The Hartshorn Memorial Cannon is a decommissioned American Civil War naval cannon that forms the centerpiece of the South Lyndeborough Village Common in Lyndeborough, New Hampshire. The cannon is named for John Alonzo Hartshorn, the town's second Civil War casualty and a former member of the town's Lafayette Artillery Company.
Prior to 1900, the Hartshorn Cannon saw service as a naval piece during the Civil War at Fort Constitution in New Castle, New Hampshire, and is believed to have remained there until substantial changes were made to the fort in the late 1890s. The black thirty-pounder Parrott rifle is approximately 102 inches (2,600 mm) long, weighs 3,495 pounds (1,585 kg), and was made at West Point Foundry in New York. [1] Currently it sits on a low granite base which probably dates from about 1902. When in use, it was capable of firing 29-pound (13 kg) shells with a munition charge of 3.25 pounds (1.47 kg) a maximum distance of 6,700 yards (6,100 m), with a flight time of 27 seconds. Typically, nine people were required to operate it. The Hartshorn Cannon's use as a naval gun is suggested by an anchor insignia inscribed near the base of its barrel. Inscribed on the cannon is the letter-number combination "R.P.P. No. 140 3495 LBS," probably indicating the inventor (New Hampshire native Robert Parker Parrott), order of manufacture, and weight of the cannon. Additionally, the year of manufacture (1862) and classification ("30 PDR") are indicated on one side of the gun, and the initial "P" is engraved on the other. [2]
In 1900, the United States War Department offered Lyndeborough's Harvey Holt Post of the Grand Army of the Republic a cannon to place near its local headquarters, Citizens' Hall, with the stipulation that the gift be considered a loan. The GAR post petitioned the town to allow it to grade a spot on which to place the cannon, and the town granted permission for it to do so on March 14, 1900. The post received the cannon in 1902. That year, at a dinner attended by more than 200 people at Citizens' Hall, the GAR dedicated the artillery piece to the memory of John Alonzo Hartshorn. [3]
Hartshorn (pronounced HARTS-hurn, though New Englanders in this region usually pronounce it "HAHTZ-hun") was born on July 14, 1840, to Susannah Putnam Hartshorn (1816–1903) and her husband, John Hartshorn (1811–1878), a deacon in the Baptist Church. The younger Hartshorn grew up in South Lyndeborough in a house at the corner of what today is Citizens' Hall Road and Forest Road/Route 31. On May 20, 1861, he enlisted in the 2nd New Hampshire Volunteer Regiment, infantry division, and served as part of the Army of the Potomac in Virginia. On May 5, 1862, Hartshorn was killed during the Battle of Williamsburg in Virginia, becoming the second Lyndeborough resident to die in the Civil War. [4] Harvey Holt, the namesake for the GAR post, was the town's—and according to Lyndeborough's official town history, state's—first Civil War fatality, having perished during the First Battle of Bull Run. [5]
By 1934, all of Lyndeborough's Civil War veterans had died, and the Harvey Holt Post had ceased to exist. Meanwhile, changes were coming to South Lyndeborough. In 1914, the local improvement society redeveloped a central plot of land near the depot into a village common. By 1933, the state had taken over control of Forest Road and turned it into State Route 31, a move which promised to significantly increase automobile traffic in the small town of 399 people. Yet the paving of Route 31 in 1933 also disrupted the common, tearing up shrubs and grass and bringing about a greater awareness of the common's prominent location among local voters. Therefore, as part of an effort to improve the village green, in 1934 the town voted to move the Hartshorn Memorial Cannon to the common—coincidentally, to a location viewable from both Alonzo Hartshorn's childhood home and his church. In carrying out the voters' wishes, however, the town accidentally placed the cannon within the state's Route 31 right-of-way. [6]
In the early 1980s, Route 31 was widened, as a result of which the Hartshorn Cannon saw increased damage from winter plowing and salt use on the roadways. Therefore, in 2009, amidst some controversy, an unknown person or people moved the cannon to what the Board of Selectmen eventually termed a "temporary location" in the Lyndeborough Center Historic District, some three miles away. [7] With the endorsement of the local newspaper, the Milford Cabinet , the Selectmen appointed a committee of local experts to find a permanent location for the cannon, two additional war monuments, and a new Vietnam Memorial. This committee consisted of seven people who together included the Town Moderator, two Lafayette Artillery members, three Vietnam War-era veterans (including one combat veteran), two former selectmen, two college professors, and three lifelong residents of the town. [8] In April 2010, citing the desire to maintain the historic integrity of the Lyndeborough Center Historic District as well as South Lyndeborough, the group decided to place the memorials on the South Lyndeborough Village Common. The Hartshorn Cannon was moved back to the common (to a new location away from the road) in May 2010, and the cannon was a center of focus in the town's 2010 Memorial Day ceremonies. [9]
On August 21, 2010, the Monuments Committee unveiled a $30,000 plan for the South Lyndeborough common, which includes a redevelopment of the spot with fencing, trees, granite benches, walkways, and a Vietnam monument, as well as a new base for the Hartshorn Cannon. Sale of personalized bricks for the walkway and other fundraising ventures will finance the redevelopment. [10]
Hillsborough County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. As of the 2020 census, the population was 422,937, almost one-third the population of the entire state. Its county seats are Manchester and Nashua, the state's two biggest cities. Hillsborough is northern New England's most populous county as well as its most densely populated.
