140-Yr.-Old Cannonball Kills Civil War Fan

Va. Collector Died While Disarming 19th-Century Ammunition In His Driveway

(AP)  Sam White got hooked on the U.S. Civil War early, digging up rusting bullets and military buttons in the battle-scarred earth of his hometown.

As an adult, he crisscrossed the Virginia countryside in search of wartime relics - 19-century weapons, battle flags, even artillery shells buried in the red clay. He sometimes put on diving gear to feel for treasures hidden in the black muck of river bottoms.

But in February, White's hobby cost him his life: A cannonball he was restoring exploded, killing him in his driveway.

More than 140 years after the end of the war the pitted the North against the South over slavery, the cannonball was still powerful enough to send a chunk of shrapnel through the front porch of a house a quarter-mile from White's home in the leafy Richmond suburb of Chester, Virginia.

White's death shook the close-knit fraternity of relic collectors and raised concerns about the dangers of other Civil War munitions that lay buried beneath old battlefields. Explosives experts said the fatal blast defied extraordinary odds.

"You can't drop these things on the ground and make them go off," said retired Col. John F. Biemeck, formerly of the Army Ordnance Corps.

White, 53, was one of thousands of American hobbyists who comb former battlegrounds for artifacts using metal detectors, pickaxes, shovels and trowels.

"There just aren't many areas in the South in which battlefields aren't located. They're literally under your feet," said Harry Ridgeway, a former relic hunter who has amassed a vast collection. "It's just a huge thrill to pull even a mundane relic out of the ground."

Union troops from the North and Southern Confederate troops lobbed an estimated 1.5 million artillery shells and cannonballs at each other from 1861 to 1865. As many as one in five were duds.

Some of the weapons remain buried in the ground or river bottoms. In late March, a 44-pound, 8-inch mortar shell was uncovered at Petersburg National Battlefield, the site of an epic 292-day battle. The shell was taken to the city landfill and detonated.

Black powder provided the destructive force for cannonballs and artillery shells. The combination of sulfur, potassium nitrate and finely ground charcoal requires a high temperature - 572 degrees Fahrenheit - and friction to ignite.

White estimated he had worked on about 1,600 shells for collectors and museums. On the day he died, he had 18 cannonballs lined up in his driveway to restore.

White's efforts seldom raised safety concerns. His wife and son Travis sometimes stood in the driveway as he worked.

"Sam knew his stuff, no doubt about it," said Jimmy Blankenship, historian-curator at the Petersburg battleground. "He did know Civil War ordnance."

An investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms will not be complete until the end of May, but police who responded to the blast and examined shrapnel concluded that it came from a Civil War explosive.

Experts suspect White was killed while trying to disarm a 9-inch, 75-pound naval cannonball, a particularly potent explosive with a more complex fuse and many times the destructive power of those used by infantry artillery.

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.

The weapon also had to be waterproof because it was designed to skip over the water at 600 mph to strike at the waterline of an enemy ship. The protection against moisture meant the ball could have remained potent longer than an infantry shell.

Brenda White is convinced her husband was working on a flawed cannonball, and no amount of caution could have prevented his death.

"He had already disarmed the shell," she said. "From what I was told, there was absolutely nothing he had done wrong, that there was a manufacturing defect that no one would have known was there."

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

[rushlimpdrug]

"Sam knew his stuff, no doubt about it," said Jimmy Blankenship


Apparently he didn''t.

Was he a yankee or a confederate?

[michellem99-2009]

That there cival war ended so we all one nation. Some still believe it hsd not ended. I am a New Endlander. Ye asking was he a yankee or rebel. Does it matter. I am not a yankee or a rebal,,That bloody war ended before we were ever born.

[incog-nito]

One more proof that the Civil War never really ended.

[kennergirl]

Well, At least he died doing something he loved.

[rudy654-2009]

Can you imagine that this man is actually a casualty of the Civil War? Incredible. However, I knew of someone, who during the 60''s found an old rifle of the time period, and accidently shot himself with it. Unfortunately even in Europe people accidently come across some unexploded weaponry of World War II and get killed.

[michellem99-2009]

Yes the civil war ended..Just they did not clean up the messes. It ended.

[veteran72]

He really got a big bang out of his hobby..*sniff*...

[stn_sage]

The war did not begin over slavery nor was it fought primarily over slavery. In fact, Lincoln was ready to allow slavery to remain in place if it would have avoided the conflict or restored the union.

