Texas man used a live Civil War-era shell as a paperweight for years
Steve Martin from Texas kept an American Civil War-era munition on his desk for years, having received it from his son who found it while fishing. He assumed it was an antique, until a truck driver with a military background warned him it could be a live shell. A bomb squad later confirmed the suspicion.
It all began a few years ago when Jarrett, Martin's son, went fishing on the Guadalupe River in Texas. During the outing, he discovered a heavy, cylindrical iron object weighing about nine kilograms that resembled an old artillery shell. He brought it home and gave it to his father. Martin decided to use it as a paperweight in his office, where it eventually became a point of interest for visitors.
"Almost everyone who enters wants to pick it up, look at it, and touch it," Martin said.
Everyone assumed it was a dummy bomb or a display piece. However, last month, during a routine conversation, Martin discovered that was not the case. A truck driver with a military background who visited the office examined the shell and suggested it might not be a replica.
"He said it could be live ammunition," Martin recalled. Deciding not to take any risks, Martin contacted the Atascosa County Sheriff's Office. Shortly thereafter, explosive ordnance disposal experts from Lackland Air Force Base arrived at his home.
The experts examined the object and reached the same conclusion as the driver: it was a real shell of the type used by artillerymen during the American Civil War. Realizing how close he had come to a potential disaster, Martin watched as the bomb squad detonated the item in a controlled and safe manner.
According to the Atascosa County Sheriff's Office, it is rare to find live ammunition from the Civil War era, though such shells are discovered occasionally. For example, in 2023, an archaeologist working at the Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania found a shell weighing about 4.5 kilograms. In that instance, too, it was found to contain active explosive material and was destroyed in a controlled explosion.
