Revolutionary War cannons return to Savannah after conservation work

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - 17 Revolutionary War-era cannons returned to Savannah Wednesday after years of conservation work, a project led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Coastal Heritage Society.

The cannons were dredged from the Savannah River in 2021 and 2022 during the Savannah Harbor Expansion project.

The Coastal Heritage Society kept two cannons to show museum visitors what they looked like when they were pulled from the river. The other 17 were sent to Texas A&M’s Conservation Research Laboratory in 2023.

The conservation team worked to restore the artifacts to a like-new condition for long-term curation and public display at the Savannah History Museum.

Crews unloaded the nearly 4,000-pound artifacts one by one, a delicate and expensive process.

“That conservation process, which is timely and very costly, is important. It’s really great that the Savannah History Museum, the Coastal Heritage Society, partnered with us to conserve this remarkable assemblage of Revolutionary war artifacts and get the on display here,” said Andrea Farmer, archeologist and tribal liaison for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Savannah District.

Coastal Heritage Society CEO Nora Fleming Lee said she and many Savannah residents are excited to have the cannons back home—and to use them to tell more of the city’s story in the American Revolution.

“Finding these cannons, having an exhibition, expanding and telling the story of Savannah’s role in the Revolution, is something that I think all Savannahians should be very proud of and excited to come and learn and experience more,” said Lee. ”And I think it will be very exciting for tourists, but it’s really something special for the locals here.”

Over the next month, the Army Corps and Coastal Heritage Society will prepare the cannons and other artifacts for the museum’s new exhibit, Loyalists & Liberty: Savannah in the Revolution.

Tickets for the July 2 opening are available online, ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary.

Click here for tickets.