Winnebago County Spanish-American War Veterans Memorial

Winnebago County Spanish-American War Veterans Memorial. 25 April - 25 August 1898. , The original cannon barrel was dated 1869, #9981, engraved in Spanish "Fundicion de Artilleria", Seville, Spain, was commissi0ned by Queen Isabella II of Spain by royal decree. It was captured in 1898 at the Spanish Fort San Felipe, Philippines. Manila Bay was protected by Corregidor Island at the opening of the bay and flanked by the Providences of Battan (Death March), Luzon and Cavite. Cavite city, 20 miles south of Manila hosted Fort San Felipe built in the 16th century. , The original barrel was obtained by David Secor in Sept 1899 from the Bureau of Ordinance, Washington D.C. honoring Winnebago County Spanish-American war veterans. The cannon was shipped from San Francisco with the City of Forest City paying freight. , The barrel was then donated in 1942 to support the WW2 war effort via a metal scrap drive. The barrel weighed 2,070 pounds of solid brass and brought a check of $144.90. it was common to use brass for barrels in the mid 1800's because brass was very durable, disbursed heat better than iron and less prone to premature ignition. , The war was provoked by word of Spanish colonial brutality in Cuba. At wars end Spain relinquished sovereignty over Cuba and ceded rights over the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Guam to the United States. The war cost the US $250 million and 3000 lives of whom 90% had perished from infectious diseases. , Lower left, at the bottom of the pedestal, the round metal disc (on the concrete) is a geodetic survey marker denoting elevation: 1200 ft. above mean sea level. , Ironic, the Barrel came from the area of Luzon, Corregidor and Battan of WW2 fame and could have gone back to that area in the form of shell casings. This replica was put in place Veterans Day, 11 Nov 2013.