If you close your eyes, you can still smell the Cordite

Recently little Nick and I went up to LaMoille and came across a massive Civil war cannon that had formerly been on the Union gun sloop "Canandaigua". It had been dedicated in a special ceremony on Memorial day May 28th, 1897.

Following the war, the government announced that all 'condemned engines of war' might be had by ordering them and paying the freight. 135.00 was raised by the P.F. Hills post of the GAR and a cannon was ordered arriving on May 1st, 1897 by flat car. It is said it caused quite a bit of excitement.

The cannon is an 11 inch caliber Dahlgren muzzle loader, meaning it was loaded from the front. It's marked on the barrel as weighing 15,765 pounds and the date of 1862 is stamped on the side. Included with the gun were 50 cannon balls each one weighing 135 pounds.

Nick REALLY wanted to shoot it off (Which might have alarmed the guy cutting the grass next door), but they had plugged up the muzzle with concrete. Oh well. So if you're ever up in LaMoille and want to see this monster for yourselves it's about a block down behind the old high school, go thru the gates and drive to the end of the lane, can't miss it.