TSA Seizes Stolen Civil War Cannonballs at Alabama Airport

On July 18, 2026, TSA officers at Gulf Shores International Airport in Alabama uncovered five Civil War‑era cannonballs wrapped in paper towels inside a checked suitcase. Lead officer Justin Dupree first thought the dense object might be a medicine ball, but after a closer inspection he described the largest as “about the size of a grapefruit.” Supervisory officer Richard Cash reported the items could be hazardous and alerted explosives specialists and local law enforcement.

The cannonballs were determined to be inert artillery munitions, prohibited from aircraft, and were later identified as stolen from Fort Morgan. Police said a juvenile had taken the artifacts from a storage area at the historic fort and placed them in the passenger’s grandmother’s luggage. The grandmother was unaware of the theft. The Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office recovered the cannonballs and returned them to Fort Morgan, with the site declining to press charges.