Samuel White

 

 

 

Tragic Accident involving Civil War Artillery
Sam White of Chesterfield, VA was mortally wounded while disarming an artillery shell 

inRich.com Richmond Times Dispatch
One dead in explosion at house in Chesterfield
Monday, Feb 18, 2008

A man in his 50s died this afternoon in an explosion at a house in Chester caused by what appeared to be a Civil War ordnance, police said.  No other information about the victim was immediately available.

The explosion occurred at a house in the 14100 block of Granite Pointe Court, just off Bradley Bridge Road and east of the Highlands Golfers Club.

Chesterfield's police and fire and EMS officials responded to the house at 1:23 p.m. after a neighbor reported hearing an explosion. Inside, they found the victim's body.

More unexploded ordnance was found at the scene. When the ordnance exploded, a projectile went across Bradley Bridge Road and through the roof a house, but no one there was injured, police said.

Several other agencies have joined county police in their investigation.

Police evacuated several nearby homes and told residents to go to Greenwood Presbyterian Church at 7110 Woodpecker Road.

Chesterfield County Wire

Civil war buff killed by blast


RICHMOND, Va., Feb. 20 (UPI) -- A Civil War buff was killed Tuesday when munitions he apparently handled exploded outside his Virginia home, authorities said.

Samuel H. White, 53, of Chesterfield County, who sold Civil War artillery shells, cannonballs, bullets and other artifacts through his Web site, was fatally wounded by a blast that send a large piece of ordnance flying through the front-porch roof of a house a quarter-mile away, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported Wednesday.

Chesterfield police Capt. Steve Neal said 20-30 nearby homes were evacuated as a precaution after police found unexploded munitions at the house, the newspaper said.

"We evacuated the neighbors in the immediate area just because of the potential that there could be some kind of secondary device," Neal said. "We don't have any reason to believe there will be an additional explosion, but we would rather be safe than sorry."

According to White's Web site, he claimed to have disarmed, cleaned and preserved about 500 artillery projectiles "and still have all my fingers (I must be doing something right, knock on wood)!"

Richmond Times Dispatch

Samuel Hardy White
WHITE, Samuel Hardy, 53, of Chesterfield, died on Monday, February 18, 2008. He is survived by his wife of 29 years, Brenda S. White; and son, Travis H. White; a brother, Fred L. White; sisters, Audrey Webb and Susan Griswold; he was predeceased by a sister, Jane Grutchfield. He is also survived by other loving family members, Anna Auxier, Alan Smith, Denise, Mike, John, Michael and Jacob Evans; Darlene, Gary, Kevin and Josh Conder; Brenda #1, Chris, Kerri, Julia and Holden White; Bryan White, Rachel and Skylar, Andrew White and Lacy, E.G. Webb, Robbie, Amie, Corey and Dylan Leonard, Virginia and David Griswold, George Grutchfield, Karen Skinner and Marvin Bourne, and Abby Miressi; plus dear friends that continue their love and support from all parts of the world. Sam was a loving and devoted husband and father who will be missed by not only his family, but all his friends and colleagues. His love of the history of the Civil War cannot even be measured. He loved what he did and he did what he loved. His memory should always be honored for the man he was and the love he gave. Sam was a graduate of Eastern Kentucky University and was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity and the Central Virginia Civil War Relics Hunters Association. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for all donations to be sent to The Travis White Educational Fund, in memory of Sam White, 6933 Commons Plaza, Suite 238, Chesterfield, Va. 23832. The family will receive friends Friday, February 22 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Petersburg Chapel of J.T. Morriss & Son Funeral Home & Cremation Service. A memorial service will be conducted on Saturday, February 23 at 5 p.m. at the funeral home, with Rev. Keith Ritchie, pastor of Highland United Methodist Church, Colonial Heights, officiating. Interment will be private. Condolences may be registered at www.jtmorriss.com.
 

8 News WRIC Richmond, VA
 
Neighborhood Reopens After Fatal Blast

Updated: Feb 20, 2008 07:26 AM EST

For the first time since a fatal explosion Monday afternoon, the Glebe Point neighborhood in Chesterfield County is back open to its residents.

