Unearthing History

Four Revolutionary War Cannons Found At Local Nature Preserve

Four Revolutionary War cannons cast at historic Warwick Furnace, which were buried in the ground for at least 250 years, were recently unearthed by members of the French & Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust. The cannons were found at the Thomas P. Bentley Nature Preserve, located in East Nantmeal and Warwick townships.

Details of the historic find were unveiled during a program presented by the Friends of Hopewell Furnace on July 10 at the Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site visitor center. The guest speaker was Jim Moore, a board member of the trust who witnessed the revealing of the cannons firsthand as part of the dig team.

He began his talk by providing information about the trust, which works to preserve land in northern Chester County. "Digging out historic Revolutionary War cannons is not in our mission statement," he said with a smile.

Moore said that reports indicated the possibility of cannons being buried in the area, citing a report by historian and author Daniel Graham, who stated, "During the 1777 British advance on Philadelphia, cannons cast at Warwick were buried in the fields next to French Creek to keep them from falling into British hands."

The cannons were discovered after Ray Bentley, a neighbor and supporter of the nature preserve, commissioned a geophysical survey that is used to detect large iron objects underground.

Dr. Martin Helmke, a geology professor at West Chester University, was brought in to help locate the cannons using a drone. "(People ask), 'How did (you) know where to dig?'" said Moore. "We did a high-tech magnetic survey. (The) drone picks up magnetic anomalies due to iron things that are in the earth. (Helmke) is the one that did the survey."

Moore showed an aerial view of the workers digging out the first cannon and then attempting to lift the cannon out of the trench using a tractor. "We were going to lift it out of the hole with lift wraps - in theory," he said. However, the cannon was so heavy that the tractor was unable to bear the weight. "Twice (the) tractor almost fell into the ditch. So we went with Plan B, which was to drag it out. It was the only way to get the cannon out of the hole," Moore said.

After all four cannons were unearthed, they were pressure washed, which unveiled several markings. "There were markings on the canons, which were surprising distinct after sitting in the ground for 250 years," Moore said, noting that one of the markings read "W+F," which stood for Warwick Furnace.

The four nearly identical cannons are over 7 feet long, weigh more than 4,500 pounds and were made to fire 18-pound balls. Two of the cannons were found with a cannon ball in the barrel. "A cannon ball actually rolled out of one of the cannons while we were cleaning it," Moore noted.

The cannons are currently being stored on private property in a barn until a permanent location can be found for them to be displayed at Hopewell Furnace.

For more information about the trust and its conservation projects, visit http://www.frenchandpickering.org.