Ill. Town Holds 'Fiercest' Civil War Cannon
GALENA, Ill. (WBBM)-- Tuesday marks the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War. And the town of Galena holds a piece of history from the first battle of the four-year war.
It was April 12, 1861, when Confederates fired the first shots on federal troops: On Fort Sumter, South Carolina. And the four years of Civil War began.
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"Brother against brother. Neighbor against neighbor. It tore the nation apart," Nancy Breed said.
Nancy Breed is executive director of the Galena-Jo Daviess County Historical Society and Museum.
In Galena's Grant Park, there is a cannon on display. The Blakely rifled cannon, which the South used to its advantage in that first battle of the Civil War at Fort Sumter.
"And it truly was the fiercest weapon in the Confederates' artillery," Nancy Breed said. "It was the only rifled cannon in all of North America."
Rifling refers to making grooves in the barrel of the cannon - grooves which would spin the 12-pound projectiles for more accuracy.
The South - with its Blakely rifled cannon - won that first battle and took Fort Sumter. Toward the end of the Civil War, the North took the cannon back. And since 1896, it has been in Galena, which will be holding special sesquicentennial ceremonies this week.
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