3 hours ago
2
Image: WTVA 9 News/YouTube
What began as an ordinary day of digging on private land in Mississippi turned into one of the state's most remarkable Civil War discoveries in recent years. While working on his property, a local resident uncovered what initially appeared to be a handful of rusted iron spheres.
As excavation continued, the number kept growing until more than 200 Civil War-era cannonballs emerged from the ground. The cache, buried for over 160 years, is believed to date back to the American Civil War, offering a rare glimpse into one of the conflict's most turbulent periods. The discovery also prompted an urgent response from explosives experts, as some of the projectiles still had the potential to contain explosive material despite spending more than a century underground.
A routine excavation uncovered one of Mississippi's largest Civil War ordnance discoveries
The discovery was made by Bobby Boyette on his Mississippi property, as he was conducting excavations, and the workers started to unearth massive iron balls underground.According to The New York Post, it all started as a single discovery that eventually became much bigger. While digging, more and more cannonballs were found in the same place until they amounted to over 200, leaving everyone involved surprised.Considering the age and nature of these items, officials determined that these were the cannonballs of Civil War times, which took place between 1861 and 1865.
Bomb disposal experts were called because some cannonballs could still be dangerous
Even though more than a century and a half had gone by since the Civil War, the finding was handled with utmost caution.It is for this reason that the explosive ordnance disposal team was summoned to examine the find because some old cannon balls can still be explosive even if they have not been fired.This means that the experts had to examine the old balls to find out whether there were solid iron shot and which could still be explosive.
The cache may have been buried during military activity more than 160 years ago
Even though the real cause for the burials of the cannonballs is unknown, historians believe that they most probably came into being due to warfare in the Civil War times in Mississippi.There were many battles and military operations conducted in Mississippi at that time, and armies moved around carrying gunpowder supplies in the state. Some of the gunpowder supplies could have been left behind as well.According to the New York Post, there is such a quantity of cannonballs found that it is possible that they used to be part of the supply.
Civil War discoveries continue to emerge beneath American soil
Over 160 years after the end of the Civil War, archaeological finds still keep on uncovering hidden remains of the war in America.Objects such as bullets, artillery, weaponry, and even private belongings are found from time to time while working on farms, construction projects, and excavation works, allowing historians to learn a lot about the troops' locations during the war. What makes the Mississippi discovery unique is both its magnitude and historical value.Finding more than 200 cannonballs from the period of the Civil War in one spot is quite unusual, giving yet another chance to touch upon one of the most important wars in American history while emphasising the necessity of handling historic military ordnance very carefully even after such a long time underground.
