Unexploded Union Naval Shell Found at Fort McAllister-- Part 1

From the Jan. 20, 2011, Savannah Daily News "Unexploded Union Naval shell found at Fort McAllister" by Jamie Parker.

In March 1863, the monitor USS Patapsco, 1600 yards of Confederate Fort McAllister in the Ogeechee River was firing shells at the earthen fort.

In 2010, one of its shells turned up.  Where and how it was found is a mystery, but the fact was that after almost 150 years, the shell was live and capable of exploding.  The person who found it said it was about a mile from the fort behind a house.  He knew it was probably a live shell because there were no holes in it and the fuse was intact.  The 200-pound Parrot rifled shot was deactivated by drilling two holes into it (I imagine quite carefully) and flushing out two pounds of black powder with water and removing the fuse.

Had the shell gone off, it probably would have made a hole large enough to bury a pony in it.

Experts think the monitor was probably just trying to get rid of the shell because it was so far from the fort, but most likely, the person who found it was looking where he shouldn't have been.

Bet the Guy Was Where He Shouldn't Have Been.  --Old B-R'er