Brookline is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 5,639 at the 2020 census, up from 4,991 at the 2010 census. Brookline is home to the Talbot-Taylor Wildlife Sanctuary, Potanipo Pond, and the Brookline Covered Bridge.
Lyndeborough is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,702 at the 2020 census.
Mont Vernon is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,584 at the 2020 census, up from 2,409 at the 2010 census.
Deerfield is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,855 at the 2020 census, up from 4,280 at the 2010 census. Deerfield is the location of the annual Deerfield Fair.
Wentworth is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 845 at the 2020 census, down from 911 at the 2010 census. The town is home to Plummer's Ledge Natural Area, and part of the White Mountain National Forest is in the northeast. The town has a picturesque common, presided over by a Federal-style church and bordered by antique homes.
Conway is a town in Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States. It is the most populous community in the county, with a population of 9,822 at the 2020 census, down from 10,115 at the 2010 census. The town is on the southeastern edge of the White Mountain National Forest. There are five villages in the town: Conway, North Conway, Center Conway, Redstone and Kearsarge. Additionally, it shares a portion of the village of Intervale with the neighboring town of Bartlett.
Milford is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States, on the Souhegan River. The population was 16,131 at the 2020 census, up from 15,115 at the 2010 census. It is the retail and manufacturing center of a multi-town area known informally as the Souhegan Valley.
The select board or board of selectmen is commonly the executive arm of the government of New England towns in the United States. The board typically consists of three or five members, with or without staggered terms. Three is the most common number, historically.
2nd New Hampshire Infantry Regiment was the longest-serving volunteer regiment of the State of New Hampshire in the American Civil War.
Defunct placenames are those no longer used officially.
The Lafayette Artillery Company was founded in Peterborough, New Hampshire, in 1804 as the Artillery Company of the 22nd Regiment. It was part of the State of New Hampshire's artillery system, a forerunner to the National Guard. The group has continued to operate continuously since its founding, and since 1833 it has been headquartered at Lyndeborough, New Hampshire. Since the 1980s, it has been primarily an educational service organization, and participates in Civil War reenactments throughout the northeastern United States.
Citizens' Hall is the government office building and a community meeting place for the town of Lyndeborough, New Hampshire. Built in 1889 in the Stick–Eastlake Style, but one that is also heavily influenced by the Greek Revival, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its importance as a community/social center for the town. It is located on Citizens' Hall Road in the village of South Lyndeborough.
The Lyndeborough Center Historic District, located in the town of Lyndeborough, New Hampshire, United States, consists of three structures: the Town Pound, Town Hall, and Congregational Church. The district was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. In 2010, by town meeting vote, this district became part of a larger, officially zoned local historic district.
The New Hampshire Army National Guard is a federal military reserve force of the Army National Guard of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. Along with the New Hampshire Air National Guard, it is an element of the New Hampshire National Guard.
The 2018 New Hampshire Executive Council elections were held on November 6, 2018 to elect all five members of the Executive Council of New Hampshire. The party primaries were held on September 11.