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In with a bang: Civil War cannon re-dedication on tap
HADLEY TOWNSHIP
THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION
Sunday, June 20, 2004
By James L. Smith
jmsmith@flintjournal.com • 810.766.6365
HADLEY TWP. - A 9,000-pound Civil War cannon will be re-dedicated in a July 10 ceremony at Greenwood Cemetery.
The 1 p.m. ceremony for the 100-pound-shot cannon will come nearly 106 years after the cannon's original dedication Aug. 24, 1898, said Dennis Emery, a member of the Battery D, 1st Michigan light artillery Civil War re-enactors group.
In addition to his group, the re-dedication is sponsored by the Hadley Township Historical Society. Members of Linden- and Fenton-based Sons of the Union Veterans are also expected to be on hand.
The cannon and its history have fascinated Emery, who traced its casting to 1862 at the West Point Foundry in New York on the banks of the Hudson River.
Although there is no evidence that the gun was ever fired in battle, Emery has traced it to Fort Monroe in Virginia, which despite its location in Confederate territory, was always in Union hands, Emery said.
The gun is too old to be fired, but there will be another cannon on hand to fire ceremonial volleys at the re-dedication.
How the large cannon ended up in Hadley Township remains a mystery, Emery said. Additional research in old newspapers may eventually yield an answer. Greenwood Cemetery, at Pratt and Green Corners roads, is jointly administered by Hadley and Elba townships. A descendant of the last living Civil War veteran in Hadley will be on hand to unveil the new plaque, Emery said. That veteran, Nathaniel N. Greene, died in 1937 at age 93, Emery said. At one time, 77 Civil War veterans belonged to the George C. Whitney Post 188 of a veterans group.
© 2004 Flint Journal. Used with permission
HADLEY TOWNSHIP
THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION
Sunday, June 20, 2004
By James L. Smith
jmsmith@flintjournal.com • 810.766.6365
HADLEY TWP. - A 9,000-pound Civil War cannon will be re-dedicated in a July 10 ceremony at Greenwood Cemetery.
The 1 p.m. ceremony for the 100-pound-shot cannon will come nearly 106 years after the cannon's original dedication Aug. 24, 1898, said Dennis Emery, a member of the Battery D, 1st Michigan light artillery Civil War re-enactors group.
In addition to his group, the re-dedication is sponsored by the Hadley Township Historical Society. Members of Linden- and Fenton-based Sons of the Union Veterans are also expected to be on hand.
The cannon and its history have fascinated Emery, who traced its casting to 1862 at the West Point Foundry in New York on the banks of the Hudson River.
Although there is no evidence that the gun was ever fired in battle, Emery has traced it to Fort Monroe in Virginia, which despite its location in Confederate territory, was always in Union hands, Emery said.
The gun is too old to be fired, but there will be another cannon on hand to fire ceremonial volleys at the re-dedication.
How the large cannon ended up in Hadley Township remains a mystery, Emery said. Additional research in old newspapers may eventually yield an answer. Greenwood Cemetery, at Pratt and Green Corners roads, is jointly administered by Hadley and Elba townships. A descendant of the last living Civil War veteran in Hadley will be on hand to unveil the new plaque, Emery said. That veteran, Nathaniel N. Greene, died in 1937 at age 93, Emery said. At one time, 77 Civil War veterans belonged to the George C. Whitney Post 188 of a veterans group.
© 2004 Flint Journal. Used with permission