After 228 years of being exposed to rain, wind, and saltwater, it’s time for the massive iron cannons that helped defend the borough from the British in 1814 to be restored.
The work is the most expensive part of the $98,000 project to renovate Cannon Square with new landscaping and trees.
“When you have something of this value you have to do your best to take care of it,” said Jim Hicks, president of the Village Improvement Association, one of the groups overseeing the project.
During a four-day period in August of 1814, residents used the cannons to successfully repel a British naval attack that sent cannonballs into their homes. The cannons are known as 18-pounders because that is the size ball they fired.
Last month, a crane hoisted the two 4,500-pound cannons off their carriages and they, along with the carriages and wheels, were taken to Deschenes and Cooper, a custom woodworking firm in Pawcatuck.
While the company often works on 17th- and 18th-century homes, cannons are something new.
“When we started reading about the history of these cannons, it really struck you how interesting it is,” said the firm’s manager Chad Sweet. “The history behind it is really cool.”
The firm is preparing to replace the rotted wood and metal sections of the carriages with the same material used in the original construction. Hicks said the materials that are removed may be sold as collectibles to help raise money for the effort. The overall project is being funded with a combination of state and private funding with the borough kicking in $10,000 that it already had in its park’s budget.
Deschenes and Cooper also disassembled the wheels and earlier this week they were driven to the Amish country of Pennsylvania where a wheelwright will replace the rotted wooden and metal parts. The wheels were also damaged by the weight of the cannons.
Deschenes and Cooper will strip the old layers of paint off the 16-foot long cannons and then repaint them.
The work is expected to be completed this spring so the cannons can be back in place for the annual Fourth of July celebration in which residents parade down Water Street from Wadawanuck Square to Cannon Square and back.
The cannon restoration, though, will still have two years to go.
Plans call for taking the cannons to a laboratory at Texas A & M University where they will be immersed for 10 months in an electrolysis bath that will remove the extensive corrosion on the inside of the tube. The tubes will then be filled with wax to prevent further corrosion.
The VIA learned about the laboratory through Peter Fix, who grew up here and now works at the lab. A borough resident recently donated $30,000 to pay for the work at Texas A & M.
Hicks said that beginning next summer one of the cannons will be taken to Texas A & M and the other the following year. This way, one of the historic cannons will remain on display in the square.
When the cannons are placed on the carriages, Hick said a new jack system designed by resident Bob Abramson will be in place to take the weight of the cannons off the wheels. There had been a concrete block system in place to do that but the blocks began to sink into the ground, placing the weight back on the wheels and damaging them. Hicks said the jacks will barely be visible and can be adjusted to make sure they are bearing the proper weight.
By JOE WOJTAS
Staff Writer