Recent Find One less cannon ball for relic collectors: Maryland bomb squad denotes live artillery round.

I take it these are still dangerous. Still it is to bad that a Civil War item had to get destroyed. How often are live Civil War artillery round found in Maryland?

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-new...-civil-war-cannonball-found-maryland-n1262276
"As proven today, the finding of military ordnance from the Civil War is not uncommon in Maryland, and these devices pose the same threat as the day they were initially manufactured," the fire marshal's office said.

Hysterical BS. Tens of thousands of these “live” shells have been excavated and correctly deactivated (drilled and flushed) over the last 50 years. You probably could count the ones that accidentally exploded during that time without having to use all your fingers and toes. I am not saying to treat excavated CW ordnance carelessly but the idea that this shell needed “emergency deactivation” by blowing it up is just utterly ridiculous and a melodramatic overreaction by the authorities.
 
"As proven today, the finding of military ordnance from the Civil War is not uncommon in Maryland, and these devices pose the same threat as the day they were initially manufactured," the fire marshal's office said.

Hysterical BS. Tens of thousands of these “live” shells have been excavated and correctly deactivated (drilled and flushed) over the last 50 years. You probably could count the ones that accidentally exploded during that time without having to use all your fingers and toes. I am not saying to treat excavated CW ordnance carelessly but the idea that this shell needed “emergency deactivation” by blowing it up is just utterly ridiculous and a melodramatic overreaction by the authorities.
Having been a Fire Marshal, I can tell you that you have to be very careful with the message that you convey to the public (whether you personally agree with them or not). Had he said that there was no danger with the ordnance, that would have left him and the organization that he represents open to litigation for years to come if the public took his message as gospel and an unfortunate incident occurred. And, even professionals with vast experience suffer unfortunate incidents when dealing with any type of explosive old or new.
 
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Having been a Fire Marshal, I can tell you that you have to be very careful with the message that you convey to the public (whether you personally agree with them or not). Had he said that there was no danger with the ordnance, that would have left him and the organization that he represents open to litigation for years to come if the public took his message as gospel and an unfortunate incident occurred. And, even professionals with vast experience suffer unfortunate incidents when dealing with any type of explosive old or new.
I knew both Sam White and Lawrence Christopher. Both of them despite their vast experience were doing things they should not have been doing that contributed to the accidental detonation of the rounds they were working on. The incidence of Civil War ordnance going off unprovoked is almost unheard of in the last 100+ years. Having worked in government I understand messaging but making dramatic statements that are wildly inaccurate should not be part of any responsible public servants duties. The Fire Marshal could have made his point about safety without resorting to a gross exaggeration. The authorities could have taken the time to actually research the issue they had instead of immediately undertaking the most extreme and irreversible course of action. I rate this as a “FAIL”.
 
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