Wind of Ball
Very (very) rarely, I come across isolated incidents in which the close passage of a cannonball (solid shot) to a man's head or torso results in severe trauma/injury or death. The former tends to involve land-based (ie smaller calibre) projectiles, whilst the latter centres around larger calibre weapons; an example of the former would be the trooper of the Garde cavalry (Grenadiers a Cheval, if I remember correctly), whom Larrey noted as having been struck dumb after an enemy ball had whistled past his face; the man never recovered, as Larrey kept in touch with him for the rest of his life, and of the latter was a Royal Navy officer who had a large-calibre ball (probably the French equivalent of a 24- or 32-pounder) pass by right next to his abdomen and who died 2 or 3 days later. In all cases there is no external indication of any actual physical contact between the round and the person. Has anyone come across any learned medical papers - either modern or contemporary - discussing this phenomenon, and if not, what is the Forum's view on the actual cause of death?
There's something known as "voodoo death" where extreme fear or other psychosomatic cause can actually cause death. That might be a factor in this.