Posted by sincityq at 03:10 AM : May 03, 2008
--------------------------------------------------
My response: Exactly, true! It was about dissolution of the Union---first and foremost!

I''ve never heard of anyone getting killed by such an old unexploded shell---around plus 143 years! WOW!

This should cause collectors to be dammn careful with these objects! As one poster pointed out, at least he died doing something he really loved, that''s something anyway!

[magoo2u1]

Abe Lincoln said " If I could preserve the union by freeing all the slaves, I would do it. If I could preserve the union by freeing none of the slaves, I would do it. If I could preserve the union by freeing some and not freeing others I would do that......"
No matter how you slice it though, slavery was the root cause of the political crisis that started the war and necessitated saving the union.

[magoo2u1]

Collecting civil war memorabalia really is a blast.

[excoachken]

"Sam knew his stuff, no doubt about that," belongs right up there next to "Mission Accomplished."

[downsteamjim]

To dragonwagon: You are on a roll.

[downsteamjim]

I had a friend who use to collect and disarm cannon balls. I ask his wife about it. She said that when she took up jogging.

[kevzgrl]

So, who does his family sue over this - The North or The South? C''mmon all you ambulance chaser lawyers, this family needs your compassion and your skill to get a hefty chunk of money out of SOMEONE for this terrible accident (and of course, YOU will only be doing it because the culpable party should be brought to justice, right?)

[ajaxtheleast]

"CAPTAIN! ..STARBOARD! ..SKIPPING OVER THE WAVES

AT 600 MILES AN HOUR DIRECTLY FOR US!

WHAT CAN WE DO !!!"

"TAKE THREE STEPS TOWARDS DOING IT!"

600 miles an hour skipping over the water

at each other? . .Aqua Foosball for the

serious gamer.

(Actually at the time our government was

seriously debating whether or not to outlaw

waterbowling.)

[khanghi-2009]

Business is BOOMING in this hobby! If you think it''s "a thrill to pull even the most mundane object out of the ground", just wait till you pull a piece of those who "pull even the most mundane objects out of the ground", out of the ground! It''s amazing what you can come up with out of the blew!

[trenticus-2009]

"police who responded to the blast and examined shrapnel concluded that it came from a Civil War explosive."

Please... The police can''t conclude anything! I wonder if the cannon ball was innocent until proven guilty?

[kaviz]

Last words "Son,get me my hammer and lets crack this puppy open".

[missingamerica]

Hey, if there is anybody who wants to dig up and collect Vietnam War artifacts, I bet you Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia whip a visa in the mail to ya pronto...

[dbstevens]

I''m shocked and disgusted at the attitude of most of the people who post here...making jokes about the death of a man who left behind a wife and a son. You people are horrifying. Is there no compassion and sense of respect left in people anymore? This isn''t an episode on one of those low-IQ "comedy" shows. This is a tragic event, an accident that cost a man his life, and left a family without a father and husband. Have some respect, you sick people. I don''t blame any of our politicians for the sickness in this country. It''s this sort of attitude from the population that is causing our problems.

My prayers and compassion go to this family, whose lives have been torn apart by a horrible accident that had to do with this man''s interest and hobby. Kudos to HIM for taking an interest in this country''s history. The loss of someone who cared will be mourned.

[kaviz]

If I died *** around with an unexploded cannonball, my brothers would be fighting to be first in line to roast me at my own funeral. Out of love, of course. As I would do to them.

[dbstevens]

That''s a good point, dragonwagon5. But he was disarming the weapons. If he was qualified to do so, then he was doing something really useful...collecting those dangerous weapons that were scattered around people''s property. If he wasn''t qualified to disarm those weapons, he could have asked for professional help. But likely as not, they''d have simply been destroyed, obliterating a piece of history. So I can understand his choices, even if they ended up being foolish.

Regardless, that doesn''t change the fact that this is a very sad, tragic event, and I''m dismayed at the lack of compassion people display. Too many people display no humanity or regard for others anymore, and that''s very, very sad and disturbing. Again...my prayers and condolences for this man''s family.

[kaviz]

Shouldn''t he have disarmed it where he found it? How did he tranport it to his driveway? Did he just toss it in the back of his pick-up? I wonder what his neighbors thought when he unloaded an unexploded cannonball next to their house. At least he didnt invite an audience to watch, I''ll give him that much.

