SOLD American Revolutionary War Cannon

American Revolutionary War Cannon

Brass American Swivel Wagon Cannon used at the Battle of Fort Duquesne on November 25, 1758. This cannon was one of the munitions used by the Pennsylvania Regiment that was serving on the Forbes Expedition that was committed to driving the French from Fort Duquesne. Brigade Major Joseph Shippen was an officer on this expedition when the Pennsylvania Regiment fired this cannon on the French Fort at the Forks of the Ohio River. He was at the site of the captured of Fort Duquesne. The site was re-named Fort Pitt by General John Forbes, after British Prime Minister William Pitt. According to the Shippen Family, Joseph displayed this cannon at his home. This cannon descended through the family of Colonel Joseph Shippen, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Colonel Joseph Shippen, Jr. (1732–1810), graduated from Princeton in 1753.  Shippen entered the Provincial Service of Pennsylvania as a Captain in the regiment commanded by Colonel William Clapham. He served under General Forbes in the expedition that captured Fort Duquesne on November 25, 1758, as a Brigade Major in the Pennsylvania Regiment. He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 1759.  From 1762 until its dissolution in 1775, Shippen served as secretary of the Pennsylvania Council. In 1786, he was appointed a judge of the Lancaster County Court. (Attributed to William Henry, Lancaster, PA)

Provenance: Shippen Family, Lancaster, PA;

John Scott, Monroeville, Pennsylvania;

Walter O’Connor, Lancaster, Pennsylvania (Greenburg PA Gun Show -1963);

Gordon Barlow, Swoope, Virginia (1994).