Cannon Fire

       More Letters From Paradise

              Cannon Fire

Several years after the Civil War ended, the ranks of the Union veterans began to leave gaps in the Petersburg village parades. To commemorate the gaps, the suggestion was made and accepted at a meeting of the G.A.R. that they purchase a cannon and place it beside the statue of the Union soldier in the park. The search for a cannon was without difficulty, as so many had been manufactured. It is not known how much or how little was paid for the six pound smooth-bore. But we do know that it was made at the Waterviet Arsenal in New York in 1842. The cannon was marked U.S., and 77 on the muzzle, and the wheels were made of oak. The cannon had a proud history, being used in many battles during the war, and marched with General Sherman through Georgia.
Soon after its arrival, the cannon was installed in the designated place next to the statue of the Union soldier and promptly forgotten. It held a place of honor only on the 4th of July. It was forgotten by the people of the village, except by a group of school boys, These were the same boys who thought it great fun to take apart a farmer's buggy and reassemble it on the roof of a barn.
Speculation grew among the boys about how it would be fun to fire the cannon. Common sense was soon overcome with daring, and the prospect of anticipated laughter. Soon gunpowder was found, and plugs for wadding were whittled from pine blocks.
One warm night as the village lay sleeping, the boys loaded the cannon. What soon followed was a shattering roar as the cannon emptied its stomach into the quiet night. It was not long after that the town fathers decided, over the protests of the few remaining Union veterans, to dispose of the cannon. The cannon was rolled down the street and into the River Raisin, where it settled on its side. For years the cannon provided a swimming platform for boys of the village.
Today, the  cannon rests under the thick mud on the bottom of the river.

          Aloha Grant