[trillion1]

Unlike the article states, the war was to prevent the south from breaking away not to free the slaves which was an after thought.

[dbstevens]

dragonwagon5, you''re quite right...I totally agree. But that does not change the fact that this was a tragic event and my main point that nobody here seems to feel sadness at this family''s tragic loss. There is so little humanity and compassion these days. Does anyone else here feel sorry for this man''s family? That''s all I can think about...how horrible they must feel at what has happened to them. People, this is sad, does anybody care?

[jumkey]

blah blah blah

Posted by dragonwagon5

Oh for God''s sake it was an accident. He miscalculated, didn''t pay enough attention, make a mistake. People do it all the time, driving, working, playing etc. It''s called being a human being.

This reaction of "it suck to be you" at other people''s misfortune is childish, stupid and all too common in our society.

How ''bout you keep your misanthropy to yourself and make the world a little better place, ok?

[kaviz]

Brucestevens, what you dont seem to understand is people deal with death in many different ways. Not just how YOU think they should deal with it. It doesn''t mean they are unfeeling to the ones left behind. It may not be respectful in YOUR eyes, but to some, laughter is the best medicine.

[kaviz]

You,re one cold dude newster.

[kaviz]

I can only guess that when he told his wife it was disarmed, it was in response to her question "What the he11 is that doing in our driveway?"

[blackstudman]

I can only guess that when he told his wife it was disarmed, it was in response to her question "What the he11 is that doing in our driveway?"

Posted by kaviz at 01:19 PM : May 03, 2008

Maybe they wanted to celebrate the fourth of July with the show of his cannonball?

[kaviz]

"Don''t worry honey, it''s disarmed. Now go get my drill. This is going to make a great bowling ball. Wait til the guys see this.

[voltaire333]

Ironically, he had a much healthier outlet for his obsession with weapons than most gun nuts in this country.

[blackyowe]

Ouch now that took balls!

[erichsh]

The more I visit these blogs, the more I become repulsed by the vermin I find here. Just on the last two pages I find: (1) The guy was an idiot, (2) He deserved to die and (3) People who believe in God are idiots. I''ll add (4): what a bunch of callous, pompous, self-righteous blowhards you all are. The man pursued his hobby and love of history with a passion, and was killed in an accident that even the experts cited in this article agreed was extraordinary. He sounds like a far more decent and engaging individual than the bleaters and stone-throwers on these pages.

[namesnames]

"....that there was a manufacturing defect that no one would have known was there."

Better sue the defense contractor who made it.

[kaviz]

Erichsh, from the sounds of your blog, you can officially include yourself in your last sentence.

[effjay4]

Kaviz, Newster is not only a cold dude, he''s a classless piece of garbage.

[kaviz]

I''m sure newster is only one of the names he goes under on these pages. The hired nut jobs flip around day to day to rile emotions and try to stir conflicts. some are pretty good at it, others should be fired by their sponsers. Best to just ignore them and dont feed their thirst for opposition, for they will never change their viewpoint. Thats what they are payed for.

[swwils]

I have sympathy for this mans family.Many people don''t realize that the un-exploded one are the danger factor.They can at any moment explode.During Vietnam,some soldiers died when they were discharged and came home.They bought ceramic tigers,dragons and such and shipped them home but they didn''t know that the VC had planted triggered explosives in them and these soldiers would set them in their homes and one day boom,their goes the house.All explosives are very dangerous,I know I was a combat engineer in the military I mainly planted explosives but they should be given the utmost respect no matter how old.

[cdfoxtrot]

It was totally irresponsible for this person to play around with this thing on his driveway. The shrapnel that hit a home "a quarter-mile" away could have killed someone else. I''m surprised this kind of activity is legal. And, yes, he was an idiot. Sorry if it offends some of the other posters to point out the truth.

[kaviz]

Swwils, you say you planted explosives, did you also plant timers to go off at later dates that some family would be killed if they took it home as a decoration? I''m not trying to be mean here. War is he11 no matter what side you''re on.

[rudy654-2009]

I''''m surprised this kind of activity is legal. And, yes, he was an idiot. Sorry if it offends some of the other posters to point out the truth.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by cdfoxtrot at 05:35 PM

I believe that what he was doing is not legal. At least in my part of the country it isn''t. For example, some boy scouts came upon some old army munitions from a particularly tragic war with the Indians. They took a bunch of stuff home, called the local newspaper, which reported on their find, etc. They even had an old saddle with food stuffs still in it. At any rate, they got into serious trouble with the government. They were told that they were supposed to report the find and leave it in place. The reason for this is so that archeaologists have a chance to examine the area first.

