Civil War cannonball kills Virginia relic collector
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May 2, 4:25 PM (ET)

By STEVE SZKOTAK

(AP) The floor in the home of Sam and Brenda White contains de-activated Civil War munitions in Chester,...
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CHESTER, Va. (AP) - Like many boys in the South, Sam White got hooked on the Civil War early, digging up rusting bullets and military buttons in the battle-scarred earth of his hometown.

As an adult, he crisscrossed the Virginia countryside in search of wartime relics - weapons, battle flags, even artillery shells buried in the red clay. He sometimes put on diving gear to feel for treasures hidden in the black muck of river bottoms.

But in February, White's hobby cost him his life: A cannonball he was restoring exploded, killing him in his driveway.

More than 140 years after Lee surrendered to Grant, the cannonball was stil