Workers in NYC, at Central Park, were working on the preservation of a Revolutionary War era cannon, originally from the HMS Hussar, a British warship, when they discovered it was full of blackpowers, wadding and a cannonball! From the article: "We silenced British cannon fire in 1776, and we don't want to hear it again in Central Park," New York police said in a statement to CNN affiliate WCBS. For the full story click here: http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/13/us/new-york-loaded-antique-cannon/index.html
Remarkable article. I'm glad nobody was hurt. It's amazing how primitive we consider the weaponry from that time, yet how much of it still remains functional over 200 years later.
A loaded cannon. In the middle of New York City. All this time. I was laughing hard at first, but then I had this mental image of a 1930's movie burglar sneaking up to it with a lighter, and then my sides split. But seriously, that's insane. The cannon's actually worth more to some collectors, because it is loaded, but I suspect it will never be put up for sale.
And isn't New York the place with some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation because they feel that guns hurt people? That gigantic gun has been sitting in the middle of New York loaded and ready to fire for >200 years and it hasn't hurt a soul.
THATS AWESOME! im glad it didnt go off or anything so since this one has been found with gunpwoder and a cannonball in it who knows how many other cannons have the same thing in them. maybe they should be checked. for safety ahaha and it would be cool to find more of this stuff!!
That is crazy, I am glad the cannon didn't fire. The repercussions if the cannon had fired, and hurt someone would have been horrible. I wouldn't come within a mile of a revolutionary war cannon, those weapons just needed one spark, and they would go off. It is amazing how different war has become, contrary to the age old saying.
It's pretty strange really. Normally when cannons and other artillery are displayed they are totally incapacitated. They are normally filled with lead. Some are filled with concrete also, but the theory of the lead filled cannon is that if it is needed the lead can be easily melted and cleaned out. A cannon in any park and in any town would become a publish trash can and ash tray if it were not capped, but in New York somebody would have already tried to load it up (again?) and fire it off. You would think that who ever cleans it out would have noticed that the bore of the cannon had a strange round thing in it. Are you really, really sure this isn't yet another urban legend?
