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Park’s new policy on Civil War artillery: Call the bomb squad
BY PATRICK KANE
STAFF WRITER
03/28/2008
PETERSBURG — After the death of a Civil War expert who was defusing a mortar shell, the National Park Service isn’t taking any chances with explosives. So when employees of Petersburg National Battlefield uncovered a 44-pound, 8-inch diameter mortar shell Thursday morning, they immediately called the Virginia State Police bomb squad.
The shell was discovered as workers and volunteers swept the future path of the park road for artifacts and explosives. The new road will go around the Taylor House.
“We’ve been out there looking for live artillery rounds so it won’t get hit by a bulldozer,” explained Jimmy Blankenship, historian-curator for the battlefield. Metal detectors were used, and they found many musket balls and shell fragments before today.
Julie Steele, cultural resource manager and archaeologist, said that 95 percent of the road is over old roads, but they knew it would cross the old Union line near Fort Morton, “an area of a lot of activity.”
“We found lots of fragments of shells but this the first whole shell,” said Steele.
After it was located, the area was marked, blocked off and the bomb squad was contacted. They came within the hour, said Bob Kirby, park superintendent.
The shell was taken by a bomb disposal vehicle to the Petersburg city landfill, where it was detonated with external explosives. Blankenship said. The hollow iron shell did have live gunpowder. It was destroyed around 1:30 p.m.
The only casualties of this shell were a few scared birds, thanks to a policy still in draft form at the battlefield. The rule change came after relic hunter Samuel H. White of Chester was killed while defusing a similar shell, Blankenship said. White ran an online business, Sam White Relics, from his home at Granite Pointe Court in Chester. He claimed to have diffused more than 500 similar weapons. White was killed in his garage in mid-February, and the shell damaged another home about a quarter-mile away.
“They were meant to kill people,” Blankenship said of the antique weapons. The new battlefield policy is to call the Virginia State Police bomb squad or Fort Belvoir’s explosive ordnance team if they can’t be reached.
Blankenship said it was an anti-personnel weapon fired by the Confederates at Union troops.
“The idea was to have this come down behind the trenches where the men were located. It would explode at tree-top level and sprinkle shrapnel down on the troops,” striking as far as 600 yards away.
“It’s a powerful shell,” he said.
Steele said that finding the shell would help them pinpoint where that Union line existed during the Petersburg battles.
“Now we know a little more,” she said.
• Patrick Kane may be reached at 722-5155 or pkane@progress-index.com.
©The Progress-Index 2008
Online at: http://www.progress-index.com/site/n...d=462946&rfi=6
BY PATRICK KANE
STAFF WRITER
03/28/2008
PETERSBURG — After the death of a Civil War expert who was defusing a mortar shell, the National Park Service isn’t taking any chances with explosives. So when employees of Petersburg National Battlefield uncovered a 44-pound, 8-inch diameter mortar shell Thursday morning, they immediately called the Virginia State Police bomb squad.
The shell was discovered as workers and volunteers swept the future path of the park road for artifacts and explosives. The new road will go around the Taylor House.
“We’ve been out there looking for live artillery rounds so it won’t get hit by a bulldozer,” explained Jimmy Blankenship, historian-curator for the battlefield. Metal detectors were used, and they found many musket balls and shell fragments before today.
Julie Steele, cultural resource manager and archaeologist, said that 95 percent of the road is over old roads, but they knew it would cross the old Union line near Fort Morton, “an area of a lot of activity.”
“We found lots of fragments of shells but this the first whole shell,” said Steele.
After it was located, the area was marked, blocked off and the bomb squad was contacted. They came within the hour, said Bob Kirby, park superintendent.
The shell was taken by a bomb disposal vehicle to the Petersburg city landfill, where it was detonated with external explosives. Blankenship said. The hollow iron shell did have live gunpowder. It was destroyed around 1:30 p.m.
The only casualties of this shell were a few scared birds, thanks to a policy still in draft form at the battlefield. The rule change came after relic hunter Samuel H. White of Chester was killed while defusing a similar shell, Blankenship said. White ran an online business, Sam White Relics, from his home at Granite Pointe Court in Chester. He claimed to have diffused more than 500 similar weapons. White was killed in his garage in mid-February, and the shell damaged another home about a quarter-mile away.
“They were meant to kill people,” Blankenship said of the antique weapons. The new battlefield policy is to call the Virginia State Police bomb squad or Fort Belvoir’s explosive ordnance team if they can’t be reached.
Blankenship said it was an anti-personnel weapon fired by the Confederates at Union troops.
“The idea was to have this come down behind the trenches where the men were located. It would explode at tree-top level and sprinkle shrapnel down on the troops,” striking as far as 600 yards away.
“It’s a powerful shell,” he said.
Steele said that finding the shell would help them pinpoint where that Union line existed during the Petersburg battles.
“Now we know a little more,” she said.
• Patrick Kane may be reached at 722-5155 or pkane@progress-index.com.
©The Progress-Index 2008
Online at: http://www.progress-index.com/site/n...d=462946&rfi=6
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