Naval Academy creates Cannon Conservation Fund

[cannonmn]

The US Naval Academy in Annapolis MD has many historic cannons on outside display. They include many French and Spanish bronze cannons, as well as a number of cast-iron cannons from the Civil War. Three of those are rare Dahlgren cast-iron rifles. All of the cannon displayed outside have deteriorated over the years. I recently inspected most of them and reminded the Academy that conservation was long overdue. They had already done a professional study of the condition of the Mexican Monument including the four bronze cannons that are part of the monument, and have plans for a conservation project that will take place when sufficient funding becomes available. After that, they plan to conserve the other cannons as funds become available.

The Naval Academy does not receive sufficient appropriated funding to maintain the many monuments and cannons in the Yard, so it relies on private funding from foundations and private donors for those projects. If you would like to help with cannon conservation at the US Naval Academy, you may send your tax-deductible contribution to:

Naval Academy Foundation
291 Wood Road
Annapolis, MD 21402
Attn: CFR

Please write on the top of the check: "Cannon Fund"

As soon as I heard the fund had been set up, my business sent in a $500. donation.

Here's a picture of the Mexican Monument and its four cannons


http://photographichappenstance.com/200 ... ment-usna/

[cannonmn]

If anyone wants to contribute even a little to the Naval Academy Foundation for their "Cannon Fund" preservation effort, we'd all appreciate it. I'm trying to help ensure this first-ever systematic study-to-treatment effort of a large collection of trophy cannons is successful. I handed over my initial $500. donation during the tour there the other day.

For anyone who donates $50. or more, as long as we can get a group of at least 10 such donors together, I'll personally conduct a very detailed tour of the USNA cannons for that group, on site, on a day to be agreed upon later. By detailed, I mean we'll get down to examining the markings on all 23 bronze cannons, and such of the iron and steel ones as time permits, I'm planning on about 2-3 hours. We'd also look at the condition issues of each gun and try to figure out what's going on with respect to the ageing of each one, and why. All you'd need for a "ticket" is hard-copy evidence of your donation such as copy of both sides of a cancelled check, or I can verify it with the Naval Academy Foundation's records.