Civil War Artillery Shell Used as Paperweight Turns Out to Be Live Explosive
A Texas resident named Steve Martin unknowingly used a 20-pound Parrott artillery shell from the Civil War as a paperweight. He received the shell from his son, who discovered it while fishing. Initially, it sparked conversations until a truck driver raised the possibility that it might be live. Martin reached out to the Atascosa County Sheriff's Office, where experts from Lackland Air Force Base verified it was indeed a live explosive. The shell was safely detonated at Camp Bullis, located more than 50 miles away from Atascosa County. Martin was taken aback, and Eric Kaiser from the Sheriff's Office mentioned the frequent discoveries of unexploded ordnance from past wars, referencing similar finds in Maryland, Gettysburg, and WWII-era bombs in England and Dresden.
Key facts
- Steve Martin used a Civil War artillery shell as a paperweight for years.
- The shell was a live Parrott round, weighing about 20 pounds.
- The Parrott rifle was invented by Robert Parker Parrott in 1860.
- Experts from Lackland Air Force Base responded to Martin's call.
- The shell was safely detonated at Camp Bullis.
- Eric Kaiser commented on the rarity of such old ordnance.
- Similar Civil War explosives were found in Maryland in 2021 and Gettysburg in 2023.
- World War II bombs have been discovered in England and Japan in 2024.
Entities
Artists
- Steve Martin
- Robert Parker Parrott
Institutions
- Atascosa County Sheriff's Office
- Lackland Air Force Base
- Camp Bullis
- National Park Service
- FBI St. Louis Field Office
- Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal
- Gettysburg National Military Park
Locations
- Texas
- Atascosa County
- San Antonio
- Camp Bullis
- Maryland
- Monocacy National Battlefield
- Gettysburg
- Pennsylvania
- England
- Japan
- Dresden