[nothappyatall]

"The more I visit these blogs, the more I become repulsed by the vermin I find here."

Maybe you should hike it on by the fox news or cnn news sites then since we arent good enough for you.

"Just on the last two pages I find: (1) The guy was an idiot, (2) He deserved to die and (3) People who believe in God are idiots."

1) he was, 2)maybe, 3) people who believe in mindless fairytales like a Santa Claus in the sky ARE idiots, as surely as those who believe they can fly and jump off a building.


" Ill add (4): what a bunch of callous, pompous, self-righteous blowhards you all are. The man pursued his hobby and love of history with a passion, and was killed in an accident that even the experts cited in this article agreed was extraordinary."

Which wouldn''t have happened had he left unstable high EXPLOSIVES alone and stuck to bullet casings, coins and other stuff. Even explosive experts with loads of training and safety equipment are killed.


Posted by erichsh

[lewiston14]

Some posters gave me new thoughts on the subject. If its legal or not to go out looking for these things. Around here I dont know ill have to ask. I scuba dive and was diving off shore from an old fort on the great lakes. I think I found a couple of cannon balls least the were round but I figured Ill just leave them. I dont need one to dry up and become a bomb on my desk. Makem me think remember about a year ago some teacher had a WW2 shell on his desk and used it as a bug squasher and it went off. To the combat engineer your right if it was made to explode leave it alone new or 150 years old.

[nothappyatall]

Im sure newster is only one of the names he goes under on these pages. The hired nut jobs flip around day to day to rile emotions and try to stir conflicts. some are pretty good at it, others should be fired by their sponsers. Best to just ignore them and dont feed their thirst for opposition, for they will never change their viewpoint. Thats what they are payed for.

Posted by kaviz

Wrongo kaviz, I only use THIS name with the 1 or the l depending on which browser I happen to have open when I come in- firefox doesn''t like the scripts in here.
Yer also wrong on your other statements, I''m not some ''hired'' dude, I am my own person and highly opinionated, I also feel free to freely express those opinions with NO mindgames, NO pc rhetoric and no bullchit, what you see is what you get not lies, inuendo or fake- something mighty rare these days with all the PC feel-good garbage people post write or say that we all know is totall BS.

[nothappyatall]

Kaviz, Newster is not only a cold dude, hes a classless piece of garbage.
Posted by effjay4

Why, cause I tell it like it IS? You right wingers want it all both ways, first you come blasting in telling us about all this great paradise in heaven with a perfect god and yadda yadda yadda that perfect people go to when dead, THEN you go "oh the POOR guy he was killed" so according to YOUR logic, you''d rather he stay HERE in purgatory (compared to a perfect paradise where everyone lives forever, no disease etc it IS) for the next 50 years years instead of going to this perfect place you claim.

He no doubt died INSTANTLY and didnt feel a thing, guess you''d rather he had a heart attack or stroke and lay in a hospital bed the next 50 years paralized in a coma like Terri Schiavo?
So, given the fact you mourn for a guy who left purgatory for a perfect paradise instead of rejoycing, that says you really DONT believe there is a heaven or that he didnt go there, which IS it?

[voltaire333]

He sounds like a far more decent and engaging individual than the bleaters and stone-throwers on these pages.
Posted by erichsh at 04:21 PM : May 03, 2008

Calm down, Esther, you know it''s bad for your heart to get so riled up.

[nothappyatall]

Best to just ignore them and dont feed their thirst for opposition, for they will never change their viewpoint. Thats what they are payed for.

Posted by kaviz

PS: I have said before I dont give a dam if people reply to my comments, I''m not here to get replies, I''m here to post MY opinions

[rushlimpdrug]

"I''ll give you my cannonball when you take it from my cold, dead hands!"

[erichsh]

PS: I have said before I dont give a dam if people reply to my comments, I''''m not here to get replies, I''''m here to post MY opinions

Posted by newster1

newster1 is exactly the kind of pompous, callous, self-righteous blowhard I had in mind. He''s a one-way megaphone, smugly self-important in his condescending, sneering replies to the posters he arrogantly dismisses - after he professes not to give a dam about their posts. I can only assume he''s like this in real life, laughing out loud at the good people who attend church in his town.