Fort D honors veterans with a salute from George, Cape Girardeau’s Civil War cannon
FOX23 News at 9 p.m.
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KBSI) — At 11 a.m. Wednesday, Fort D volunteers marked Veterans Day with a shot from a cannon that saw combat in the Civil War.
They call him George. Built in 1861, the Woodruff cannon fought in more than one battle, spent decades in Cape Girardeau and eventually turned up in Indiana. Now back at Fort D, the cannon helps volunteers tell the story of the local troops who brought it here.
“It also served in more than one battle,” said Bill Eddleman, a Fort D volunteer.
How George came to Cape Girardeau
Eddleman said George was with the 10th Illinois Cavalry at the Battle of Prairie Grove in Arkansas. The cannon also survived the Battle of Pilot Knob in Missouri.
Troops from the 56th Enrolled Missouri Militia brought it to Cape Girardeau from Fort Davidson in Pilot Knob. Their commander, Col. George C. Thilenius, is the cannon’s namesake.
Eddleman said Thilenius apparently kept the cannon after the war. His family brought it out for patriotic events and commemorations before lending it to the American Legion. The Legion displayed it at Fort D until the start of World War II, when scrap metal drives began.
For years, volunteers assumed all three cannons once displayed at the fort had gone to scrap. But Eddleman said newspaper accounts mentioned only two being broken up. He believes the Thilenius family took George back and spared it from the scrap drive.
A visit to Jackson led volunteers to Indiana
George eventually made his way to Indiana and spent years in Civil War reenactments. When the owner visited his brother in Jackson, Missouri, he mentioned he had a Civil War cannon. An artillery specialist with the volunteer group identified it as a Woodruff, a rare type of Civil War cannon.
The owner agreed to sell it to the group. Volunteers drove to Indiana to pick it up, restored it and commissioned a replica of its wooden carriage. Fort D welcomed George back with a reception in September 2024. cdnsm5-hosted.civiclive.com
What is Fort D?
Fort D is the only surviving earthen fort of four built to defend Cape Girardeau during the Civil War. Union Gen. John Frémont ordered their construction in the summer of 1861.
German American engineers from St. Louis designed the forts. Illinois infantry soldiers, military engineers and local militia built them under the direction of Lt. John Wesley Powell.
Gen. Ulysses S. Grant later assigned Powell to organize a local artillery company to man the forts. That unit, Battery F, served there before leaving for the Tennessee River campaign and the Battle of Shiloh. Powell later became known for exploring the Grand Canyon.
Local preservation efforts in the 1930s helped save Fort D. It is now a city historic site at 920 Fort St., just west of the Mississippi River bridge.
Why George fires at 11 a.m.
Volunteers display George during events and fire the cannon on Veterans Day, Memorial Day and Independence Day.
On Veterans Day, they time the salute to the hour the armistice took effect on Nov. 11, 1918, ending the fighting in World War I. The holiday was originally known as Armistice Day.
“The armistice was declared in the 11th month, November, on the 11th day at the 11th hour, 11 a.m.,” Eddleman said.
Eddleman said he hopes people leave the ceremony with a greater appreciation for what veterans sacrificed. He pointed to the Cape Girardeau area’s ties to veterans dating back to the Revolutionary War and to residents serving today.
