A story in the Newark Advocate, published March 26, 1908, stated that U.S. Rep. William Ashbrook introduced a bill to authorize the secretary of war to provide Newark with a cannon for the Grand Army of the Republic to place in Cedar Hill Cemetery’s Civil War Soldiers lot. As a result of the bill’s passage, the newspaper published details of the cannon April 25.
“The cannon, which weighs 820 lbs., arrived here this week from the Rock Island Arsenal in Illinois. The carriage which is to come from Watervliet Arsenal in the east (New York) is expected to arrive within a few days when the cannon will be mounted at the summit of Cedar Hill on the GAR grounds owned by the Lemert Post (of Civil War Veterans) and will guard the north gate of the cemetery. Superintendent A.J. Crilly of the cemetery paid the charges on the freight and sent the bill to Congressman Ashbrook who has actively interested himself in securing the cannon for Cedar Hill without a cent of cost to Newark and Licking County.”
Records from the Rock Island Arsenal archives obtained by Ken Oswalt with the Licking County Commissioners Office indicate that the cannon is a 3-inch ordinance rifle designed by John Griffen. A serial number search on the cannon reveals that it was cast in 1865 at the Phoenix Iron Co. in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania.
On May 23, the carriage for the cannon tube arrived in Newark, where the cannon was placed in the cemetery in time for the Memorial Day service.
Sixty-one years later, in July 1969, the cannon’s wooden carriage needed repairs, which cost $700. In 1996, repairs were once again required. Dan Applegate, then-director of Cedar Hill Cemetery Director, stated in an Advocate article dated Nov. 8, 1997, that the cannon was completely overhauled, including a rebuild of its carriage and wheels. That restoration cost $7,000 and lasted 27 years.
In 2024, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War Ohio Cmdr. Steve Ball approached Cedar Hill Superintendent Chance Patznick about restoring the cannon. In cooperation with the Licking County Commissioners, Licking County Veterans Service Office and the city of Newark, the cannon has once again been restored. A new aluminum carriage replaced the wooden carriage, just like the cannons in the Gettysburg National Military Park, ensuring this restoration will last for many years to come. The cannon will be commemorated by a memorial marker, which Patznick plans to install in the coming months.
A rededication ceremony will take place Saturday at Cedar Hill Cemetery. At 10:30 a.m., the 73rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regimental Band will begin playing music. A program will begin at 11 a.m. and features speakers, as well as the firing of a rifle salute by the 110th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. As part of the ceremonies, reenactors from Battery M of the 1st Ohio Light Artillery will display and fire the Sherman Cannon from Lancaster. Attendees are welcome to bring chairs to the event, which is free.
Doug Stout is the local history coordinator for the Licking County Library. You may contact him at 740-349-5571 or dstout@lickingcountylibrary.org. His book “Never Forgotten: The Stories of Licking County Veterans” is available for purchase at the library or online at bookbaby.com.
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Historic Newark canon rededication ceremony to take place April 12