Civil War shell found at Florida residence; will be used by Air Force for EOD training

Authorities have removed a Civil War-era artillery shell that a man who lives 35 miles north of Tampa, Fla., found while going through a shed, officials said.

(Hernando County Sheriff's Office)

A explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) technician from a nearby military base used an X-ray at the scene to determine that the 30-pound Dahlgren shell had no fuse or powder.

"They didn't need to dispose of it," said 2nd Lt. Allison Mills of MacDill Air Force Base.

In a series of Facebook posts and an incident report, the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office detailed what occurred Monday afternoon at a home in Spring Hill.

The man who had called deputies said he was in the shed of a friend when he made the discovery, an Hernando County incident report said. The shed owner said that the cylindrical, cone-shaped round had belonged to his deceased stepfather and had been in the shed for years. "The object appeared to have a metal plug inserted into the tip."

Deputies who received a call in turn called in the bomb squad from the sheriff’s office in nearby Citrus County. That group then reached out MacDill Air Force Base, which sent the expert to remove the object.

Roads were closed, but no homes were evacuated.

Mills, who is with the public affairs office of the 6th Air Mobility Wing at MacDill, told the Picket that the sand-filled shell will be kept for future EOD training on base.

"The EOD flight has found munitions from the WWI, WWII, and Civil war eras several times over the years in the Tampa Bay area," Mills said. "On average, we respond to about 5-6 events like this a year."

Dumped by Sherman? Utility soon to resume removing 'metallic' objects from S.C. river

Burning of Columbia, Feb. 1865 (William Waud, Library of Congress)

Historic flooding earlier this month in Columbia, South Carolina, put a temporary hold on the removal of objects from a river where Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman is believed to have dumped captured munitions.
 

“Prior to the flooding, we did work on removing the metallic objects for several days,” said Ginny Jones, senior public affairs specialist for SCANA, parent company of utility SCE&G. “Nothing we found at that time was of historical significance. We plan to resume work on the project on Nov. 2.”

The State newspaper has reported that sonar and metal detection have located where the weapons were likely dumped into the Congaree River near the Gervais Street bridge. But no one is certain the objects are associated with the Civil War.

Sherman, on his way to North Carolina after seizing the South Carolina capital, kept what he wanted of Confederate ordnance and threw the rest into the river in February 1865.

“It is certainly possible that historical objects could still be found; we still just don’t know what’s there until we dig it up,” Jones said in an email to the Civil War Picket.

Gervais Street bridge (NPS)

EOTI, a Tennessee company, has been contracted to help deal with any Civil War-related munitions that are found. “That likely would involve placing a cover over any explosives consultants find, then detonating the material in place,” the newspaper reported, quoting a SCANA official. “The cover would keep the explosion contained to protect the public and the surrounding environment.”

EOTI referred Picket questions to SCANA.

SCE&G is conducting a remediation project in the Congaree River because of the detected presence of tar. It says tests show it to be coal tar created by manufactured gas plants that operated throughout Columbia more than century ago.

The State, in a preview of this phase of the work, said workers will go through soil in the river and remove 74 objects.

Officials previously told the newspaper that any recovered cannonballs, scabbards, sabers or cartridges will likely be housed at the S.C. Confederate Relic Room.