The Alliance Historical Society has become the caretaker of some unique artifacts with an interesting history – two Civil War-era cannons that have been in the possession of the city for nearly 150 years.
The public is invited to learn all about the history of the two artillery pieces during the Alliance Historical Society's annual meeting inside the Rodman Public Auditorium on Wednesday, November 12 at 6:30 p.m. John Gross and Don Shaffer, both members of the board of trustees, will give the program.
Registration is requested.
One of the cannons now stands as a monument to the city’s soldiers who fought in the War Between the States at Memorial Park.
The other was fitted with a new carriage and made its first public appearance in decades as part of the 2025 Greater Alliance Carnation Festival Grand Parade. The 1838 Cadet model six-pound cannon used by the Union Army in the Civil War was the Alliance Historical Society’s entry in the parade and was accompanied by Gross, who has spearheaded a 10-year effort to restore the cannons, along with board member Shirene Starn-Tapyrik, who helped paint the carriage.
Gross, a former city safety director, gave a brief history of the two cannons during a dedication of the four new monuments to veterans at Memorial Park. That one is a Confederate artillery piece that was copied from the Union 1838 Cadet model six-pound brass cannon. It was cast at the Treager Foundry in Richmond, Virginia.
After the Civil War, small-bore brass and iron cannons became obsolete. The federal government offered surplus pieces to organizations such as the Grand Army of the Republic, community governments, or patriotic groups for display or memorial presentations.
The City of Alliance Fire Department acquired the two cannons sometime in the 1880s or 1890s. The department used them both in local festivals, parades, and community picnics. By the early 1930s, the carriages the cannons rested on became so deteriorated that they were discarded. The two cannon laid outside of the old firehouse on Market Street for a time and were even stolen once.
Upon their recovery, the town fathers placed them in Alliance City Cemetery to honor the Union veterans buried there.
The Union cannon was removed around 2015 and was fitted for a new carriage so that it may be used in parades during patriotic holidays and observances as well as the Greater Alliance Carnation Festival as it was in 2025.
The confederate cannon was recently removed from the cemetery and placed near the new memorial plaza inside Memorial Park as a reminder of area soldiers who fought in the war that pitted brother against brother.
Gross said that there has been some criticism over placing a confederate cannon alongside the new monuments.
“In that war of brother against brother, a lot of soldiers died,” said Gross. “And they all deserve to be remembered. The men who fought on the Confederate side were Americans before the war. And when the war ended, they became Americans again. This is park is a memorial to remember all American veterans. That is what it’s all about.”