Here is a reply from someone who is involved in Civil War reenactments/living history -- comes from a history list.

I hope it helps.

Dann Hayes
Grinnell College
Grinnell, Iowa

--------------
reply follows
-----------------

Second;  as an old retired artillery Sergeant,  I can tell you that the
vibrations,  concusion and earth tremors resulting from artillery fire
(at least modern day artillery fire) do have an effect on man made
structures.

Case in point is civilian dwelling encroachment on the firing ranges at
Fort Sill,  Oklahoma,  home of the US Field Artillery School.

While assigned to 3d Corps Artillery at Fort Sill from 89 - 93 (my
retirement post),  while supervising a Battalion FA Meteorology Station, 
we were continually contacted by the Post Staff Judge Advocate for
weather data pertaining to specific days when impact and vibrations from
artillery fire allegedly caused structural damage to nearby dwellings on
the outside of the fence of the military reservation.

The purpose of these inquiries was to help the SJA to determine if the
Government was liable for damages to civilian property off of the
boundaries of the military reservation.

Depending upon a variety of weather related factors,  not the least of
which are wind direction,  wind speed,  barometric pressure,  dew point
and relative humidity,  a structure could experience significant forces
that might cause windows to break,  plates to fall from cupboard shelves,
 pictures to tilt,  and plaster to crack.

There may be a large gulf between artillery fire of old and the modern
fire systems of today,  but weather factors of a constant scientific
nature remain the same.

Please inform us of the indepth nature of what made you pose that
question,  if you will.

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).