The cannons were part of fortifications constructed at Digby, primarily to protect the town from privateers in three separate eras: the American Revolution (1775-1783), the British-French War (ca. 1793) and the War of 1812. The original cannons are now gone, replaced in 1883 by the six here now. The six cast iron cannons were manufactured in Britain, the Victorian era cannons in the 1840s and the George III era cannon sometime prior to 1820. Each has a plaque affixed to its carriage relating a small part of the story of the fortifications and the canons.
Loyalist Park, Digby
Six cast-iron cannons
| Location |
Foundry
weight |
Date |
Weight
(pounds) |
Weight
(kilograms) |
| south |
42-1-11 |
1841 |
4743 |
2151 |
| |
43-2-14 |
1844 |
4886 |
2216 |
| |
42-3-6 |
1844 |
4794 |
2174 |
| |
42-3-0 |
1841 |
4788 |
2171 |
| |
42-0-26 |
1840 |
4730 |
2145 |
| north |
41-3-1 |
– |
4677 |
2121 |
These cannons cannot be identified by serial numbers.
They have no serial numbers. Each of these guns has a
weight, as marked by the foundry, and no two are the same.
The cannons are listed here in sequence, from the south end
of the park to the north end.
From New Scotland
|
VICTORIAN CANNON
MFD. 1840 WEIGHT 4730 LBS.
DIGBY'S HISTORIC FORTIFICATIONS
QUEEN'S BATTERY (1795 1817)
IN 1807 ONLY TWO OF THE FIVE ORIGINAL
CANNONS REMAINED. SEVEN CANNONS WERE
PLACED ON THE SITE IN 1883. SOMETIME
LATER IT WAS CALLED THE CANNON BANKS.
FIVE OF THESE CANNONS ARE HERE IN
LOYALIST PARK, AND THE REMAINING TWO ARE
AT THE WAR MEMORIAL.
From the plaque on the cannon