Field Guide for Civil War Explosive Ordnance
U. S. NAVAL SCHOOL, EXPLOSIVE ORDNANCE DISPOSAL A FIELD GUIDE FOR CIVIL WAR EXPLOSIVE ORDNANCE By JOHN D. BARTLESON JR. MNCS USN U. S. NAVAL ORDNANCE STATION Indian Head, Maryland FOREWORD During the period of the American Civil War, 1861 to 1865, an estimated 10,000,000 pro- jectiles of all shapes, sizes, and types were fired by the Union and Confederate armies. This can be an alarming figure if one considers the high "dud" rate brought about by imperfections in fuzing. Fortunately, from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) standpoint, the bulk of these unexploded projectiles remain at the major engagement sites such as Gettysburg, Petersburg, Antietam, and the like, and go unmolested by the unwary. However, the National and State Parks control only a small area at each of the battlefield locations found throughout the Eastern United States. Moreover, some of the fringe areas of battle and even some of the bloody areas of conflict and skirmishes are today scenes of rolling countryside populated by farms, modern housing developments, and construction sites. Also countless numbers of these potential haz- ards were placed in hidden caches intended for later use and then forgotten. Unrecorded amounts were abandoned and lost during the heat of battle or forced retreat. Today, some one hundred and eleven years later, these remnants of artillery's history pro- vide an additional responsibility for the EOD team. Annually during the spring planting, these relics are surfaced by the plow. Many of them find a place of esteem by their owners and are used as driveway markers, mantlepiece conversation items, and door stops.
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