Hurricane Dorian was destructive and long, devastating parts of the Bahamas, but it also brought to shore some long-lost relics of the Civil War. After the hurricane brushed past parts of the East Coast, a couple went looking for artifacts on Folly Beach, South Carolina. Underneath a pile of brush, they found two Civil War-era cannonballs, an 8-inch cannonball and a 3-inch shell.
As soon as they made their discovery, the couple called authorities, who in turn called in explosive ordnance disposal experts from the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Air Force. The cannonballs were taken to a safe location and will likely be destroyed.
In 1863, Folly Beach Island was occupied by Union Forces. Thanks to roads, forts, an artillery battery and a supply depot, the the area had the ability to house 13,000 troops and their equipment. It’s only 12 miles from Fort Sumter, where the first shots of the Civil War were fired.
This is not the first time cannonballs have been discovered in the area. Some 16 were uncovered on Folly Beach after Hurricane Matthew in 2016. Those were destroyed by Air Force officials.
Photo: Cnn.com
Both exploding and solid projectiles have been around for centuries regardless of whether or not solid shot predominated. In 2008 some hundred-plus civil war fans died because of the misconception that all cannon balls are solid. Many even had fuses that ignited on impact, so it’s not easy to tell just by looking at it.
Thank you Hartbrewer for the historical update on exploding ordinance. The previous posts suggest some confusion regarding ‘cannonball’ definition. Hartbrewer has taught us that not all old iron balls are the same !!
Yikes !!
We should be careful and not assume that we know.
They are probably destroying them because they don’t want to take chances. The British developed exploding “cannonballs” and they were used in the Crimean War. They were used here as well. Granted the ones back than were not too reliable and there were various detonators, some were impact. Everything at time used black powder and if it’s sealed tight – it will still explode.
Cut off is around 1850 – before that they were all solid.
I’m with the other commenters. Cannonballs are hunks of metal. They’re like big slugs and can’t detonate any more than a boat anchor could. There’s nothing in there to blow up. I have one from the War of 1812, fought in this area.
I don’t understand why these have to be destroyed. Canon balls, as for as I know, don’t detonate by themselves. There need powder and a canon. As for the shells, I am not sure but it seems a shame to destroy historical relics.
Shells are destroyed, cannon balls are not, they are solid cast iron & contain no explosives.
Why destroy the cannonballs? Aren’t they just hunks of metal? Couldn’t they be displayed in a Civil War museum? I can understand the shell, altho it seems that even that could probably be safely rendered as a dud.