Revolutionary War fighting ended in 1781. The last shots exploded 2 months ago.

Daily Press ^ | February 20th 2019 | Joanne Kimberlin

[csvset]

In an uh-oh episode of historic proportions, hand grenades from the last major battle of the Revolutionary War recently and repeatedly scrambled bomb squads in Virginia’s capital city.

Wait – they had hand grenades in the Revolutionary War? Indeed. Hollow iron balls, filled with black powder, outfitted with a fuse, then lit and thrown.

And more than two dozen have been sitting in cardboard boxes at the Department of Historic Resources, undetected for 30 years.

Encrusted and corroded, no one realized what the grenades were when they were excavated in the 1980s along with 5,000 other relics from The Betsy, a British ship sunk in the York River in 1781

On Nov. 28, Ridgway was working her way through that box in the lab when she pulled out a plastic bag labeled “shot.” Inside: a gray-ish round clump not much bigger than a golf ball.

“I knew right away something wasn’t right,” Ridgway said. “It wasn’t heavy enough to be lead shot. And it had these weird cracks in it. And what looked like crystals inside.”

When she opened the bag, she caught the scent of something ominous.

A whiff of gunpowder crossed 237 years and drifted up.

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Photo courtesy Virginia Department of Historic Resources

As they were discovered, grenades from the Betsy, a British ship sunk in the York River in 1781, were placed on linen on a cart and cushioned with clay-filled stockings.

The first grenade core was accidentally discovered on Nov. 28, 2018, by Virginia Department of Historic Resources staff examining relics recovered from the Betsy, a British ship scuttled during the last major battle of the Revolutionary War. The grenade's iron jacket had dissolved, but its core of black powder remained potent. Within a month or so, more than two dozen were found.

[csvset]

GGG ping

[Delta 21]

Pipe bombs....errr, I mean hand grenades and molotov cocktails. 2 of my favorite weapons.

[Fido969]

I don't think old gunpowder is unstable. People who blow themselves up with old ordinance usually have some flame, heat or sparks involved, a grinder, torch, welder, etc. Someone could correct me if I'm wrong.

[Who is John Galt?]

I don't think old gunpowder is unstable.

You might call gunpowder unpredictable (whether new or old). Seems like some professional pyrotechnicians get hurt or killed every July in the US, just handling the stuff...

[centurion316]

Black powder can be dangerous for a very long time. I have a friend who is a true expert in military artillery and explosives. He is often called in by bomb disposal teams when old stuff turns up. The bomb disposal guys are largely ignorant of historic explosives and how to render it safe. They usually take it to a field and destroy it with a modern explosive charge. Sometimes that is the right thing to do, sometimes it can be preserved and made safe.

Muzzle loading muskets, rifles, and muzzle loading cannons are frequently found to be loaded with shot and powder. Some of them have been on display for years. All of this ought to be handled by real experts who know and understand antique weapons and explosives.

[Deaf Smith]

"handled by real experts"

Like James Grarner in the final scene of Support Your Local Sheriff with the cannon on display.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks csvset.

[rdl6989]

Here’s a story from back in 2008 about a civil war relic collector who was killed when some old ammo went off.

https://www.cbs19news.com/home/headlines/15772557.html

[kalee]

https://www.army.mil/article/47756/corps_of_engineers_finds_destroys_world_war_ii_ammo_in_north_carolina

WWII training camp in Butner, NC.

[skepsel]

There was a 12 pounder brass artillery piece from the battle of Gettysburg on display at the Rhode Island statehouse until 1962 with a cannon ball jammed in the muzzle.

The gun had been struck on the side and two members of the crew killed by a Confederate cannon ball, July 3rd 1863.

An attempt was made to reload and fire the piece but the tube had been deformed by the enemy ball and the attempt was unsucessful.

The gun wound up on display.

A history buff familiar with the story realized the gun was still loaded with 2.5 lbs of an increaingly unstable 99 year old black powder charge.

The R.I. National Guard EOD team took the gun away, submerged it in water drilled holes in the gun, washed the powder out and the gun, now safe, was returned to display.

[Daffynition]