Cannonball Express

…to Heaven’s Gate, unfortunately.

Civil War Buff Killed By 19th Century Cannonball
Collector Sam White Was Restoring Cannonball When It Exploded
…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 Lee surrendered to Grant, 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 this leafy Richmond suburb.
…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.

Note to self: when told to “put that thing back“…do it.

categories Military Thingies | | datetime May 2, 2008 5:25 pm

4 Responses to “Cannonball Express”

  1. The_Real_JeffS says:
    May 2, 2008 at 6:57 pm

    This proves the EOD adage of “There ain’t no such thing as a dud warhead.”

  2. Mr. Bingley says:
    May 3, 2008 at 9:41 am

    He was grinding it with a power tool. Who would have thought that sparks could be a bad thing?

  3. The_Real_JeffS says:
    May 3, 2008 at 11:12 pm

    Yeah, sparks, black powder, hardly a problem, huh?

  4. John says:
    May 4, 2008 at 7:43 am

    I see a Darwin award in his future…

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