Comments for A Castle Public Service Announcement

A Castle Public Service Announcement

2010-09-02T12:54:24Z

Cannonballs got you down? Just got 'em laying around gathering dust but suddenly aren't sure whether or not they're live?

No, really. I'm serious - read this article from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

When General William T. Sherman rode through in 1864, folks got out of the way; and hundreds of Kennesaw State University students were evacuated from a classroom Monday because of two live cannonballs on campus.

They were not uncovered during construction or an archeological dig, but had been gathering dust in a display case for three years on the third floor of the Social Sciences building. The room had limited access.

So. How do I know my civil-war era cannonball looks like this on the inside...

And not this...

When all I see is this?

Well, you'll need to look for this.

At least one (if it was a really old deactivation - or done by an idiot) and preferably two holes. This indicates that someone (who may have been an idiot) drilled the round and flushed it. Two holes does a *much* better flush job. Of course, you probably should have the *other* guy handle it... not that it will help much if it does go off. And even when you've got a lot of experience, they can still go off. We've not seen the last casualty from the Civil War yet.

If you don't know what you're looking at, leave it be - whether it's on the ground or at a show. If you run across one "in the wild" tell the authorities and let them deal with it. Especially if you can see a fuze. But don't assume that because you don't see one - there isn't one underneath what you can see.

If you simply must own one, unless you're dealing with a person you know to be knowledgeable and honest, the risks just aren't worth it, and you can get good repros for a display.

And don't go poking around in those holes (I know some of you are going to try) unless you do it with a non-sparking probe, such as wood, brass, or copper. Because you *don't* know how well they did their job. And remember - it also matters where it came from. Relics recovered from national battlefield parks are illegal. I got the ones I have from a reputable dealer with a storefront and raft of books to his credit - who could attest to where the rounds were recovered.

H/t Toluca Nole for the article link.

Comment from Justthisguy on 2010-09-05

2010-09-05T20:50:59Z

I've been reading some on the chem-nerd weblogs. Even people who should know better don't seem to know better, it seems. Sometime early this year, a chem grad hight Preston Brown at Texas Tech had synthesized an insanely huge quantity (insanely huge being about 5 grams) of nickel hydrazine perchlorate, and was poundin on it in mortar with pestle (!!!!!) when it finally went up in his face. He was all messed up, but will live, and can still see sorta good, and will have to learn to write with the other hand. And then there was Sheri Sangji, a chem grad at UCLA who set her self on fire in an incident involving about 100ml (also a huge amount) of a nasty pyrophoric compound , t-butyl lithium. She died of burns and complications a few weeks later.

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2010-09-03

2010-09-03T13:21:15Z

Walter - if that was a bowling ball, it would have an amazing grip on the lane!

Joe - another favorite (this time of unscrupulous/ignorant merchants) - iron balls used in mining for crushing ore being sold as grape shot or Revolutionary War cannonballs.

Comment from Joe Barry on 2010-09-03

2010-09-03T11:53:35Z

I was Army EOD back when dinosaurs roamed the earth and we got a lot of cannon ball calls at Ft. Knox. It is amazing how many people lose their shot put. Gently rinse the outside and look for the telltale name "Gill".

Comment from SFC (ret) Walter M. Clark on 2010-09-02

2010-09-03T03:53:38Z

Seems to my failing eyes there's another hole at five o'clock. I thought it was a bowling ball .

Comment from pat on 2010-09-02

2010-09-03T00:33:40Z

Was on a range somewhere. I think CFB Petawawa(damn my sp??) 105's. We had a new fuze they were testing. OP's downrange in pos vis the target. Shooting a bluey (inert). Set fuse, set charge, load, fire -"Shot" - tof ~15 secs. Nada nothing silence. 2- 3 mins . "you fired that thing right?" "That's a roger"
BK: " Well lets go over plan again. Double check everything"
Again load fire get the shot report. Ordince disposal recovers the unit for the science boys. Carefully. Look for round 1 no luck. As it was an active range I guess they weren"t too concerned.

Two weeks later policing the road the OP's use to get to their posts, we spot a Blue object lying beside a fir bough 3 yds. off the trak, its the round, and it looks like new except You could make out the striations on the copper(?) ring.. Call Ord Disp. Out they come. A newby Lt.

"Ok I'll just defuze it and transport it to HQ." says he
"not so fast Sir. SOP detonate all rounds. This one goes up before it goes in." BSM
says," besides my gun my round, and we're following SOP"

"Well ok, but I'm sure Hq would like the whole thing"
BSM and Ord tech attach a 50' cord and command wire to the det charge throw it over the round catch it, then drag the demo along the ground to the round from the other side. It nestles up to the round.
"OK sir, lets attach th" KA FOO?ING BLAM
Left the much wisened lt with the remains. Amen

Comment from Justthisguy on 2010-09-02

2010-09-02T23:56:29Z

Ah, yes, my rolling on the ground screaming OwOwOw cured me of "Rocket Surgery" when I was a kid, and all I had to suffer was a gross-looking powder burn. If I were to drill a hole in one of those things, yep I'd do it way out in the country by remote control from a quarter-mile away, with the projectile in a deep pit full of salt water (for the conductivity). Oh, and drill very slowly, withdrawing the drill from time to time, and otherwise being paranoically cautious as hell.

Comment from John the Baptist on 2010-09-02

2010-09-02T23:00:58Z

Small world, BloodSpite, I taught for several years at a private high school just north of KSU.

Several of my students lived in the Dallas Line Campaign vicinity, and said they had found various artifacts around their houses. I was always nervous when they wanted to bring them in to show me, for this very specific reason.

I'd love to know which of the KSU profs these belonged to - I have a idea I know which one!

Comment from John (Not The Armorer) on 2010-09-02

2010-09-02T15:50:31Z

Ooooh! I lust after the sectioned VB grenade (5 o'clock from the center of attention)!

Comment from BloodSpite on 2010-09-02

2010-09-02T15:30:39Z

Heh. I used to be on the Campus Police Dept there back when it was KSC before it became KSU :P Then I went to the city of Kennesaw (incidently one of the few cities in the country that its mandantory to own a fire arm to live in the city limits)

Comment from Mike L on 2010-09-02

2010-09-02T15:27:15Z

Hmmmm.... reminds me of a story the Armorer once told of discovering "live ones" while out for a mid-afternoon run. TIWNS - just mindin' my own business...........