The Bennington daily banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1877-1877, 1877-08-10

! pants in the celebration. The imbedded iron
still lies where it fell when BenninRtop,s ola
Long Tom" took its sudden and dangerous
departure.
Inc next nearest great gun" was the old
brass piece,for several years the pride.and for
many years the relic OF Bennington,s first
last, and only artillery company. which nm.
der the command of Capt Bernard Golden.
and Others we suppose, but do not remem.
Der was one Of the finest ever organized in
Vermont. ~
AIter the Co. disbanded and disappeared
their brass six-pound gun was retained and
tor many years remained IN our village. IL
was an accommodating cannon, and did SER
vice on all events for all parties, and for ali
persons when required. AS an instance of
tne freedom with which this ever-ready gun
was used, we remember that on the night
before the Free-soilers' celebration in onr
village, August 10th, 1s4s, the cannon was
loaded and left unguarded on Main street, at
the corners" by the old liberty pole, p then
standing in front of the Franklin House.
Durlng the night, some mischievous yonno
men primed and fired it off. Glass ratified ON
all sides, and the alarm caused, and the
curses uttered against those who had left
the cannon loaded, were about eanally diyi.
ded. From the window OF his room in the
sfraBklin Heuse, the head of John G.. Has
,ftsb wionf al " s9ur Remington readers
VIII remember as the editor of the Vermont
Gazette, soon appeared, with the nervous in
quiry who fired off that gum" Youngster
Gage said, Johnny Harrington touched it
Off," Harrington replied "No. stree, Ed.
Gage did it." Gage said, II only set FIRE to a
little on top and didn't suppose all the
darned stuff was going off,"
1t was quite a lengthy service that this
handsome brass piece did in Southern Yer
mont. One pleasant morning, while Col.
Geo. d. Harrington. now of the Census De-
partment in Washington, was Superintend-
ent of the Bennington Powder Mills Com
pany, the employees Of that company bor-
rowed the gun to fire a salute in honor of
the nuptials of Col. Harrington, who was
that morning married The gun, like its
predecessor was overloaded, and when fred
the brassy fragments flew fearfully, (but
fortunately harmlessly) in all directions,
among the trees and boughs in the sylvan
grove surrounding the Morgan spring."
where the powder works were then located.
Since then it has been catching times"
with our town to know whether we owned
any gun or not Major s. II. Brown, and s.
b. Sanford, Esq, solved the problem few
years since by purchasing a nice, brass six -
FOUNDER, which is still here, and We think
now owned by Mr.. Sanford of Bennington
Centre. ~
As an incident connected with this LAST
brass gun, and which was of quite serious
Importance to Major Brown. he informs us
that one time during some of the celebrant
days, whether Independence Day. OF our
'Rattle Anniversary" he does not remember,
he had left the old gun under the open shed
adjoining his large foundry. During night
of somewhat hilarious excitement, a bevy of
boys hauled the gun ont of the shed into the
yard in the rear Of the foundry loaded it
heavily, and fired it. Major Brown said
that to replace the sash and windows cap
tured and fractured by that nocturnal attack,
he incurred an expense of nearly twice what
the gun cost him. Since then he has taken
but very little interest in its ownership, and
was probably quite willing to ''sell out"
This week, on the opening day of YER
mOnts' Centennial. other guns will awake
the echoes of old Bennington. Next week,
the little three ponnders that twice before
have been heard in Bennington, first when
the lfri ilaners drought them here, AND LOST
THEM HERE, IN 1TTT, ana arafn when Henry
Stevens found and regained them from the
West Troy arsenal and brought them through
Bennington on their way to Montpelier,
where they hold high place of honor on
the CapitoPs pOrtico, will also add their glad
clangor to the noise of our jubilee days. But
we doubt if there will be any pleasanter re-
minescences connected with the centennial
guns than those that cling around old Long
Tom" and the ARTILLERY brass cannon" with
which so many of our citizens, as "boy and
man" have been acquainted.