Cannon found in Detroit River goes on display
DETROIT (AP) — A British cannon that sat at the bottom of the Detroit River for more than two centuries has gone on display at a maritime museum after undergoing a three-year restoration. The cannon was pulled out of the river three months after Detroit police divers found it during a 2011 training exercise.
The cannon was located under 20 feet of water behind downtown’s Cobo Center. The Detroit Historical Society says that, based on markings on the cannon, it was made in East Sussex, England, in the mid-1740s. It was embossed with the crest of King George II.
The Historical Society says the cannon likely was used in various conflicts before being moved to Fort Lernoult, and when it was new, the cannon would have been capable of firing a cannonball about a mile, says Joel Stone, the Society’s senior curator. When the British abandoned Detroit in 1796, the Society says, the cannon probably ended up in the river after soldiers were ordered to destroy some weapons. Several other cannons have been found in the same area of the river.
Key in the restoration project were Stone and a team at the Society’s Collections Resource Center. Work on the cannon started in 2013 at Cranbrook Institute of Science in suburban Detroit, where it was displayed previously for a special exhibit. Thanks to the restoration work, Stone says, the cannon now is in very good condition.
The cannon can be seen at Dossin Great Lakes Museum on Belle Isle, an island park in the Detroit River. It is open Saturdays and Sundays, and admission is free. For more information, visit www.detroithistorical.org.