Pittsburgh police still keeping watch over Civil War-era cannonballs

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegheny_Arsenal

"The Arsenal was established by the U.S. Army Ordnance Department near
Pittsburgh in 1814. It was situated on 30 acres (12 ha) of land bordering the Allegheny River in the community of Lawrenceville.

The arsenal served as a supply and manufacturing center for the troops in the
west. Its peak years came during the Civil War, especially when the manufacture of cartridges, became a high priority. Civilian employment at the arsenal increased from a pre-war total of 308 to over 1100 workers. One of the busiest facilities was the main lab, which employed 158 workers, the majority of whom were women engaged in the making of cartridges."

http://www.post-gazette.com/life/li...day-during-the-Civil-War/stories/201209160145

"Three thunderous explosions followed, just a few minutes apart, destroying the laboratory and blowing human beings to bits. Panic-stricken workers ran from buildings as the air filled with clouds of smoke and the acrid odors of sulfur and burning flesh. Ultimately, 78 people perished in Pittsburgh's deadliest industrial accident and the Civil War's worst civilian disaster"

Cheers,
USS ALASKA
 
Regarding City Officials :
Will Rogers  matches.jpg
Will Rogers  matches.jpg
 
The cause of the explosion remains one of the great mysteries of history. Among the more bizarre theories contends that Confederate prisoners being used as laborers sabotaged the facility or youths were playing with fireworks. Although never proven or disproven, the most accepted theory is that a horse's hoof struck a hard stone that set off the deadly spark. However, if one was to look at isolated pieces of testimony from the coroner's inquest, it would be possible to build a number of scenarios. Perhaps it might be successfully argued that negligence on the part of the government, the workers, and Du Pont played some role in the deadly mishap.
http://www.arsenalciderhouse.com/allegheny-arsenal-history.html

thats-unpossible.jpg


Oh wait...

http://www.nytimes.com/1864/02/06/n...ry-burned-one-man-killed-another-missing.html
 
http://www.heinzhistorycenter.org/b...annonballs-unearthed-at-the-allegheny-arsenal

Better article with better pics...

"Archaeologists and curators are eager to examine the recent discoveries. Many questions can be answered by a careful inspection of the site and an analysis of the cannonballs. Simply weighing the projectiles and matching them to military specs can tell us whether the fused projectiles are shells or spherical case shot. Some Bormann fuses manufactured at Allegheny Arsenal bear telltale marks. Non-destructive X-ray techniques are now available that would allow researchers to safely see inside the balls.

Little is known about how the manufacture of cannonballs varied from arsenal to arsenal. If we can determine the distinctive features of Allegheny arsenal projectiles, those found at Civil War battlefields can be definitively identified. There is the possibility that after the Civil War, balls from different arsenals (perhaps even Confederate) were brought to Pittsburgh to be unloaded and subsequently discarded in a disposal pit.

The discovery of the cannonball cache at the Allegheny Arsenal site represents a rare opportunity to learn more about our history at a time when Pittsburgh was the smoky Iron City and the Arsenal of the Union during the Civil War."

Cheers,
USS ALASKA
 
The cause of the explosion remains one of the great mysteries of history. Among the more bizarre theories contends that Confederate prisoners being used as laborers sabotaged the facility or youths were playing with fireworks. Although never proven or disproven, the most accepted theory is that a horse's hoof struck a hard stone that set off the deadly spark. However, if one was to look at isolated pieces of testimony from the coroner's inquest, it would be possible to build a number of scenarios. Perhaps it might be successfully argued that negligence on the part of the government, the workers, and Du Pont played some role in the deadly mishap.
http://www.arsenalciderhouse.com/allegheny-arsenal-history.html

View attachment 144261

Oh wait...

http://www.nytimes.com/1864/02/06/n...ry-burned-one-man-killed-another-missing.html
 
Remove the powder and sell those things! Bet the National Park Service would take the powder for cannon shoots. Actually, the NPS has to do a lot of paperwork to have black powder on their sites. Perhaps a PA park like Bushy Run, Fort Ligonier or similar would be better candidates for free powder.
 
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