Civil War Cannon

Civil War Cannon. Manufactured in Reading. , The 8" Rodman Gun and 40 Columbiad shells have been a fixture at the intersection of 5th Street and Centre Avenue next to the Lebanon Valley Railroad since 1922 when they were brought to Reading to recognize city residents for their support to the Union Army during the Civil War., Typically found aboard a union battleship or as part of a coastal fortification, this cannon would have been manned by upwards of eight sailors and had a range of 3,873 yards., The gun had been housed at Fort Jay, on Governor's Island in New York until U.S. Congressman Fred Gernerd made arrangements to have it transported to Reading for display; initially during the 100th anniversary of the birth of General/President Ulysses S. Grant., The cannon was accepted by then Mayor John K. Stauffer. The approximately 8,500 pound cannon was transported to Reading at a cost of $50, which today would be the approximate equivalent of $685., This visit wasn't the cannon's first time in Reading, PA though. In 1865 the gun had been cast in the Seyfert McManus-Scott Foundry located at 8th and Buttonwood Streets which would later become a part of the world renowned Reading Iron Company., The muzzle of the cannon points towards the south, which is emblematic of the victory of the Union forces over the Confederate Army during the Rebellion., if you continue just a few hundred yards north on Centre Avenue to Oley Street, you will find another war relic. The cannon had originally been placed to complement Civil War hero General David McM. Gregg who passed away in Reading in 1916., Interesting Fact , You may notice that the shells are larger than the muzzle of the cannon. This was the subject of concern by a who's who of Reading residents at the time. NAmes like Quier, Heizmann, Muhlenberg, Bushong, Rick, Gaul, Kendig, Barbey, and pendleton wrote letters to the City asking that the cannon be removed. The complainants decried that it was an "eyesore" and "not restful to the eye" and mocked its military accuracy based upon the mismatched 8" muzzle and 10" cannon balls. Chapters of the Patriotic Order, Sons of America, the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars rallied for the retention of the relic and were later successful.