Cannon

Robert Calum Lunsford of Fairplay achieved the Eagle Scout rank in 2011. Calum's Eagle Scout project was to refurbish a reproduction Civil War-era cannon, carriage and limber at Antietam National Battlefield. When his project was completed, the rangers gave him a certificate that would allow him to fire the cannon during one of their live-fire weekends. Since you have to be at least 18 years old to legally fire a cannon in Maryland, Calum has had a long wait. But on July 28, he finally got his moment on the battlefield and fired the cannon.

gregs@herald-mail.com After hearing Al Preston explain what had to be done to fire a cannon during the Civil War, it's easy to wonder why the war didn't end sooner, either for lack of will or lack of manpower. Preston, assistant manager for the South Mountain Recreation Area, was dressed in a Civil War-era federal uniform - blue, not gray - Saturday as he discussed a howitzer on display, the way soldiers fired it, and the way people died either using it or being one of its targets.

A flame shot out the end of the replica Napoleon cannon, followed by a white plume of smoke as the cannon's wheels rolled back from the recoil. “There's a tremendous concussion. There's no question about it,” said Charles Cain, watching the Sunday morning cannon demonstration at Gathland State Park, on the county line southeast of Rohrersville. It gives you an idea how loud the concussion would be, though demonstrators used a half charge, Cain said. “So it gives you a real idea as to the ferocity of the battle,” Cain said.

tarar@herald-mail.com WASHINGTON COUNTY - Two historic preservation groups are opposed to the proposed mining of about 80 acres in the Mount Aetna Road area, saying the site was used to make cannons during the American Revolution and that historic artifacts probably are still buried in the ground. The Washington County Historical Trust and the Maryland Historical Trust oppose a proposal by H.B. Mellott Estate Inc. to rezone 80.33 acres in an agriculture zone on the east side of Mapleville Road (Md. 66)

gregs@herald-mail.com SHARPSBURG - The troops who lined up at the battle cannons Saturday at Antietam National Battlefield weren't army regulation, but they'd have to do. Luckily, the plans didn't call for any fighting. Park Ranger Christie Stanczak led a youth education session on how cannons used to work and how people used to communicate before the advent of computers, cell phones and just plain phones. Stanczak first said she'd give the youngsters a break.

scottb@herald-mail.com Although its neighbors say many local residents don't even realize it exists, Hagerstown is home to a park honoring Spanish-American War veterans that contains a rare cannon built in the 1700s. The Spanish American War Cannon Park at North Potomac Street and North Avenue is scheduled to get a facelift and a name change at the suggestion of a neighborhood group. As a result, the park will not only look nicer but it will be more recognizable as a park, said Nissa Putnam, secretary of the Broadway North Neighborhoods First Group.

It's not every day you see a groundhog sleeping on a cannon. This photo was taken recently at Antietam National Battlefield by Stephanie J. Beane.

By BOB PARASILITI Staff Writer J.J. Cannon is no different than anyone else. He wonders just who will be playing for the Hagerstown Suns when they open the 1997 season on April 3 in Macon, Ga. The roster is a pretty important subject to Cannon. He is, after all, the team's manager. After six weeks of spring training, the Suns' second-year skipper has some educated guesses as to who will be on the Class A South Atlantic League team. But with eight days until the opener, Cannon said nothing is definite.

Potato shooting prompts warning Hagerstown City Police rousted three male teenagers from a wooded area behind City Park after they were spotted shooting potatoes from a homemade cannon Tuesday evening. Police received a report from Norfolk Southern Railroad after an engineer traveling through the area around 5 p.m. noticed what the teenagers were doing, said Sgt. Dennis Ballam. Officers went to the site and the juveniles told them they made their own cannon after learning about the Civil War weapons in school.

A boom bellowed and black smoke poured from the barrel's mouth, but the caliber of sound the cannon made was only narrowly louder than the subsequent shrieks and gasps from the 12-and-younger crowd on Saturday at Antietam National Battlefield. Junior Ranger Day, which was divvied into sections aimed at Civil War education as well as teaching those in attendance to be “stewards of the park,” drew about 150 children plus their families, park Ranger Christie Stanczak said. Sam Cool of Hagerstown brought two of his daughters to the battlefield on what he termed a “staycation.” “She studied the Civil War in school and this is firsthand experience - can't beat it,” Cool, 47, said of his 9-year-old daughter, Molly, who described the day as “awesome.” Park volunteers Tracey McIntire and Audrey Scanlan, outfitted in uniforms representing the Iron Brigade - regimes from Wisconsin and Indiana that fought in the cornfield at Antietam - demonstrated how soldiers fired artillery using black powder blanks.

Civil War cannons that occupied Doubleday Hill in Williamsport from the late 1800s until they were removed in 2000 returned to their home during a ceremony Saturday. Williamsport Town Councilman Scott Bragunier coordinated the historic project, through which the cannons were sent away to Kentucky firm Steen Cannons for restoration. Bragunier said in 1896, U.S. Sen. Louis E. McComas donated the tubes that had been stockpiled following the war. The town of Williamsport mounted the tubes on bricks and dedicated them on Doubleday Hill on July 4, 1897.

