Civil War artillery shell discovered in downtown Charleston

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An artillery shell from the Civil War was discovered in downtown Charleston this week.

Charleston Police Department tweeted Wednesday that the shell was found by a construction crew at Gillian Street, which is in the heart in the historic city. Roads were closed in the area while a U.S. Air Force Explosive Ordnance Disposal team removed the shell.

A spokesman for the Charleston Police Department confirmed to Fox News that the shell was subsequently destroyed by the Air Force EOD team.

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An important Confederate port during the Civil War, Charleston withstood a long siege by Union forces until its surrender on Feb. 18, 1865.

The Civil War artillery shell discovered in downtown Charleston. (Charleston Police Department)

Other Civil War ordinance has been discovered in the Palmetto State in recent years. Last year, for example, two Civil War cannonballs were uncovered on a South Carolina beach in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian. The cannonballs were found on Folly Beach, which is located on Folly Island, a barrier island near Charleston.

Civil War sites and artifacts from the era regularly offer fresh glimpses into the bloody conflict. A Civil War-era gravestone linked to the infamous Quantrill’s Raid, for example, was discovered last year in a Kansas forest.

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Also in 2019, a Civil War cannonball was discovered lodged in a walnut tree at a historic house in Independence, Mo.

Earlier in the year, archaeologists in Delaware located the gravestone of a Civil War soldier that may provide a vital clue in uncovering a long-lost African-American cemetery.

In 2018, the remains of two Civil War soldiers were discovered in a surgeon’s burial pit at Manassas National Battlefield Park in Virginia. Also in 2018, a vacationer on a North Carolina beach captured drone footage of Civil War-era shipwreck.

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In 2017, forensic linguists said they had likely unraveled the mystery surrounding a famous Civil War-era letter long believed to have been written by President Abraham Lincoln.

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In 2015, the remains of a Confederate warship were raised from the Savannah River in Georgia. The following year, the wreck of a large iron-hulled Civil War-era steamer was discovered off the coast of North Carolina. The ship, which was found off Oak Island, N.C., was tentatively identified as the blockade runner Agnes E. Fry.

Fox News’ Madeline Farber and The Associated Press contributed to this article.

Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers