Loomis Battery cannon of Coldwater to be restored

USS ALASKA

Captain
Joined
Mar 16, 2016
Another downtown cannon being restored
Monday, August 20, 2018 11:41 a.m. EDT by Ken Delaney

COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) - Coldwater Municipal Service Department workers and members of the Coldwater Board of Public Utilities carefully removed one of the 1860's Civil War cannons last Friday from its downtown location so it could undergo some restoration work.

The cannon belonged to the Loomis Battery of Coldwater who were led by General Cyrus O. Loomis.

It’s expected that the 3,000 pound cannon should be back home at the Four Corners Park towards the end of October.

Two of the cannons were fired in 2015 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the conclusion of the Battle Between the States. The Loomis Battery was made up of local volunteer soldiers of the Coldwater Light Artillery.


Full article and pic can be found here - https://wtvbam.com/news/articles/2018/aug/20/another-downtown-cannon-being-restored/

Cheers,
USS ALASKA
 
Glad to see that it will live on for many years. Thanks for posting it.
 
Civil War Cannon returned to Four Corners Park
By David McDonald For The Daily Reporter
Posted Oct 30, 2018 at 12:01 AM



COLDWATER — Many people going by the Four Corners Park in downtown Coldwater, in August, saw the old Civil War cannon being hoisted into the air and loaded on a trailer. It was on its way to the Jeff Haylett Signs shop for some badly needed restoration.


The barrel of the Parrott Rifled Cannon was made in 1861 at the West Point Foundry, owned and operated by Robert Parrott. It represented the latest thing in cannon technology at the time, with its rifled barrel, firing a projectile rather than a round cannon ball, and greatly improving accuracy in the field.


The cannon was returned to Branch County in 1865 at the end of the Civil War with Brevet General Cyrus Loomis and the well-known Loomis Battery unit. There were six cannons at that time. Two of the cannons were taken to Lansing to sit outside the main entrance of the state capital building, three were distributed to other towns as war memorials, and one, No. 26, remained in Coldwater to represent Branch County’s Loomis Battery.


The cannon used to be fired on Decoration Day by members of the original Loomis Battery — officially: Battery A — however, the wooden carriage continued to suffer from ravaging weather. Around 1902, the remaining members of the unit collectively gathered funds and purchased a cast iron carriage to replace the wood. It ended the ability to fire the cannon, but it insured that the artifact would be present in the Four Corners Park for many decades to come.


As the old paint was stripped off the carriage recently, many older repairs could be seen from decades past. In August, the cannon was totally disassembled, uncovering many hidden issues in need of prompt attention. Two of the three large bolts that literally hold the carriage together were rusted away. Hidden away inside of the carriage, all three were replaced.


The entire cannon has been cleaned to bare metal, triple coated with primer, multiple coats of Civil War green paint and sealed with clear coating. The wooden plug that was not keeping water out of the barrel was replaced with an aluminum plug and sealed.


The Loomis Battery’s cannon is back in the Four Corners Park sitting prominently on the northeast corner. Repaired, painted and sealed up from the weather, to hopefully occupy that location for many more generations.


This is one of several projects accomplished by the Military Memorial Committee in the pursuit of restoring and preserving the many artifacts and memorials located in our community. The committee is totally dependent upon the financial support of the people of Branch County to do this work. You may help this effort by contributing to the Military Memorial committee in care of the Branch County Community Foundation located at 6 W. Chicago St., Coldwater.


Full article with pics can be found here - http://www.thedailyreporter.com/news/20181030/civil-war-cannon-returned-to-four-corners-park
136

Cheers,
USS ALASKA
 
Back
Top