Big Civil War Naval Cannon Destroyed in Michigan-- Part 1

From the  July 22, 2020,  K102.5 FM, Kalamazoo, Michigan  "Civil War treasure  destroyed at Battle Creek....100 years ago" by Tim Collins.

And this was not destroyed by BLM rioters running amok.

It was a reminder of the past, revered each Decoration Day that it was around.  And it was destroyed by the city of Battle Creek, Michigan, and the federal government.  It was not a monument, but a huge cannon that was at the city's Oak Hill Cemetery from 1896 until the next big war when it became part of a scrap drive.

Frank J. Kellogg (no relation to  the Kellogg's of cereal fame), was a patent medicine inventor and salesman in Battle Creek and a Civil War veteran.  He was known as a rich man as well as a bit of a scalawag.  It was through his efforts that the cannon came to Battle Creek in 1896.

According to the Daily Journal of the city, on July 22, 1896, he received a letter from  the Inspector of Ordnance at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, saying the cannon had been shipped to Battle Creek's GAR Post.

And, it wasn't just ANY surplus cannon.  It had a a history including participation in the first-ever battle of ironclads and the largest bombardment ever up until the end of the Civil War.

It had been on the USS Minnesota.

--Old B-Runner