Connecticut Provides Cannon

By Albert E. Van Dusen

When the American Revolution broke out, cannon were desperately needed by the Americans. Armies required cannon to win battles and forts needed them to hold out against an enemy equipped with them. In the intercolonial wars against the French and Indians, England had provided the needed cannon.

Probably Connecticut's most important war industry was the Salisbury iron and cannon foundry, which had been developed in northwestern Connecticut well before the Revolution and which became the leading cannon-making center of New England during the war. In 1731 Daniel Bissell (1694-1770) discovered the first large, high-grade iron ore deposits at a place in Salisbury, later known as Ore Hill. Early in 1776 the Council of Safety sent Jedediah Elderkin (1717/18-1793) to survey the potential for cannon making there. His report was so optimistic that the council assumed control of the property from its owner, Richard Smith, a suspected Loyalist who had gone to England. Chosen to supervise the operation were two highly-experienced men--Colonel Joshua porter (1730-1825) as overseer and Samuel Forbes (1729-1827) as iron-master. They moved effectively to obtain a steady flow of iron ore, limestone, lead, and charcoal. Governor Trumbull (1710-1785), realizing the critical need for cannon, kept a special express rider almost constantly engaged on the Lebanon-Salisbury route.

In 1776 Salisbury cannon were used in Connecticut's coastal forts, were loaned to New York, and mounted on a few ships. Late in 1776 Congress requested Salisbury cannon for Continental vessels and forts in northern New York. In January 1777 the Council of Safety voted to supply General Schuyler's army with thirty-nine cannon of assorted sizes and necessary shot. To speed production the assembly exempted fifty workers from military service. Requests poured in for cannon from Congress and the state in such large numbers that the governor and council had a difficult task allocating the available supply.

Nathaniel Shaw, Jr., (1735-1782) of New London, as a state agent, outfitted many vessels, both state and privately-owned, as well as privateers. One of his own privateers, the sloop Revenge, mounting ten Salisbury cannon, captured nineteen prizes. The Salisbury furnaces made cannon of many sizes, ranging from small swivels to the eighteen-pounders. They had the reputation for being expensive but very good. During the war Salisbury furnaces cast over 800 cannon, as well as producing shot, grapeshot, hand grenades, and pots and pans. Salisbury's contribution to winning the war was highly significant. Without its cannon, Connecticut's coastal towns would have been almost defenseless and its militia and navy would have had far fewer cannon.

For Further Reading

Middlebrook, Louis F. Salisbury Connecticut Cannon, American Revolution. Salem, Massachusetts, 1935.

Rome, Adam W. Connecticut's Cannon: The Salisbury Furnace in the American Revolution. Hartford, 1977.

* Entry under revision.