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May 14th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
crossposted at TenRing –
In the lobby of the State House in Rhode Island stands a Civil War cannon with a Confederate cannonball fused to the muzzle, which it struck while it was still hot and the muzzle was as well (yes, this actually happened, and apparently more than once). The cannon is also shown in photographs taken at a number of places around the country where it was displayed. Pics showed kids sitting on it (heck, as a kid I would have)…
There is a bit of info that is emphatically not noted by the display. A diary unearthed in the 1960s mentioned that the cannon had just been re-loaded when the Rebel shot hit it. OOPS! It took a team several months to figure out how to remove the powder without setting it off.
May 14th, 2008 at 8:14 pm
Teqjack, I recall that that cannon was hit on the muzzle by a Confederate shell (this was at Gettysburg during the 2 hour bombardment that preceded Pickett’s charge) and the gun crew didnt think that the cannon was damaged so they tried to load and fire but the solid shot they tried to ram in on top of the powder charge got stuck in the muzzle and could’nt be removed. How they made the powder charge, which is 18 ounces for a 12 pounder gun, inert I never heard.