Photo By Claudia Neve | In July 2024, an unusual discovery was made on one of Fort McCoy’s training ranges...... read more read more
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In July 2024, an unusual discovery was made on one of Fort McCoy’s training ranges that sparked interest among archaeologists and workers alike.
What was first believed to be a Civil War-era shell unearthed during training was later revealed to be a replica used in reenactments during the 1970s to 1990s.
Range Safety Specialist Erik Christianson received a call regarding unexploded ordnance (UXO) that was found on one of the ranges. Finding UXO is not an uncommon experience while training, however, upon Christianson’s safety inspection and slight excavation of the UXO he noticed it did not have any tell-tale signs of modern ammunition.
“What was unique about this was there was no firing pin to indicate that it was any sort of projectile. There were no fins to indicate that it was any sort of mortar… taking some dirt away around it I noticed that there was a spot for a fuse.” Christianson recalled.
Christianson then called the Explosive Ordnance Disposal team to ensure that the shell was rendered safe before further action. After calls were made, the explosive ordnance team with the 115th Fighter Wing of the Wisconsin Air National Guard in Madison was planning to take action to blow up the unidentified shell.
Thankfully before that was possible historians stepped in to do research on the possibly rare artifact.
Garrison Archaeologist Ryan Howell spearheaded the research in tracking down the origins of the Civil War-era shell. Since the Civil War concluded decades before Fort McCoy was established in 1909, it was a mystery on how the shell ended up in an impact area that has only been operational since 1942.
“There was no Civil War battle around here, no training from that era, so it left us wondering: how did it get here?” Howell explained.
Initial theories speculated that the artifact could have been a battlefield souvenir brought to the base during World War II, as it wasn’t uncommon for Soldiers to collect items to take home. However, upon sending photos of the artifact to an expert at Fort Snelling, Minn., the object was identified as an experimental shell — a model that was never mass-produced or fired during the Civil War. This deepened the mystery of how such an item could be found in the base’s impact area.
Howell then further consulted with experts at Fort Snelling where the Civil War ordinance could have been used historically. “I called up there, sent pictures to the archaeologists and historians who work up there. One of them, a Civil War reenactor, recognized the shell,” Howell said.
The artifact was identified as the work of the Paulson Brothers Ordnance Company, based in Clear Lake, Wis.
The Paulson Brothers are well-known for creating replicas for Civil War reenactments.
“It turns out, they had been firing these replica shells into our impact area back in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s,” Howell said. The shell, though real in terms of design and materials, was a modern replica.
Further inspection confirmed that the artifact was still live, containing black powder, though it hadn’t fully detonated. “Some of the bursting charge went off, but it didn’t blow the shell into fragments,” Howell explained, adding that the markings on the shell, particularly the “10-pounder” inscription, were tell-tale signs of its modern origin.
This discovery not only solved the mystery but highlighted the overlap between historical artifacts and modern-day military reenactments.
“Pictures of it fooled all the experts,” Howell concluded, “but in the end, what we found was not from the 1860s battlefield — it was from a 1970s reenactment.”
The shell itself, once fully cleaned and prepared, will eventually make its way to be on display at the Fort McCoy History Center, garrison officials said.
Learn more about Army history by visiting the Army Center for Military History at https://history.army.mil. Also, visit Fort McCoy’s page on DVIDS at https://www.dvidshub.net/unit/FMPAO and search “This Month in Fort McCoy History” or “Fort McCoy ArtiFACT” for more history related stories about the installation.
Fort McCoy’s motto is to be the “Total Force Training Center.”
Located in the heart of the upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin.
The installation has provided support and facilities for the field and classroom training of more than 100,000 military personnel from all services nearly every year since 1984.
Learn more about Fort McCoy online at https://home.army.mil/mccoy, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortmccoywi, and on X (formerly Twitter) by searching “usagmccoy.”
Also try downloading the My Army Post app to your smartphone and set “Fort McCoy” or another installation as your preferred base. Fort McCoy is also part of Army’s Installation Management Command where “We Are The Army’s Home.”
| Date Taken: | 10.09.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 10.09.2024 16:26 |
| Story ID: | 482858 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 722 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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