Cannon from War of 1812 to go on display in Maine museum after years of being in storage
A centuries-old cannon that experts said was likely on board a British ship during a maritime battle off the Maine coast in the War of 1812 has been moved to a maritime museum from storage in Portland, where the big gun had been languishing for years.
Markings on the cannon (Chris Hall/Maine Maritime Museum)
The cannon, which is believed to have been aboard the HMS Boxer during its battle with the USS Enterprise in Muscongus Bay on Sept. 5, 1813, weighs about 1,500 pounds and once fired six-pound cannonballs.
After the battle, an American victory, the Boxer was moved to Portland Harbor, where its parts were auctioned off to the public. Nicholas Noyes, head librarian at the Maine Historical Society, said the cannon was likely purchased at that auction and later wound up as an ornament on a man’s lawn in Cape Elizabeth.
“It was transferred to the society in the late 1800s and we immediately loaned it to [Portland] City Hall and it’s been there ever since,’’ Noyes said. The cannon was on display there for a time but was later placed in storage, historians said.
At the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath, where the cannon was moved Thursday, it will be part of an exhibit celebrating the bicentennial of the War of 1812, a two-and-a-half year war in which a young American nation fought Britain. Chris Hall, curator of exhibits at the museum, said the cannon has a historical relevance for the state.
“There are a lot of anonymous cannons around on town greens. The real value for us is that this has a definite and gripping association with the battle,’’ Hall said. “It was a very gripping story back then and remains one of the great naval tales of a war that remains somewhat obscure to some people.’’
The exhibit, which opens May 26, will feature several rare, 200-year-old artifacts from the war. It will highlight items from sea battles.
“We are concentrating on the Maine angle of the war, which is heavily maritime-oriented. It is a nice frame for us, the exhibit deals with all different angles of the Maine maritime story,’’ Hall said.
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