Revolutionary War cannons debut at Savannah History Museum for America 250

SAVANNAH, Ga.– A piece of Revolutionary War history that spent more than two centuries hidden underwater is now on display in Georgia's oldest city, just in time for America's 250th anniversary.Nineteen cannons discovered at the bottom of the Savannah River were unveiled Thursday as a part of a new exhibit at the Savannah History Museum.

The cannons spent nearly 240 years underwater."This is the largest discovery of 18th century artillery from a single Revolutionary War naval event," said Nora Fleming Lee, CEO of Coastal Heritage Society."So the discovery is really significant nationwide, not just for Savannah."A crew with the U.S.

Army Corps of Engineers stumbled upon the cannons in 2021 while dredging the river to accommodate larger cargo ships.MILITARY ALLIES, HISTORIC TALL SHIPS CONVERGE ON NEW JERSEY SHORES TO LAUNCH AMERICA 250 CELEBRATIONSSeventeen Revolutionary War cannons were restored and put on display at the Savannah History Museum.(Amy Galo)"In total, they brought up 19 cannon and a dozen or so are small artifacts.… They had quite a bit of concretion on them, oyster shells, all kinds of marine life that had attached itself to the cannon," explained Fleming Lee.Some of the cannons were found still packed with cannonballs and gunpowder charges, along with other small artifacts.The cannons were found covered in marine life and concretion.

(Amy Galo)After being pulled from the river, most of the cannons left Georgia for several years for cleaning and preservation work at a Texas A&M University lab. "Running electrical currents essentially through a water bath that they were in, and it desalinates the iron works, so it stabilizes iron to be on land," said Fleming Lee."And then in the final treatments, they're painted with acid and given a spa treatment and waxed and that they can have a very long life here on land."Seventeen cannons were restored.

The other two were left unrestored to allow visitors a side-by-side comparison.All 19 are permanen...