Two of the seven cannon that still exist which are known to have been fired at the Battle of the Alamo have been restored by conservators at Texas A&M University, and tell us a lot about the most famous battle fought west of the Mississippi, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
The cannon, which were removed from the Alamo for restoration in October, have been returned by the Texas General Land Office.
Jim Jobling, the director of the preservation lab. and his team which cleaned, inspected, and renovated the cannon has determined that one of the two is a Spanish made weapon which dates from between 1700 and 1720, which means it was already more than a century old when it was fired at the 1836 battle.
Jobling says something surprising was found in the cannon, a cannon ball loaded and ready to fire.
"While we can't say for sure, it is possible that the cannonball we found in the gun was loaded during the 1836 Battle of the Alamo, but of course, never fired," Jobling said
. The other cannon has been dated to between 1770 and 1795 and was made at a foundry in Bersham, Wales.
Alamo CEO Doug McDonald says its amazing that any cannon, or any other relics from the Alamo still survive.
"After Santa Ana's defeat at the Battle of San Jacinto, he sent orders back to destroy as much of the Alamo as they could, before abandoning San Antonio," McDonald said. He said the seven cannon, which represent the largest collection of Texas Revolution artillery in existence in one place, were found at the bottom of acequia, a 18th century water canal, near the home of legendary rancher Samuel Maverick, northwest of the Alamo.
The two cannon that have been renovated will be placed on display at the Alamo on March 2, Texas Independence Day.
Two other Alamo cannon are now being sent to Texas A&M to determine what secrets they can tell about the battle.
PHOTO: GENERAL LAND OFFICE