STILLWATER, N.Y. (Tribune News Service) — A 6-pound British cannon (Cannon #102) was recently donated to Saratoga National Historical Park by the Department of the Army to the National Park Service (NPS). The park will permanently preserve Cannon #102 as a part of its museum collection.
“The National Park Service is honored to continue to be the stewards of this significant piece of history from the Battles and Siege of Saratoga,” said Superintendent Leslie Morlock in a press release. “It has been a pleasure to partner with the Department of the Army to recover Cannon #102 and secure its return to Saratoga National Historical Park, where it will remain in our care.”
This British Cannon, crafted from bronze in 1756, was captured by the Continental Army in October 1777 after defeating the British Army at the Battles and Siege of Saratoga. According to the release, the brass light 6-pounder cannons were the most desired type of artillery used by the British and Americans during the War for Independence. British General Burgoyne had 18 light 6-pounders captured by the Continental Army, among other weapons.
Throughout the war, the Continental Army continued to use the light six-pounders captured at Saratoga. Only three of the original 18 light 6-pounders captured at Saratoga are known to remain in existence today, the release noted. This alone makes this cannon of great value to historians. It was engraved with trophy honors marking the cannon as Surrender Cannon from Saratoga at West Point in 1783.
In 1934, the town of Saratoga secured a loan of Cannon #102 from the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation which was its steward at that time. However, rather than being displayed, it remained in storage in a Schuylerville barn until 1961. It was then taken to Saratoga Springs, where it was allegedly illegally sold to a collector of militaria.
Despite attempts to track down its location over the years and return it to Saratoga, it was essentially lost. In 2009, a visitor to Saratoga National Historical Park commented to park staff that he had just seen a cannon with Saratoga trophy engravings at a museum in Alabama. An NPS team visited the museum in Tuscaloosa and confirmed its identity as the missing Cannon #102.
In 2011, the NPS and the U.S. Army Center for Military History agreed to pursue the case for the retrieval of Cannon #102 on behalf of the U.S. Army. In 2013, the Westervelt Company and the Tuscaloosa Museum of Art returned it to the Department of the Army. Later that year, the Center officially loaned the cannon to the park, where it has been ever since.
The release notes that National Park Week (April 22-April 30) is an excellent time to see Cannon #102 and talk with park rangers and volunteers at the park’s Visitor Center, which is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
By RON ROSNER, April 23,2023
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