In the months after the conclusion of the Civil War, the Miners’ Journal newspaper of Pottsville, PA ran an unusual story in its columns.

It told of the violent death of Anthony Burns at West West, a suburb west of Pottsville. The cause of death: an artillery shell being placed over an open fire.

From the Miners’ Journal, September 1865:

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Killed by the Explosion of a Shell

On Sunday last Anthony Burns, aged 60 years, living at West West, this County, while holding a 12 pound shell over a fire at his house, to get as it is supposed the lead out, it exploded, killing Burns instantly, and slightly wounding a son and daughter who were present.

The shell was formerly the property of the 1st New York Artillery; was found by a boy about a year since, and had been lying about Mr. Burn’s house during that time.

This unfortunate occurrence should prove a warning to those having such dangerous missiles on their premises.

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The 1st New York Artillery was one of the units stationed in Pottsville during the Civil War to oppose those fighting against the Federal draft and workers attempting to organize strikes in Schuylkill County’s coal mines. Evidently, they left one of their artillery shells behind when they left their encampments in the Coal Region.

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(Image: Civil War artillery shell in the collections of the National Museum of American History)