A boom bellowed and black smoke poured from the barrel's mouth, but the caliber of sound the cannon made was only narrowly louder than the subsequent shrieks and gasps from the 12-and-younger crowd on Saturday at Antietam National Battlefield. Junior Ranger Day, which was divvied into sections aimed at Civil War education as well as teaching those in attendance to be “stewards of the park,” drew about 150 children plus their families, park Ranger Christie Stanczak said. Sam Cool of Hagerstown brought two of his daughters to the battlefield on what he termed a “staycation.” “She studied the Civil War in school and this is firsthand experience - can't beat it,” Cool, 47, said of his 9-year-old daughter, Molly, who described the day as “awesome.” Park volunteers Tracey McIntire and Audrey Scanlan, outfitted in uniforms representing the Iron Brigade - regimes from Wisconsin and Indiana that fought in the cornfield at Antietam - demonstrated how soldiers fired artillery using black powder blanks.

Entertainment during the summer months in Jefferson County won't be limited to the local racetrack or casino. The new kids on the block are the Charles Town Cannons, a member of the 12-team Valley Baseball League, which celebrates its 90th season this year. Don and Brett Fuller purchased the Luray (Va.) Wranglers last year with the intent of moving them to Charles Town and becoming the first West Virginia entry in the history of the league. “We are certainly looking forward to the opportunity to play here,” said Brett Fuller at a Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce mixer at Charles Town City Hall on Tuesday.

If Scott Bragunier has his way, cannon tubes that sat for more than a century on Doubleday Hill, a spot in Riverview Cemetery named for Union Gen. Abner Doubleday, will be returned to the same spot by spring. The cannon tubes - the barrels of a cannon - were procured for the town in 1896 to honor local men who fought and died in the Civil War. They were dedicated on Doubleday Hill on July 4, 1897, said Bragunier, a Williamsport native and local firefighter who has spent a lot of time studying local Civil War history.

After months of refurbishment, the cannons that sat atop Doubleday Hill are returning to Williamsport, along with mounting carriages. The cannons are due to arrive at Springfield Farm on Thursday, approximately 10 to 11 a.m., barring inclement weather. The community is invited. The cannons will be stored for the winter and then placed back on the hill in the spring. Thanks go to Scott Bragunier, local resident and Civil War historian and re-enactor, for all his efforts with the project and in keeping Williamsport informed.

A flame shot out the end of the replica Napoleon cannon, followed by a white plume of smoke as the cannon's wheels rolled back from the recoil. “There's a tremendous concussion. There's no question about it,” said Charles Cain, watching the Sunday morning cannon demonstration at Gathland State Park, on the county line southeast of Rohrersville. It gives you an idea how loud the concussion would be, though demonstrators used a half charge, Cain said. “So it gives you a real idea as to the ferocity of the battle,” Cain said.

Robert Calum Lunsford of Fairplay achieved the Eagle Scout rank in 2011. Calum's Eagle Scout project was to refurbish a reproduction Civil War-era cannon, carriage and limber at Antietam National Battlefield. When his project was completed, the rangers gave him a certificate that would allow him to fire the cannon during one of their live-fire weekends. Since you have to be at least 18 years old to legally fire a cannon in Maryland, Calum has had a long wait. But on July 28, he finally got his moment on the battlefield and fired the cannon.

A two-alarm fire destroyed a duplex on Cannon Avenue in Hagerstown Wednesday morning, sending one of the residents to the hospital with burns and closing nearby streets. The fire apparently began at the 110 Cannon Ave. side of the duplex and traveled to the 112 side. When firefighters arrived at around 10 a.m., an occupant of the house, a woman who appeared to be in her 40s, was already outside, city  spokeswoman Erin Wolfe said. The woman was later identified as Donna Delosier, Wolfe said in a news release Wednesday evening.

The left lane of Cannon Avenue between Washington Street and Franklin Street is subject to closure today as crews from Miller Pipeline are rehabilitating sanitary sewer lines in the area, according to a traffic advisory from the City of Hagerstown's website, www.hagerstownmd.org . The lane could remain closed until around 6 p.m. Similar work by Miller Pipeline was done on East Washington Street between Mulberry Street and Cannon Avenue on...

A man was taken to Meritus Medical Center on Sunday morning after Washington County Emergency Services got a call at 10:10 a.m. regarding someone falling from a roof in the 300 block of South Cannon Avenue, a 911 dispatcher said. Neighbor Doreen Weddle said she was out back when she heard a sound involving a ladder and went to check. “We found him,” she said. The man, known as Eddie, was lying partway on the sidewalk and partway on the grass in front of 343 S. Cannon Ave. Weddle said she did not know how far the man fell.