According to police, a man was killed in the explosion on Granite Pointe Court, which sent shrapnel through the roof of a house nearly a quarter of a mile away on Berkley Davis Court. No one in that home was injured.

Police confirmed late Tuesday morning the victim in the blast is 53-year-old Samuel White. White was a local seller of Civil War relics, including ammunition and artillery shells. White sold the relics from his Web site, http://www.samwhiterelics.com.

Police and fire officials said it appears one of those relics may have caused the explosion, which nearby residents say shook the ground.

Residents of more than 20 homes in and near the Glebe Point neighborhood in southern Chesterfield County were evacuated from their homes until late Tuesday evening.

Overnight, a State Police bomb team took additional explosives from the home to a landfill a short distance away to detonate.

According to another local Civil War relic collector, the danger of having antique military ordnance is very real. Peter George said the cause fo the blast was "almost certainly" caused by drilling into a shell's powder cavity, and getting the drill bit too hot.

"If that cutting blade where all that friction occurs gets up to 550, 600 degrees than you have a problem," said George.

George also said it is perfectly legal to own such relics, since the government does not regulate black-powder relics.

NBC12.com  WWBT.inc Richmond, VA

Memorial to be held for man killed in explosion

Family and friends will gather this weekend to remember a Chesterfield man killed in an explosion earlier this week. A memorial service for 53-year-old Sam White is scheduled for Tuesday. White died in a blast outside his home in the Glebe Point subdivision Monday afternoon. He collected and sold Civil War relics and disarmed military ordnance. Authorities removed dozens of antique munitions from his property

Chesterfield blast victim collected relics

Local, state, and federal agents, including the defense department, are still removing Civil War relics and disarming ammunition from Sam White's house. They say this is an investigation that could take a while.

There is no official word yet on what caused the fatal explosion. Police say White collected and sold the items out of his home in the Glebe Point subdivision.

But, even after the collection is removed, authorities still have to figure what happened and if what he was doing was legal.

White's friends and neighbors spent the day together remembering a man they say was living in the wrong era. Angie Burmham says, "I think it was a reincarnated Civil War officer."

His friends say White grew up in Petersburg and always had a fascination with the Civil War.

When he retired, his hobby of collecting Civil War relics turned into a new career.

His website shows just some of his products and services, one of them, disarming and cleaning Civil War ordnances.

"I know what he was doing when it happened. He used to sit on a bucket outside the garage and used to clean the shells on the bucket," says his friend, Patty Glazier says." I used to laugh because the great dame would come over and get the cannon and roll them down the driveway."

Nothing ever happened until Monday.

Along with the county investigation, ATF agents will also figure out if White broke any laws with potential explosive devices. In Chesterfield, White's business fell through an ordinance loop hole when it came selling them out of his home.

County officials say it's they could change, something these friends say may need happen.

His friends say no matter what, they trusted White and never believed anything of this magnitude would happen but they're making peace with it.

Police still aren't sure if the explosion threw any potential dangerous relic pieces to different parts of the neighborhood.

They're asking those in the area who find anything suspicious looking to call police.

Late Tuesday, 20 or 30 families who were evacuted after the deadly blast on Monday, were allowed back in their homes. Authorities lifted the evacuation and reopened all of the subdivision's roads just before 10pm Tuesday.

Residents return to subdivision evacuated by deadly explosion

More than two dozen families were evacuated from the Glebe Point subdivision Tuesday after an explosion at a neighbor's house. Sam White, 53, was killed in the blast. An evacuation order put in place after a deadly explosion in Chesterfield was lifted last night and residents have been allowed to return to their homes.

More than two dozen families were evacuated from the Glebe Point subdivision Tuesday after an explosion at a neighbor's house. Sam White, 53, was killed in the blast.

Neighbors say White was a Civil War buff who turned his passion into an online business disarming and cleaning civil war ordnances.

Investigators say the explosion may have occurred while White was cleaning some antique weaponry. A chunk of what looked like a cannonball was blown over a quarter mile away and crashed into another home.

Officials say the exact cause of the explosion is still under investigation.

The Chesterfield Fire Dept. is urging owners of similar devices to let them examine the ordnances