ORIGINAL 18TH-CENTURY CANNON, CONSISTENT WITH ORDNANCE USED BY BRITISH AND COLONIAL FORCES FROM THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR THROUGH THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

Cast-iron cannon, likely Colonial American or British manufacture, ca. 1740–1800. Set on a reproduction carriage. The venthole is not plugged.

Provenance: Discovered in North Carolina; purchased by the consignor in the 1980s.

An 18th-century cast-iron cannon, measuring approximately 42 inches in overall length with a bore of 2½ inches. The barrel displays a tapering cylindrical form with pronounced muzzle swell, simple trunnions, and a rounded cascabel with button. The surface shows a smooth blackened patina and areas of oxidation consistent with long exposure and age.

The absence of foundry markings, the crude casting, and the overall proportions align with British and colonial ordnance of the mid- to late-18th century, most likely intended for light naval or coastal defense. Small-bore cannons of this type were prized for their maneuverability aboard ships and within fortifications, combining practical firepower with psychological effect.

Examples surviving outside institutional collections are increasingly rare. The consignor relates that he purchased this piece in North Carolina in the 1980s, where it was offered with other cannons from the same era at an estate sale.