Boy Scout Saves Civil War Cannon

{Chapter member, Linda Hilty, submitted the following article, fall 2006} “The cannon was taken from the Steubenville Union Cemetery. The barrel has been in the cemetery since the GAR donated it sometime after the Civil War. We were able to find a postcard dated 1907 {shown below} that shows the GAR section and you can see the cannon on it’s carriage. History books tell that this cannon was used locally by the 500 man Steubenville Militia that formed quickly to fight the Morgan’s Raiders in 1863. They took the cannon out the plank road (now Sunset Blvd.) where they had a skirmish with the tail end of Morgan’s men at Fernwood Road and another fight in the area of Two Ridge Church where the cannon shot several times loaded with nails and horseshoes.

Eric Hilty, center with cannon

“My son, Eric decided to rebuild the cannon carriage after he saw the barrel lying on the floor of the maintenance garage. Its carriage had long since rotted and the barrel had been sitting on a concrete slab until it deteriorated too. Of course he was also interested in outdoing his older brother Devin’s Eagle Scout project. Devin refurbished almost 300 cast iron Union Soldier emblems for the Union Cemetery.

Our family was able to purchase blueprints (copies from original archives) and found an Amish man who makes cannon wheels. These wheels were not cheap ($950 for wheels and axles) and part of the project was fundraising. DeNoon lumber donated the oak which was glued together to make the large trail piece. Also the thick pieces on the sides of the trail hold the barrel. One of the most interesting experiences was when we took the barrel to Cryogenic Construction. They were instrumental in helping Devin sandblast all of his GAR emblems and had agreed to sandblast the barrel of the cannon. We found that day that the barrel was stamped with the words STEUBEN ARTILLERY meaning that the possibility was very strong that this barrel was made in Steubenville. Also, inside the barrel was a wooden tampion…something that all cannons had to plug the end after cleaning for fire. The barrel weighed in at 775 pounds.

When the wheels finally came at the end of May 2006, the work of building the carriage started. Eric’s dad is a welding instructor at the Joint Vocational School and the school donated much of the steel. We tried to make the carriage as original as possible and the process of “heating and beating” the metal was time consuming. But finally the barrel was sitting on its new carriage. There are still a couple of bugs to work out and some small items to add to the carriage. The wooden parts have two coats of linseed oil and the metal parts are painted with Hammerite paint. We are building a metal harness to lift the axle off the ground so the wheels do not rot. The cemetery is unsure where they are putting it but have agreed to pull it in for the winter. The carriage rolls nicely on its wheels and was used in some parades. The bulk of the summer was spent showing off the cannon to raise funds. Money was raised to recoup the original expenses. Any further money that is collected will be used to buy a bronze plaque to tell about the cannon’s history.

Eric has now started his senior year at Indian Creek High School where he plays soccer and is the kicker/punter on the football team. He is a member of Troop 87 Two Ridge Church in Wintersville. The troop was very helpful in this project doing much of the painting and oiling as well as the grunt work of taking the cannon to various events.”

Soldiers and Sailors Monument as it appeared in 1907.
Note - the cannon to the right of the photo in the corner. Front, Civil War stones.