These Napoleon 12-Poind Light Field Cannons are replicas created by Mountain View High School students during the 1990 to 1992 school years in Vancouver, Washington. They are the property of the City of Vancouver, which supplied materials. This community project involved students from the metalworking and woodworking classes under the leadership of teachers Larry books and Darell Midles. The cannons were dedicated to the four Medal of Honor recipients buried in the Vancouver Barracks Cemetery. Placement of the cannons at this site was the Eagle Scout Project of James Deuvall from Troop 328 of Vancouver, Washington.

History of the Cannons

Using drawings more than 100 years old, these cannons were meticulously re-created to exact specifications – except that the cannons cannot be fired. On November 8, 1991 the cannons were unveiled as part of the Congressional Medal of Honor convention by General Colin L. Powell and Major General Patrick H. Brady, Vice President of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, in memory of Vancouver’s four recipients buried at the Vancouver Barracks Cemetery.

                              Bugler Herman Pfisterer

                              First Sergeant James M. Hill

                              First Sergeant Moses Williams

                              First Lieutenant William W. McCammon

Description of the Cannons

Each barrel is 6 feet long with a 4.6 inch bore and weights about 400 pounds. It began as a 4 foot hollow piece of steel. The breech and muzzle were shaped on a lathe and welded to the barrel. On its wooden carriage, the artillery piece is 20 feet long and stands nearly 5 feet tall. The most complicated job was fabrication of the 56 inch wheels, assembled from 35 pieces of red oak.

Students who built Cannons

The following Mountain View High School students constructed the cannons during the 1990 – 1992 school years.

[List of names follow]

Contibutors

[A stone marker at the base of the main marker lists the names of financial contributors]

Marker is at the intersection of E. Evergreen Way and Fort Vancouver Way, on the right when traveling east on E. Evergreen Way.

Courtesy hmdb.org

Credits and Sources: