We live about 60 miles north of Charleston, South Carolina. In 1861, cannons blasted out the first shots of the Civil War from Charleston's Fort Sumter.
Last weekend Hurricane Matthew released 16 almost unrecognizable Civil War cannonballs, hidden under sand and sea for 150 years, and exposed them on Charleston's Folly Island beach.
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| (Photo credit: County Sheriff's Department) |
Sunday morning, out for a stroll on the beach, a former mayor of Folly Beach found the rusty pile and called authorities. One of the responding officers was a Civil War reenactor who recognized what they were and the danger of the situation.
The area was immediately closed off until the tide went out and safety procedures could be followed.
Members of the Charleston County Sheriff's Office bomb squad were called in and worked with the U.S. Air Force Explosive Team to detonate some at the scene that were too unstable to transport while others were taken to a nearby Navy base to be detonated.
Can you imagine what might have happened if children out exploring the beach after the hurricane
had been the ones to find them?
During the Civil War Folly Island provided the Union Army a staging area to fire on Confederate forts and for the Siege of Charleston. Gun emplacements lined the beach and thousands of Union soldiers camped on the island and besieged the city from July 1863 to February 1865 when the city finally fell. When it was over, the soldiers went home, abandoning everything where it stood. The equipment of war was soon covered over by sand and sea, and eventually forgotten.
By the beginning of the 20th century, Folly Island beaches were the city of Charleston's ocean playground. Today some of the best surfing on the East Coast is available on Folly beaches and in the summer they are covered with vacationers enjoying the sun and the sea.
I wonder if any of them ever stop think about the war that took place there and what might still be hidden in the sand beneath their bare feet!
Posted with Blogsy
I'm so glad some knowledgeable person found them.
ReplyDeleteGreat historical discovery.
My heart goes out to all affected by this storm.
oh no!! Hurricane Matthew revealed 150 years old treasure....
ReplyDeleteWow. Too bad they couldn't be derigged and kept with other Civil War artifacts.
ReplyDeleteOh, goodness! They found something old, interesting, and dangerous. Good to know they were taken care of properly. Very interesting read, though.
ReplyDeleteI saw the article about them being found, but assumed that they were so old they wouldn't be a problem.
ReplyDeleteAmazing, good thing they were discovered by an adult! Those Civil War Reenactors know their stuff! :)
ReplyDeleteThe things storms strangely bring out from historical events that have lain
ReplyDeleteundiscovered for centuries in some cases.
I should imagine that Waikiki and the Normandy beaches have been VERY carefully
screened for "bangy things".
Colin
The huge storm can uncover lots of surprising long ago objects. I wouldn't be surprised that bodies would be found.
ReplyDeleteWow what luck that no one was injured. Amazing story.
ReplyDeleteA truly amazing story, amazing to think that they are still dangerous after all this time. Thank goodness they were discovered.
ReplyDeleteHow amazing! Thank goodness the person who discovered them realised how dangerous they could be. There are stories here in my state (Queensland) that there is a lot of unexploded devices left buried in the north of the state near the city of Cairns. These were rumoured to have been left by the US forces after WW2. ( you guys saved us!)
ReplyDeleteWhat luck that someone had the forethought to call in the experts. I wouldn't have given them a second glance. Unexploded bombs are still found from time to time in London. There was one not long ago and hundreds of people had to be evacuated until it could be removed and detonated elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteAmazing find, I wouldn't have thought they were that dangerous. We still have unexploded bombs too in our country dating from WWII and from time to time when there is some digging done for building a new appartment we have the same problem as "Fun60" says here above.
ReplyDeleteFascinating! As you say, intriguing to think of what went before. Every now and again an unexploded bomb from WW2 turns up in Britain, often (as per above) when a building is being redeveloped. In Northern France and Belgium, farmers are still turning up the detritus from the First World War; they call it 'the iron harvest'. Sometimes, people are killed - which happened just before the last time I visited Ypres. Actually, somewhere beneath the farmland near Ypres is a massive mine, laid by the British under German lines in 1917, that failed to explode at the time. I've rambled on a bit here - sorry!
ReplyDeleteWow - them were the days when things were built to last! Good job they were recognised and that someone didn't want them for a rockery or something, otherwise you're right could have been a very different tale! - fascinating :)
ReplyDeleteWren
wow interesting discovery so hurricane can be useful sometimes
ReplyDeleteAmazing what is hidden and is suddenly is exposed. I wouldn't have thought they still harbored active explosives.
ReplyDeleteThis is fascinating! What if the hurricane never uncovered them?
ReplyDeletethis is something to think about when visiting areas like this where battles took place. Never been to folly beach, a friend of mine lived there as a young girl and I would love to visit sometimes.
ReplyDeleteThank you for such an interesting post.
betsy