Cape Girardeau in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Quaker Cannon

Fort D

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, August 21, 2021

1. Quaker Cannon Marker

Inscription.
In order to help dissuade potential attackers, some Union soldiers shaped and painted logs to make them look like cannons from a distance.

Since these "cannons" could not fire, they were called “Quaker” cannons after the Quakers, a peaceable religious group that generally declined to fight.

Since Fort D was rarely threatened it may be that the soldiers building the “cannon” were simply fighting boredom by having fun at the expense of their opponents. Their real cannons were enough of a threat.

Erected 2005 by Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau; and the City of Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Forts and Castles • War, US Civil.

Location. 37° 17.46′ N, 89° 31.579′ W. Marker is in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, in Cape Girardeau County. It can be reached from the intersection of Fort Street and Westport Street, on the right when traveling west. The marker is located on the Fort D Historic Site grounds, near the northwest corner of the museum. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 920 Fort Street, Cape Girardeau MO 63703, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Southeast Missouri. It is also in the American Ozarks,

in the Lewis & Clark Corridor,

in the Corn Belt,

and in the Great River Road Region.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

the Louisiana Purchase,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: 32-Pounder Seacoast Gun (a few steps from this marker);

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Troglodytes (a few steps from this marker); Bowling for Boredom (a few steps from this marker); Marching with the 1st Nebraska (within shouting distance of this marker); Saving Fort D (within shouting distance of this marker); Down the Colorado (within shouting distance of this marker); The 20th Illinois Regiment (within shouting distance of this marker); Unwanted, Untrained & Indispensable (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Cape Girardeau.

Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. Fort D Historic Site

Also see . . . Fort D Historic Site. (Submitted on November 28, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, August 21, 2021

2. Quaker Cannon Marker

Looking north from the Fort D Historic Site Museum.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, August 21, 2021

3. Quaker Cannon & Marker

Looking east. Fort D Historic Site Museum & Mississippi River in background.

Credits. This page was last revised on November 28, 2023. It was originally submitted on November 26, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 274 times since then and 19 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on November 28, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.