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Spanish Colonial Bronze Cannon 18th Century

Currency:USD Category:Firearms & Military Start Price:4,000.00 USD Estimated At:8,000.00 - 12,000.00 USD
Spanish Colonial Bronze Cannon 18th Century
All items sold as is where is. See photos for condition, email info@burleyauction.com or call 830-629-9280 (Prior to sale day) if you have specific condition questions.
Many cannons of all descriptions found their way to Texas during colonization by the Spanish. Ships were wrecked along the Spanish coast and many times cannons were removed and placed in the Texas missions for protection. La Bahia (Goliad) contained many different cannons taken from the ships and used them for protection of their missions. In the late 1700s there were three missions in Guerrero Mexico that were closed by order of Fray Olivares with mission Rio Grande, San Francisco Solano transferred to the Rio San Antonio and re-founded under the new name of San Antonio de Valero (The Alamo). Inventory reports from this indicate troops and cannons were transferred to both the Alamo and La Bahia.
Capt. Juan Cortez reported to Gov. Munoz , there were 8 cannons at La Bahia but there was not a single soldier in the Garrison who knew how to use them. He requested the governor to send him someone who knew how to train gunners. He also reported seeing cannons at Nacogdoches that were both bronze and iron but their carriages were missing.
This bronze cannon is a 2 pound naval gun that was likely removed from a wrecked ship in the Caribbean, then sent to guard the missions on the colonial frontier. A) It is of Spanish origin because the trunnion’s are mid-mounted. It is quality workmanship, plus it is in extremely good condition. B) Ears on both sides of the touch hole were likely used as a sighting device. C) It has a tulip designed muzzle with reinforced bands on the tube. D) Embossed on top of the barrel is a Escutcheon of unknown meaning. It could be a coat of arms, the nameplate on a vessel or a family crest. E) On the left side of the tube, holes indicate it had been hit by shell burst, which prove it had been in a battle.
Records in Guerrero, Mexico indicate that several small cannons were transferred to Goliad when the three missions in Guerrero were closed. The history on this cannon has it originally owned by a rancher on the Guadalupe River in the 1920s and later sold to a collector in Boerne, Texas, who had purchased it from the rancher’s estate.