BY KAREN MILLER, (published August 2018, reprinted with permission by the Amelia Islander Magazine)

In December 2016, just two months after Hurricane Matthew unearthed 16 live Civil War cannonballs on Folly Beach in Charleston, South Carolina, our own Amelia Island Museum of History was evacuated after live ordnance was discovered in its possession. Civil War expert and Park Ranger, Frank Ofeldt had been called in to identify the cannonballs – that’s when he discovered they were “live,” with the possibility of exploding. Although Ofeldt feels people shouldn’t panic over finding a cannonball in their backyard, precautions should be taken. “If you find a cannonball or shell, you should leave it be, and call the police department’s non-emergency number,” he says. “They will then come in, cordon off the area, and call the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Bomb Squad, who will take the cannonballs to a safe place and detonate them.”

After the cannonballs were discovered, Amelia Island residents became fascinated with the idea that live munitions could be found around the island, including this writer, who didn’t know anything about the difference between live and non-live cannonballs. I called my friend Ranger Frank to ask him if he would give me a lesson on Civil War projectiles, and he agreed, inviting me to Fort Clinch to learn more about the cannonballs that were used during the War Between the States. But then he took my lesson a step further – “Hey Karen,” he said, “Do you want to shoot a cannon while you’re here?”

Shoot a cannon? Not something that was on my bucket list, but dang, who wouldn’t want to shoot a real Civil War cannon! My husband Troy agreed to photograph the momentous event, and Frank instructed me on the proper way to load and fire a 10-pdr. parrott rifle, which was used by both Union and Confederate armies in combat. Before the actual shoot, Frank showed us examples of various projectiles, including shots, which are solid, round non-explosive (non-live) cannonballs; shells, which are exploding (live) cannonballs, also called bombs; and spherical case shots which would have been filled with shrapnel and an explosive chemical mixture. Some of these projectiles would be fitted with a contact fuse to explode upon impact; others would contain a timed-delay fuse. 

The first step in firing a cannon is to insert a cartridge, a bag of black powder encased in cotton – or in this case, aluminum foil. Then the cartridge is rammed to the breech of the cannon with a rammer. For our purposes, we weren’t using a real cannonball, so the next step was to poke a priming wire down the vent to puncture the cartridge, thus exposing some of the powder. A breech sight was then inserted for aiming the cannon, and removed. Frank then explained and demonstrated the friction primer, which is the trigger. It consists of a brass tube and serrated wire key; surrounding the key is a sparking compound and the rest of the tube is filled with gunpowder. The key is attached to a lanyard, which is what I pulled to shoot the cannon.

Cannon-shooting is a noisy affair, and I was instructed to pull the lanyard down quickly with my right hand, while turning my head to the left, away from the blast. Once Frank had everything set up, he started the countdown, while backing away from me and my cannon. “Three…two…one!” he called out, and as I pulled the lanyard, BOOM! went the cannon, much louder than I expected, the air filling with smoke and the smell of black powder. 

What an experience! I can see clearly why Civil War reenactors have a passion for their hobby – especially if once a month you get to shoot a cannon! The first weekend of each month, Fort Clinch hosts Living History Weekend, where visitors can watch reenactors gather at the Fort to shoot cannons, perform marching drills, cook stew in cast iron pots, and live as the soldiers did back in 1864. For more information about the Fort’s events call (904) 277-7274 or visit www.floridastateparks.org/park-events/Fort-Clinch.

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