Civil War cannonball found in Maryland cleared by bombing squad

Maryland Police had to deal with a potential blast from the past after a resident discovered a living cannonball from the Civil War.

The Maryland State Fire Marshal said in a Facebook post that members of the bomb squad were dispatched to Frederick County on March 22 after the device was discovered by an owner.

“The bomb technicians performed diagnostics and determined that the fusion mechanism was still intact,” the fire marshal’s office said.

The owner received the cannonball from another family member who had discovered it earlier near the Monocacy National Battlefield. A bombing squad transported the cannonball safely to the Beaver Creek Quarry in Hagerstown and carried out an emergency disposal, officials said.

The Office of the Fire Marshal said unexploded ordnance was found on the shores of Chesapeake Bay due to the state’s long history of military testing. According to the fire marshal, there are cases where devices are inland and still pose a danger to the public.

“If you have to find out or don’t know if an unidentified object may be military ammunition, be careful rather than sorry. Stay away and call 911, ”State Fire Marshal Brian S. Geraci said in a statement. “Marylanders should be aware that military ammunition, even period artifacts from previous conflicts, have the potential to explode.”