj8UBqLp2uNRwMowp68JHuY8DdNRzRfK27a
The one quote about Black Powder needing so many degrees of heat and friction does not sound right to me. Especially after 100+ years of chemical reaction going on and natural breakdown. Dropping it might not cause it to explode but grinder sparks would have acted like a wheel lock. Somehow the sparks or the heated steel set that thing off. At least it was quick and he died doing what he loved.
...and then there's this, where a recovered cannonball proved deadly:

Virginia Man Killed In Civil War Cannonball Blast​


https://www.foxnews.com/story/virgi...PGELgaLSepLj8UBqLp2uNRwMowp68JHuY8DdNRzRfK27a
 
FREDERICK COUNTY, Md. (WBFF) — The Maryland State Fire Marshals bomb squad diffused a live, unexploded Civil War-era cannonball found in Frederick County, roughly 55 miles west of Baltimore. The cannonball was found near the Monocacy Battlefield and passed on to a family member in Jefferson, Maryland.

Full story here: https://cnycentral.com/news/offbeat...annonball-found-in-frederick-county-destroyed
What ignorance...Another civil war shell destroyed that could have been saved to history.
 
What ignorance...Another civil war shell destroyed that could have been saved to history.
Yep and this is how they do it.
Destructive-Practice-Civil-War-Artillery.jpg
 
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