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ATF: Spark caused deadly cannonball blast in Va.
By STEVE SZKOTAK
Associated Press Writer
August 11, 2008
RICHMOND, Va.
A Civil War relic hunter who was killed in an explosion in February was cleaning a cannonball when a spark ignited black powder within the ancient ordnance, a federal investigation concluded Monday.
Sam White, 53, was working on the 9-inch naval cannonball in the driveway of his suburban home with a wire-brush grinder, which ignited the powder, exploding the shell, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms investigation.
A 4-inch piece of shrapnel dug from the asphalt of the driveway contained evidence the shell had been made inert, either by White or the person who sold him the shell, said Bill Dunham, resident agent in charge of the Richmond ATF office.
But naval shells were built to shield the powder from water and other elements, so all of the cannonball's 3 or 4 pounds of black powder were not thoroughly flushed from the shell's casing, Dunham said.
The explosion sent a 1- or 2-pound section of the shell hurtling from the Chester subdivision where White lived and through the roof of a house one-quarter of a mile away. No one else was injured in the Feb. 18 explosion.
Dunham said the investigation did not determine whether White had flushed the shell with water or if he had purchased the shell as inert. "I don't see any criminal responsibility," he said.
White, a respected, widely known member of the Civil War relic hunting community, was using the grinder to clean off residue from the shell, which dated to the 1850s or 1860s. In published accounts before his death, White estimated he had worked on 1,600 shells for collectors and museums.
Brenda White said she has "absolutely no clue" where her husband obtained the shell.
"As far as I'm concerned, Sam did nothing wrong and was doing what he loved and it was one of those freaky, horrific accidents," White wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press.
White's death rocked the passionate fraternity of Civil War collectors and relic hunters, who search trash pits and river bottoms for munitions, clothing and buttons. They fear White's death has inspired officials to destroy any cannonballs that are found.
"The big thing is, we revere Sam's memory and one way to honor him is to allow this hobby to keep on going," said Ben Greenbaum, president of the Central Virginia Relic Hunters Association. "The greater danger is in destroying history."
The Park Service did not immediately return a telephone message left by the AP.
Explosives experts said White's death was an extraordinary event and one rarely recorded since the end of the Civil War. But a U.S. Army explosives expert strongly disagreed that munitions from that period do not pose a modern threat.
"My position is that these old cannonballs, and any cannonball that has an energetic filler, is dangerous and potentially unstable," said Jimmy L. Langley, an explosives and toxic chemical agent safety specialist with the U.S. Army Technical Center for Explosives Safety in Oklahoma.
"These items are dangerous, they were designed as weapons of war to kill people and they can still do just that," he wrote in an e-mail.
Brenda White said her husband would be pained to know his death would "bring such scrutiny to the relic community."
"The majority of these people want nothing more than to see history preserved--not destroyed or hidden away in a museum closet," she wrote.
Dunham said 43 shells were taken from White's home after the explosion and flushed of powder.
Copyright © 2008, Newport News, Va., Daily Press
By STEVE SZKOTAK
Associated Press Writer
August 11, 2008
RICHMOND, Va.
A Civil War relic hunter who was killed in an explosion in February was cleaning a cannonball when a spark ignited black powder within the ancient ordnance, a federal investigation concluded Monday.
Sam White, 53, was working on the 9-inch naval cannonball in the driveway of his suburban home with a wire-brush grinder, which ignited the powder, exploding the shell, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms investigation.
A 4-inch piece of shrapnel dug from the asphalt of the driveway contained evidence the shell had been made inert, either by White or the person who sold him the shell, said Bill Dunham, resident agent in charge of the Richmond ATF office.
But naval shells were built to shield the powder from water and other elements, so all of the cannonball's 3 or 4 pounds of black powder were not thoroughly flushed from the shell's casing, Dunham said.
The explosion sent a 1- or 2-pound section of the shell hurtling from the Chester subdivision where White lived and through the roof of a house one-quarter of a mile away. No one else was injured in the Feb. 18 explosion.
Dunham said the investigation did not determine whether White had flushed the shell with water or if he had purchased the shell as inert. "I don't see any criminal responsibility," he said.
White, a respected, widely known member of the Civil War relic hunting community, was using the grinder to clean off residue from the shell, which dated to the 1850s or 1860s. In published accounts before his death, White estimated he had worked on 1,600 shells for collectors and museums.
Brenda White said she has "absolutely no clue" where her husband obtained the shell.
"As far as I'm concerned, Sam did nothing wrong and was doing what he loved and it was one of those freaky, horrific accidents," White wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press.
White's death rocked the passionate fraternity of Civil War collectors and relic hunters, who search trash pits and river bottoms for munitions, clothing and buttons. They fear White's death has inspired officials to destroy any cannonballs that are found.
"The big thing is, we revere Sam's memory and one way to honor him is to allow this hobby to keep on going," said Ben Greenbaum, president of the Central Virginia Relic Hunters Association. "The greater danger is in destroying history."
The Park Service did not immediately return a telephone message left by the AP.
Explosives experts said White's death was an extraordinary event and one rarely recorded since the end of the Civil War. But a U.S. Army explosives expert strongly disagreed that munitions from that period do not pose a modern threat.
"My position is that these old cannonballs, and any cannonball that has an energetic filler, is dangerous and potentially unstable," said Jimmy L. Langley, an explosives and toxic chemical agent safety specialist with the U.S. Army Technical Center for Explosives Safety in Oklahoma.
"These items are dangerous, they were designed as weapons of war to kill people and they can still do just that," he wrote in an e-mail.
Brenda White said her husband would be pained to know his death would "bring such scrutiny to the relic community."
"The majority of these people want nothing more than to see history preserved--not destroyed or hidden away in a museum closet," she wrote.
Dunham said 43 shells were taken from White's home after the explosion and flushed of powder.
Copyright © 2008, Newport News, Va., Daily Press
