Posted on 01/12/2007 9:07:07 AM PST by Dysart
EULESS — A metal object found at a business parking lot last week has been identified as a 140-year-old artillery shell from the Civil War era, authorities said Friday.
The live round was scheduled to be defused in a few days by the members of the Northeast Explosive Response Team, who retrieved the shell on Jan. 5 from property at Simtek Inc.
Authorities believe the shell could still contain black powder.
“It still had a fuse cap at the end of it,” said Euless fire investigator Vernon Gilmore.
A military official identified the shell this week after being shown photographs of it.
The shell was used with Parrott cannons in the Civil War, authorities said. No weapon was found with the shell.
“There was Civil War activity in Texas, but how that shell got here we don’t know,” Gilmore said. “It could have just fallen from a wagon traveling this area, or a collector could have just lost it.”
The shell was found about 12:50 p.m. on Jan. 5 in the 1500 block of Royal Parkway.
An employee discovered the shell several days before Jan. 5 while doing landscaping work and left it near the parking lot but never reported it. Another employee found it Jan. 5 and Simtek officials called authorities.
Firefighters evacuated the business after they arrived on the scene as explosive experts attempted to remove the 20-pound shell.
At first, a robot was used, but the shell was too heavy for the robot to lift, authorities said.
An explosive team member then grabbed the shell and placed it in a container.
No injuries were reported.
Is this the actual shell?
If it is and they believe they can handle it in this fashion why are they bothering to defuse it?
The shell has not been fired and is not a dud. It is also not a solid piece--bolt--so is likely still filled with powder. Got to wonder if any pressure is being applied by the upper hand in the photo.
The Star-Telegram photographer(Laurie L. Ward) has her name attached to the picture so I certainly believe that it is THE shell.
Your second question is a very good one. I don't know what they are thinking.
Had to be a little embarrassing for the robot.
Hilarious. What a find it would have been if there were. Come to think of it, the article never states that a Union artillery man wasn't there. How do we know?!
I don't think they used contact detonators, did they? Weren't they time fuses?
I reckon the South is fixin' to rise again.
ping
I didn't know the world's finest quarterback had a fort named for him. 8^)
Did they ever say he had an arm like a "Rifle"?
Like a Naval rifle.
Impact fuses were rare, both sides generally used timed fuses that depended on the muzzle flash from the gun to light them. The fuses were only put in just before loading, so the shell probably has a wooden plug (like a cork in a bottle) to keep the powder from spilling out.
As long as the shell is still sealed and not heated a lot, it is relatively safe to handle. The problem is that the powder charge inside is likely to be "live" and may have been destabilized by moisture over the years. Several ordnance experts have been hurt when shells they were drilling into exploded when the contents were exposed to air.
fyi, i visited Ft Fisher on Friday last with my beloved "duckie".
free dixie,sw
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