?Mt. Aetna Furnace, at which this cannon was cast in 1776, was located one mile west along Mt. Aetna Road from its predecessor Antietam furnace which was along Mt. Lena Road. Numerous records from the Revolutionary period describe the activities at Antietam Furnace which resulted from the award to the Hughes brothers of a contract to cast cannon for the Continental Army. The extra metal at the muzzle end, into which slag contained in the molten metal would rise, would have been cut off had the center core stayed in place during the casting. As can be seen by viewing the muzzle end, it was far out of place and this piece was discarded to remain hidden for 200 years until it was discovered by Mr. and Mrs. Carl W. Shafer in their garden and presented by them to the Washington County Historical Society.

Production of some 70 cannon in what was then a wilderness area was described by Michael D. Thompson in The Iron Industry in Western Maryland as a "prodigious achievement and an immense contribution to the war effort, unmatched by any other furnace established in any other North American Colony."

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Show me all markers in:  Hagerstown, MD  |  Washington County  |  21740  |  Maryland  |  United States of America

Hager's Fancy
Hager House and Museum
Jonathan Hager House
Great Indian Warrior/Trading Path
Hagerstown Railway
Mary Titcomb
Shenandoah Valley Railroad
St. John's Church
Milling
Band Shell

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