in the late 70's. Thanks for posting this .

Unexploded gunpowder would make them potential volatile. Safety first.

yup

Cannonballs, aka "round shot," don't explode because they have no filler. A round-shot charge for a 12-pound cannon was one 12-pound solid iron ball with two and a half pounds of black powder behind it. You fire this thing and it just tears people to pieces...and when the ball lands it's still got enough kinetic energy to tear the fuck out of anything in its path. (Good war story from the Revolution: During one minor battle, the British and Americans had the same caliber cannons and both had plenty of powder, but the Americans had no cannonballs. The American commander came up with a wonderful solution: "One pint of rum to any man who picks up a cannonball and brings it back to the battery." So they'd fire a shot, we'd pick the ball up and fire it back, they'd pick the ball up and fire it back...Rufus T. Firefly's seven-cent nickel all over again.

filled with powder and a timed fuse. Other than the usual applications, they were also useful against fortifications such as Battery Wagner over on Morris Island. The point was for a shell to explode somewhere above a fortification's walls so as to shower the defenders with shrapnel. Needless to say, they weren't always reliable, but still a step above solid shot. If they are hollow shot, even in water that long, it's probably still prudent to take precautions.

Sorry to go on and on, but I've been fascinated but such things since I was old enough to walk around, hunting for minnie balls after a heavy rain.

Published May 02, 2008 Associated Press

CHESTER, Va. – Like many boys in the South, Sam White got hooked on the Civil War early, digging up rusting bullets and military buttons in the battle-scarred earth of his hometown.

As an adult, he crisscrossed the Virginia countryside in search of wartime relics — weapons, battle flags, even artillery shells buried in the red clay. He sometimes put on diving gear to feel for treasures hidden in the black muck of river bottoms.

But in February, White's hobby cost him his life: A cannonball he was restoring exploded, killing him in his driveway.

...2 battles were fought to take Ft. Wagner, a bit north on Morris Island. The US Navy shelled the hell out of Wagner both times. Plus occasionally shelling other rebel positions in and around the area. Overall, a whole lot of action around Charleston from 1861 to its fall in 1865. Thus, you just never know what you'll uncover all around the area. That's not even counting the action that took place during the Revolution.

Bomb squad since many shells in those days were explosive....ie. hollow iron shot with powder inside and a fuse. In the water a hell of a long time, but it's prudent to take no chances. One of those exploding would ruin your whole day.

Including a little 21" Austrian Carbine used by one of Jeb stuart's cavalrymen during the battle of Gettysburg. That era always fascinated me.

So much history remains buried below the surface.