The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1903-02-05
AFTER MANY YEARS.
Cannon Ball Fired in War of 1917
Hits Man in Year 1909.
Interesting Historic Relic lie on-
earthed Near Bladensburg and In
side . Message Saying That
the Briti.h Are Coming.

An old rusty cannon ball, fired from
a British field piece at the attack on
Bladensburg, Maryland, by the Eng
lish force under Gen. Ross and Lieut.
Wainwright during the war OF lols'
hit a laborer working a short distance
outside of that town the other day ana
broke his leg. The ball, when exam
ined, was found to inclose q roll OF
parchment addressed TO 1.-The COM
manding officer of the American force
defending Washington, and contain
ing a detailed account of the plans OF
Admiral Cockburn, the commander in
chief of the British naval force then
in the Potomac, and of which the land
expedition was part, for his march ON
Washington and the destruction OF the
national capital. The communication
was signed "Timson Howard, mate OF
the American merchantmen, General
Stone, and victim of the British press
gang"
John Key, the man injured by the
cannot ball, was one of gang of col
ored laborers engaged in cutting Il
road near Bladenburg. He was work
ing at the bottom of steep, 5O-foot
slant when the pick of a laborsr at the
top of the elevation dislodged from
the earth, where il had lain for nearly
a century, the big, rusty relic. 1t
rolled down the hill and struck Key
with considerable force, breaking his
leg near the ankle.
After the man had been cared for
and put on train for Washington, the
foreman of the gang rolled the cannon
ball to a nearby creek and removed
some of the earth and rust. He noticed
that the ball was hollow, and, not know
ing that explosive shells were not in
use during the war of 1872, curiosity
impelled him to dig in the interior of
the relic with knife, to see, as he
explained later. how the powder in
the shell had withstood the ravages
of 90 years,
| After the foreman had cut away the
dirt from the, two-inch hole in the big
piece of iron, his knife brought out 1
roll of parchment. yellow and dis
colored with age. but which, when I'm
rolled. proved to be the communication
mentioned above. \ considerable por
ton of the writing was illegible, bu
enough could he read to make fairly
, connected whole.
, The communication signed by Ho
phraseology of the document was
man of some education. explains tina
he had been impressed into the British
service shortly before the beginnin.
IF the war and had since beeneompelle,
to serve against his country. Will
acting as orderly to Admiral Cock
. burn he had learned that the Britis
e commander in chief intended to sac
and burn Washington and lay vast
the surrounding country. A porto
of the writing says:
u with the aid of God Almighty lie
g all--patriots rally to-Washingto
: and--marauders who are coming
rapine and murder-defeated /
former egain-throug
i naval sunr@macy--press gang on
II rages--l,st before"
|. y postscript to the note explain
4 that Howard wrote nearly 100 of ii
= warnings, and knowing that the Amer
, cans mGfea practice If using overag at
u the CT nnon balls fired at them by Il
le British, had Slipped the papers I'M
u shells carried by the land force viii,
20 ma che IN BlaGens burg. in the 70
Torn hope that at least one of the not
'e might be discovered.
e, --