Battle of New Orleans.

Monday, October 12, 2015

HMS Hussar-- Part 3: Blown "Straight Back to Hell"

In 1876, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers determined to take care of the dangerous Hell's Gate passage by blowing "the worst features of Hell's Gate straight back to hell with 25 tons of dynamite."  The Hussar's remains, if there are any, are believed to be beneath the landfill of the Bronx.

On January 16, 2013, preservationists with the Central Park Conservancy discovered gunpowder, wadding and a cannonball in one of the two recovered cannons.  The bomb disposal unit removed about 1.8 pounds of active black powder and disposed of it.

"We silenced British cannon fire in 1776 and we don't want to hear it again in Central Park," according to a New York Police Department statement.

--Brock-Perry

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