SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (NEWS10) — A historic six-pound cannon is returning to the Saratoga National Historical Park. The cannon was donated by the Department of the Army to the National Park Service.

“The National Park Service is honored to continue to be the stewards of this significant piece of history from the Battles and Siege of Saratoga,” said Superintendent Leslie Morlock. “It has been a pleasure to partner with the Department of the Army to recover Cannon #102 and secure its return to Saratoga National Historical Park, where it will remain in our care.”  

The bronze cannon was crafted in 1756 and captured by the Continental Army in October 1777 when the British Army was defeated at the Battles and Siege of Saratoga. Only three of the original 18 light six-pound cannons captured at Saratoga are known to remain in existence.

Cannon #102 was engraved with trophy honors, marking the cannon as Surrender Cannon from Saratoga at West Point in 1783. The Town of Saratoga secured a loan of the cannon in 1934, but it was stored in a Schuylerville barn until 1961.

The cannon was then allegedly illegally sold to a militia collector in Saratoga Springs and was determined lost after failed attempts to locate it. In 2009, park staff was notified by a visitor that the cannon was at a museum in Alabama. National Park Service visited the museum and confirmed its identity.

The Westervelt Company and the Tuscaloosa Museum of Art returned the cannon to the Department of the Army in 2013. The cannon was then officially loaned to the park, where it has remained.