Virginia man killed in Civil War cannonball blast

imported post

A bit off-topic but bizarre and sad..



http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,353998,00.html

imported post

note to self: do not dremel cannoball

"Biemeck and Peter George, co-author of a book on Civil War ordnance, believe White was using either a drill or a grinder attached to a drill to remove grit from the cannonball, causing a shower of sparks.
Because of the fuse design, it may have appeared as though the weapon's powder had already been removed, leading even a veteran like White to conclude mistakenly that the ball was inert."

imported post

I read about that when it happened. Quite sad for his wife and family.

imported post

After White's death, about two dozen homes were evacuated for two days while explosives experts collected pieces from his collection and detonated them.

Click to expand...

Get out of your house. For your safety.

imported post

I recall hearing a story from many years ago about a guy who had two large cannonballs (acutally seige mortar rounds) from the Civil War. He had them on each side of his fireplace. They used to get pretty hot, but he assumed they were just solid cast iron. Some relic hunter saw them and nearly freaked out when he saw they still had intact fuses. If I recall correctly some authorities came in, removed them for him and detonated them. Both went off with a thunderous roar. As long as black powder remains dry, it remains very stable (unlike smokeless powder), and probably could detonate 1000 years later if messed around with.

Poor guy. You just can't be too careful around those things. The article said someone 1/4 mile away had shrapnel in his porch!

imported post

I once burned smokeless powder that had been at the bottom of the sea for over 70 years after letting it dry, and it lit right up. Even if powder gets wet, it is still dangerous once it's dry. When I was at MCAS Cherry Point, NC, in the early 1990s, we were warned that there was unexploded civil war munitions in the nearby woods.

imported post

Tomahawk wrote:

I once burned smokeless powder that had been at the bottom of the sea for over 70 years after letting it dry, and it lit right up. Even if powder gets wet, it is still dangerous once it's dry. When I was at MCAS Cherry Point, NC, in the early 1990s, we were warned that there was unexploded civil war munitions in the nearby woods.

Click to expand...

You guys are correct for smokeless powder, but black powder does not survive getting wet very often. Principally this is because smokeless powder is a true chemical compounding, whereas black powder is a simple mechanical mixture. Both the salt peter and the sulphur can be separated out by moisture. But if the black powder is kept in an enclosed space like a cannon ball, the components do not wash away, and when it dries out it might still produce an exciting reaction when you add a little heat.

Better living through chemistry:celebrate

Regards

imported post

Hawkflyer wrote:

Tomahawk wrote:

I once burned smokeless powder that had been at the bottom of the sea for over 70 years after letting it dry, and it lit right up. Even if powder gets wet, it is still dangerous once it's dry. When I was at MCAS Cherry Point, NC, in the early 1990s, we were warned that there was unexploded civil war munitions in the nearby woods.

Click to expand...

You guys are correct for smokeless powder, but black powder does not survive getting wet very often. Principally this is because smokeless powder is a true chemical compounding, whereas black powder is a simple mechanical mixture. Both the salt peter and the sulphur can be separated out by moisture. But if the black powder is kept in an enclosed space like a cannon ball, the components do not wash away, and when it dries out it might still produce an exciting reaction when you add a little heat.

Better living through chemistry:celebrate

Regards

Click to expand...

HOLY SMOKE!!

WELCOME BACK!!

imported post

Citizen wrote:

HOLY SMOKE!!

WELCOME BACK!!

Click to expand...

imported post

W.E.G. wrote:

note to self: do not dremel cannoball

"Biemeck and Peter George, co-author of a book on Civil War ordnance, believe White was using either a drill or a grinder attached to a drill to remove grit from the cannonball, causing a shower of sparks.
Because of the fuse design, it may have appeared as though the weapon's powder had already been removed, leading even a veteran like White to conclude mistakenly that the ball was inert."

Click to expand...

It doesn't make a bit of difference guys, the balls are inert!

imported post

G9M&P15 wrote:

W.E.G. wrote:

note to self: do not dremel cannoball

"Biemeck and Peter George, co-author of a book on Civil War ordnance, believe White was using either a drill or a grinder attached to a drill to remove grit from the cannonball, causing a shower of sparks.
Because of the fuse design, it may have appeared as though the weapon's powder had already been removed, leading even a veteran like White to conclude mistakenly that the ball was inert."

Click to expand...

It doesn't make a bit of difference guys, the balls are inert!

Click to expand...

Yeah but no one told the fuse that it was.

imported post

G9M&P15 wrote:

... SNIP
It doesn't make a bit of difference guys, the balls are inert!

Click to expand...

Speak for yourself!