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Pile of cannonballs at a military fort
Anyone who travels through America’s airports on a regular basis knows there’s a lengthy list of items you’re prohibited from bringing on a plane. TSA agents never know what they’re going to encounter while enforcing those rules, and one guy screening bags in Alabama got quite a surprise after stumbling across some munitions from a military fort with a history stretching back more than two centuries.
The TSA has a reputation for making flying more of a hassle than it probably needs to be, as no one really looks forward to the process of being herded like cattle through the security checkpoints where its byzantine rules seem to change on an hourly basis and you’re made to feel like a criminal for having four ounces of a liquid in a single container instead of three.
Those rules are ostensibly designed with security in mind, as the primary goal of the agency is to screen for potential threats and prevent the kind of attacks that led to its formation (although there is evidence that suggests its ability to do so leaves a lot to be desired).
That includes weapons, like the 6,678 firearms that were seized from people who packed them in a carry-on in 2024. Agents also counter some less-conventional munitions (like a smoke grenade someone jammed in a jar of peanut butter earlier this year), and one traveler certainly checked that box while trying to make their way out of Alabama.
TSA agents at Gulf Shores International Airport in Alabama confiscated five antique cannonballs that were taken from a fort
Fort Morgan is located on the westernmost part of the peninsula where Alabama’s Gulf Shores is located, and it was built in the wake of the War of 1812 as one of three strategic outposts that were constructed to fortify the entrance to Mobile Bay.
It turned into a hub for the Confederate Army during the Civil War before the Union regained control in 1864 after bombarding it for two weeks in the wake of the Battle of Mobile Bay, which was the last time it was on the receiving end of any enemy fire.
The fort remained a military asset that was used as a base of operations during the Spanish-American War and both World Wars, but it was abandoned in the wake of the second before earning National Landmark status in 1960. It’s currently overseen and maintained by the Alabama Historical Commission and open to members of the public.
According to a post the TSA shared last week, that includes one visitor who apparently decided to help themselves to some souvenirs you can’t purchase in the gift shop at Fort Morgan before they had their spot blown up after arriving at Gulf Shores International Airport.
TSA officer Justin Dupree was tasked with screening checked bags on July 18th when he detected “a large opaque item” on the X-ray machine. He thought it might be a medicine ball (which you can take on a plane), but upon further inspection, it ended up being a paper towel that contained “five small cannonballs” (which you cannot take due to their classification as ” artillery munitions”).
An explosive expert was quickly summoned, and they were able to determine the cannonballs were inert. Local police proceeded to conduct an investigation and determined they had been taken from Fort Morgan (although the traveler who had them in their bag was reportedly “unaware” of how that happened), and they were returned to their rightful home.