In the summer of 1303, 64 year old King Edward I of England was on campaign in Scotland, when a courier brought shocking news from home. Tens of thousands of pounds worth of gold and jewels had been taken from the royal treasury, from what was recognized as the most secure room in the kingdom.
During the civil war, the manufacture of powder and explosives was often handled by the most vulnerable, young women and children, whose labor was needed when so many men had been sent off to war. On March 13, 1863, the confederacy experienced a munitions disaster, in the confederate capitol of Richmond.