Who:            Representatives of New York State Parks and Cape Vincent

What:           Display of 17^th century cannon

When:          12:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 27

Where:         Cape Vincent Village Green (center of the Village on Broadway) 

A cannon dating to circa 1650, which had been salvaged from the St. Lawrence River at the head of Carleton Island in the Town of Cape Vincent decades ago, will return to New York  and be displayed at the Cape Vincent Historical Weekend.

The nearly 6,000-pound cannon was cast in Britain in the mid-17^th century and sent to New York in November 1739 on the HMS Vanguard. During the French and Indian War, it was moved to Oswego or Fort William Henry. It was captured by the French in 1756 or 1757, and recaptured by the British at the Battle of Isle Royal near present day Ogdensburg, NY in 1760. During the Revolution, it was moved from Fort William Augustus (Isle Royal) to Fort Haldimand at Carleton Island. Just before the start of the War of 1812, it was sunk in the St. Lawrence to keep it from falling into the hands of the Americans. It was recovered by American divers in the early 1960s, and became the property of the New York State Museum.

New York State offered the cannon as a long-term loan to the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, where it has been for more than two decades. Sackets Harbor Battlefield State Historic Site is taking possession of the cannon and plans to loan it to the Village of Cape Vincent for display at East End Park on the shores overlooking Carleton Island, where so much of the cannon’s history played itself out.