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December 7, 2002Rare Civil War relics found in Petoskey spawn riddles- One cannon is being restored, while another one has raised more questions than it's solvedBy MICHELLE BARBERCHECKSpecial to the Record-Eagle HARBOR SPRINGS - The history and destiny of two Civil War cannons that both wound up in Petoskey's city garage is fast becoming clear, thanks to a noted Civil War historian and a local history buff from Harbor Springs. Wayne Stark, a world-renowned historian and author who created and maintains the National Register of Surviving Civil War Artillery, recently verified that a cannon tube that Fred Knoodle of Harbor Springs stumbled upon was indeed an authentic Confederate cannon from the Civil War. Knoodle's cannon was found buried about six feet deep by city workers in Petoskey who were installing sewer lines on Rose Street behind the Perry Hotel in the city's Gaslight District in 1996. It sat in the city garage until recently when Knoodle, a Civil War buff and descendent of Union soldiers, learned about it and asked if he could have it for his group, called the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, Robert Finch Camp No. 14, based in Traverse City. Knoodle said Petoskey officials agreed to donate the cast iron cannon to the group and city workers even delivered the 1,200 beast to his home in Harbor Springs, where he'll continue to research it, clean it up and preserve it. "It was really quite a find," Knoodle said. "If you have any interest in the Civil War at all, then you know how special it is." While it may be special, the cannon, which has a damaged muzzle, is also loaded with questions. The biggest ones are why is there a Confederate cannon so far north, how was it damaged and why was it buried on Rose Street? Stark said in the early half of the 20th century, any city or group wanting to display a Civil War era cannon simply had to request one from local or state officials. There are 143 Civil War cannons in Michigan. Stark said that with Knoodle's find, he now has identified five Civil War cannons in Petoskey -two of them being bronze Napoleon cannons that documents show were donated to the city in 1902. One of the cannons is displayed in the lobby of the Emmet County building. But until this week neither Stark nor Knoodle could account for the whereabouts of the other bronze cannon. The missing cannon, which weighed about 1,200 pounds, was last seen in the Petoskey city garage by a man named George Murphy from Illinois on Sept. 8, 1992, Stark said. "He had a relative in Petoskey who'd told him about it and he saw it - but now it's gone," Stark said from his home in Pennsylvania. "It's probably worth about $50,000." But city manager George Korthauer said the missing cannon isn't missing at all, but being restored by an Emmet County veteran's group. "We have a place for it in Veteran's Park when it's ready," Korthauer said. Stark said he's spent the last 22 years tracking and documenting the Civil War cannons and has found them all over the globe - from Italy and Chile to Peru and Hong Kong. The question of how they got to where they're found is often an enigma, he said. "The weirdest was the one that showed up in Hong Kong, but was supposed to be on a ship that sank in Peru," Stark said. Knoodle, 62 and a retired GM executive, said his group's cannon likely came to Petoskey by boat or train and was used for a monumental display. He said it had likely been used by The Army of Tennessee or in battles in the South and West. There may be an ominous reason behind why it was found buried behind the Perry Hotel, which wasn't built until 1899, years after the Civil War ended, Knoodle noted. "It may just be that when they fired it, somebody got killed, and what do you do with something so dangerous and so heavy?" he said. Stark added that what makes the Confederate cannon found in Petoskey even more interesting than the fact it was found this far north is that it is stamped as being cast in Augusta, Ga. Until now Stark said researchers believed there was no facility for casting iron guns at the Augusta Arsenal under Confederate control. "Finding a cannon buried in a town is very unusual, but finding an iron Napoleon marked for Augusta has changed our thinking," said Stark. "It wasn't known they did this, so it's very rare. I doubt there's another one out there." Stark said the rarity of the Confederate cannon makes it even more valuable to collectors, many of whom are willing to pay top dollar for Civil War artillery. He said the one in Knoodle's barn could be worth up to $100,000 if it wasn't damaged. "It's really hard to put a price on, but there are some pretty big collectors out there," Stark said. One such collector is country music singer Hank Williams Jr., who Stark said years ago blew the prices of Civil War cannons sky-high by paying $50,000 for one that was only worth about $20,000. "They weren't worth that much back then, so he made the sucker list for a lot of dealers," Stark said. "They are worth that today, though." But Knoodle and his Civil War group have no intention of ever selling, loaning or otherwise letting go of their Confederate cannon - not even to the nice folks in Georgia who recently got wind of it and contacted Knoodle with a request. "They said they would like to have the cannon back down there," Knoodle said, chuckling. "But I don't think many people up here would put up with that." |
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