Explosives destroyed at blast site

Published 10:54 pm Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Sixty-nine explosive devices belonging to a Whitfield County man who was injured while trying to defuse a cannonball on Monday were destroyed by members of the U.S. Department of Defense on Tuesday.

Lawrence Christopher, 63, of 4773 Tammy Drive, was attempting to defuse a cannonball from the Civil War era Monday afternoon in an outbuilding at his home when it exploded, according to law enforcement officials. Christopher remained in critical condition at Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga Tuesday night.

Christopher’s grandson, Josh Lock, who was also working on the cannonball, was treated and released from Hamilton Medical Center, according to a news release from the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office.

Christopher is an avid collector of Civil War relics and has a Web site where he lists artifacts for sale, www.cw1861.com. Known as “Lawrence of Dalton,” he is referred to on another dealer’s site as “the Godfather of relics.”

A unit from Fort Benning looked at the devices found at Christopher’s home after the explosion and determined they were unsafe. The devices were destroyed at the sheriff’s office’s training center on Old Prater’s Mill Road in northern Whitfield County.

No charges are anticipated, sheriff’s officials said.