Museum Rifle struck by lightning.

CSA Today

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
Honored Fallen Comrade
Joined
Dec 3, 2011
Location
Laurinburg NC
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"This example of a Model 1861 from the Springfield Armory National Historic Site collection is unique in that it was at one point struck by lightning. This is one of the crowd pleasers on display in the museum at Springfield Armory. Looking closely, while the rifle-musket is a U.S. Model 1861, the bayonet is believed to be of Confederate manufacture. We have a record that the man, unfortunately, carrying this survived the lightning strike, but it is unknown which side of the Civil War he fought for and where he had his accident."
 

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Do you know @CSA Today if this was during a battle or picket duty? This is just the craziest thing! But you read a lot in diaries that they were out there during terrible thunderstorms.

Apparently, it was picked up by someone during the war and at sometime after the war made its way to the museum. According to the article, it isn't known where it was found or who had carried it.
 
Don't believe it one bit. If lightning did that it would have to have heated the metal cherry red, and the stock and lock would have been destroyed. Also, the bends don't make sense just because it was struck, it doesn't have to bend, but it sure would have arcing damage (molten areas in localized points).
 
I wonder if they didn't put a new stock on it for the look of the thing.

As to lack of expected burns, a quick googling around indicates that lightning can be very idiosyncratic about the kind of damage it does.

Here, by the way, is the link to the museum site about this gun, and some other "mishaps," none as spectacular.

There's also an additional tid-bit on the page:

"In this newspaper article, about 1980, Curator Meuse is shown after discovering the intact charge of gun powder and bullet in the weapon. That cartridge, along with the paper wadding, is displayed in the museum case in a glass vial. The bullet appears to be a Williams 'Cleaner" bullet, rather than the standard Burton bullet (so-called 'Minie')."

It looks like the museum, at least, believes the lightning story.
 
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