Edenton Bell Battery and Revolutionary Cannon
The Six-Pounder (left) and 12-Pounder Howitzer (right) of the Edenton Battery preserved in Edenton, North Carolina
Update: A gentleman made a comment on the Facebook post about these cannons that one or both are replicas after the originals were returned to their respective historical sites. I am looking for what information I can find on this, but I continue to believe that both are originals.
I recently passed through Edenton, North Carolina, a charming county-seat town on Albemarle Sound. I wanted to take a break from the road, so I visited the original Chowan County Courthouse - a beautiful example of Georgian public architecture built in 1767 and still in limited use as a courthouse. On the tour, it was pointed out that the original bell of the courthouse was recast during the Civil War as a cannon, and that cannon along with another from the same battery has been returned to Edenton in recent years. The two cannon are a six-pounder gun and twelve-pounder howitzer which were both part of the Edenton Battery. Both #1531 (the 6-Pounder named "Edenton") and #1533 (the howitzer named "Saint Paul") were cast in 1862 at Tredegar using bronze from the bells of the Chowan County Courthouse and St. Paul's Church respectively. Two other pieces #1532 (another 12-pounder howitzer) and #1534 (a six-pounder) were cast as well for the battery from other bells from Edenton* - neither of these other two pieces are known to still exist. Both cannon are marked with their foundry number and “EB” on their muzzles. Both are marked “1862” on their left trunnions and “JRA & CO, TF” on their right trunnions. As the plaque between the two field pieces states, the battery saw service with the Army of Northern Virginia before returning to North Carolina. In North Carolina, the battery served both in a field artillery role as well as supporting the defenses on Smith Island (now better known as “Bald Head Island”) before being evacuated to the mainland following the fall of Fort Fisher. As the plaque states, the howitzer was captured in February of 1865 in Brunswick County, but the six-pounder was present at the Battle of Bentonville before being surrendered with the Army of Tennessee in April of 1865.
Edenton also displays several cannon from the 18th century. These cannon were shipped from France in 1778. There is a story that the North Carolinians who had ordered the cannon did not have the agreed amount tobacco on hand to complete the purchase on arrival and the ship’s captain left the cannon on the bottom of the harbor rather than on the wharf in protest. Three of the cannons are mounted overlooking the harbor. (According to an article online they are 18-Pounders - one of Swedish and two of British origin.) A plaque on one of the cannons notes that these antiques were mounted in defense of Edenton in 1861, and the US Navy spiked and broke the trunnions off these cannons in 1862. I wonder if that action of US Bluejackets wasn’t of benefit for the health and safety of the good people of Edenton. Given that these seem to have been second-hand cannons in 1778 (like the 18-pounders which burst aboard John Paul Jones’s Bonhomme Richard), possibly submerged for a time, and then left untended for another four score years, I would doubt their integrity in 1862!
Edenton is a wonderful place to visit in coastal North Carolina for it’s beautiful location, good people, good food, well preserved 18th century buildings, and these fascinating pieces of antique ordnance.
*According to the list of Tredegar cannon included in: Daniel, Larry J. and Gunter, Riley W. Confederate Cannon Foundries. Pioneer Press, 1977.
The plaque describing the history of the cannons.
The Chowan County Courthouse - Built in 1767
Three of the Revolutionary War era cannon mounted in Edenton
Plaque describing the Civil War usage of the antique cannons.
Edenton River Light House
US Submarine Memorial in Edenton
Rear of the 1767 Courthouse
On February 12th, 1862, Lieutenant A. Murray, U.S. Navy, made the following report:
U.S.S. Louisiana,
Off Elizabeth City, N.C. February 12, 1862.
Sir: In obedience to your orders I proceeded with this vessel, accompanied by the Underwriter, Lieutenant Commanding Jeffers; the Commodore Perry, Lieutenant Commanding Flusser; and the Lockwood, Acting Master Graves, commanding, to the city of Edenton, west end of Albemarle Sound.
At 8:30 o'clock this morning we arrived off the entrance to the harbor, and, after a careful reconnaissance, we passed in, the Lockwood in the advance, to keep the larger vessels informed form time to time of the depth of the water in the channel or of the appearance of earthworks on the banks.
At 10 we had undisturbed possession of the town. Part of a flying artillery regiment, variously estimated from 100 to 300, fled precipitately without firing a shot; many of the inhabitants also left in consequence, I was told, of a vile rumor having been put in circulation by the panic-stricken enemy that our havoc was indiscriminate at Elizabeth.
I was happy in being enabled to stigmatize such a report as it deserved and to restore quiet to a very excited population.
There are no fortifications at or in the water approaches to Edenton.
Near Hornblow's Point trees have been felled, possible with a view to the construction of works.
Among the results of the expedition are the destruction of 8 cannon and 1 schooner (on the stocks) at Edenton.
We captured 2 schooners in the sound, one having 4,000 bushels of corn.
We also took 6 bales of cotton from custom-house wharf.
There were no public stores in the town; the custom house was empty.
We remained two hours abreast the town, and were visited by the authorities and others, many of whom professed sentiments of loyalty to the old Union.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
A. Murray,
Lieutenant, Commanding Second Column of Naval Division"
(Official Records - Navies. Ser. 1: Vol. 6. Pp. 637-638).
USS Commodore Perry was a converted ferry boat - her reinforced decks originally intended for heavy wagons were able to mount heavy Dahlgren cannons as can be seen in the photo. Naval History and Heritage Command Photo: https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/our-collections/photography/numerical-list-of-images/nhhc-series/nh-series/NH-55000/NH-55308.html
Two of the Revolutionary War cannons were sent from Edenton to Raleigh in 1903 to flank a statue of George Washington at the State Capitol
