Reviving history, Cape Girardeau reclaims lost Civil War cannon

The recent return of the Woodruff cannon to Cape Girardeau has ignited historical reflection and interest from local Civil War reenactors. This artifact, named George after George Thilenius by the Friends of Fort D, has made its way home to Cape Girardeau after disappearing from the public eye since 1942.

Background

George is one of only 36 (some say 37 because of the original prototype) of this cannon type created. The inventor, James Woodruff, built the small fieldpiece in Quincy, Illinois, in 1861 and submitted a proposal to Brig. Gen. James W. Ripley, chief of ordnance of the U.S. Army, according to www.turnerbrigade.org/history/woodruff23/. The proposal gave information about the weapon, such as the material it was made from, its dimensions and the price per cannon, which was $235 without the mount and $285 with. Woodruff's proposal was originally shot down, but President Abraham Lincoln, after being pressured by Illinois officials, ordered 30 of the cannons. The city of Quincy bought six as well for municipal defense purposes.

As of March 2024, only eight of the 36 are accounted for, according to Scott House, a reenactor. There is one each in New York, Illinois, Iowa, Georgia, two at West Point and now two in Missouri.

So how did George end up in Cape Girardeau?

What "George" looked like before being restored.Submitted

Journey

This journey starts in Pilot Knob.

House said after the battle at Pilot Knob all the Union troops were following Rebels who invaded Missouri. No one was available to go to Pilot Knob to check the fort. A commander in Cape Girardeau had a local militia and sent them to Pilot Knob. In a deposition from a lieutenant-colonel of the 56th Enrolled Missouri Militia, George Thilenius said they brought from Pilot Knob the sick, wounded, all the guns, cannon and stores, etc, back to Cape Girardeau.

Once in Cape Girardeau, the cannon stayed out of the public eye until a newspaper article in 1917 by the Southeast Missourian mentioned a patriotic display and among the items was a loan of a cannon from the Thilenius family.

Once again, the cannon floated out of the public eye and resurfaced in 1933 for another article. This article about Thilenius' son appeared in the Southeast Missourian and said that on a hot day, he was outside cleaning a Civil War cannon in his backyard and he overheated, went inside his house and died.

A historic photo of the Woodruff cannon back in its prime.Submitted

Just four years later, the cannon appears again in the newspaper, with plans for it to be in a patriotic parade or another display.

Then in 1942, its last reference before disappearing, was an article about a scrap iron drive where officials broke up cannons that belonged to the city. Due to the Thilenius family owning the cannon, it was not destroyed, then it disappeared.

Fast forward three decades to around 1972 when a man working for a power company in Cape Girardeau saw the cannon on North Clark Avenue in the yard of an empty house. After some digging, the Friends of Fort D learned it was the house of Thilenius' granddaughter, and she had moved and left it in the yard. The cannon ended up in Indiana with a collector and reenactor. After 50 years of having the cannon, the man in Indiana decided to part with it, and Fort D representatives went to retrieve it.

Once the cannon was back in Cape Girardeau, House and two others went right to work to restore the cannon to as close to the original look as possible.

"We spent evenings painting as well as restoring the cannon. It was really within a week we had it done. We didn't take any time. It was a big deal. Well, it's an honorable thing -- a great thing for Cape Girardeau," House said.

House said in April that the cannon will be taken to Pilot Knob, and for the first time since 1864 it will be back there. After that, it will be brought back to Cape Girardeau where it will remain.

"He's a real veteran of the real war. We have managed to bring it back with help. It's the thing that is going to belong to the people of Cape Girardeau again, now and we, the Friends of Fort D, we kind of made that happen."