While reading A Wilderness of Miseries by John E. Ferling, I came across this passage in a chapter about typical military discipline during the American Revolutionary War that surprised me:
"Some of the orders were designed to protect the troops from one another, to prevent accidental or deliberate injuries; for instance at the outset of the war officers were notified to fine soldiers around Boston who tried to catch British-fired cannon balls before they stopped bouncing."
Who has to be told, under threat of fine, not to catch a cannon ball?
Ha! That's not anything I ever would have expected to read. Nice find!
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