Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-06-23

by no means the only one that furnishes
food in this regard for amusement and a
bit Of philosophic thought. Going to the
very farthest extreme of PENNSYLVANIA
avenue. the visitor to the War Depart
ment finds. at the very threshold of this
temple of the war god, an error far more
ineXcuSable and glaring than the one
just adverted to-
At the northeast basement entrance
which is practically the main entrance to
the building. there stands an ancient can
1T is a little siX-pounder smooth bore. and
was manufactured in Holland for
Britains use in foreign wars.
This relic. which is trophy of the
revolutionary war. stands Immediately to
the right of the entrance in question.
Fastened to the end of the trunnion is an
American shield across which is fixed a
bar about eighteen inches long, bearing
this inscription:
Revolutionary trophy: surrendered at
Yorktown ITO.
The cannon has been in this position
for more than dozen years: during that
time every officer of note in the United
States service. both naval and military.
has passed within touch of the little
Eun-and not one of them to say nothing
of the, countless thousands of visitors
that have yearly inspected it. has de-
tecteG what appears to be a most eyre
giouS error-would be, indeed il IL had
ever been discovered.
For 1t is we'll known historical fact
that there was not only no fighting in
Virginia even. not to speak of Yorktown
itself, in ITS. but there was never
gun fired within sight of that place until
1871, six years later
The negligence of the official who had
this inscription carved was the more
m Ead IN thiS-tpat HOY int
the body Of the cannon the following
words, now indistinct from age:
Surrendered by capitulation of ST.
Johns, I775.'
A search into the history of this war
trophy, which, standing as first greet
ing to the visitor, should therefore be
wholly free from errors, egregious or
otherwise. reveals some facts of more
than passing interest. which have been
obscured by reason of the mistaken in
scription. II was removed to Washing
ton more than dozen years ago from
the arsenal at Pittsburgh, then in process
of abandonment. and placed as trophy
in its present site. At the Pittsburgh
arsenal il was a part of pile of old
revolutionary junk accumulated in that
locality in the last years of the war.
Now history recites how. in 1175 after
the capture of Ticonderoga by Ethan AL
len, Benedict Arnold, who was a colleague
of the doughty Ethan. finding him en-
tirely too intractable to get along with
took his immediate band of about sixty
men and, floating down Lake Champlain
invaded Canada. His first act here was
to attack and capture the frontier vii
laSe OF st. Johns. which was protected
by single six-pounder. This was the
first cannon captured by the patriots in
the revolutionary war-and captured by
a man VINO soon after distinguished him
self by the most daring deeds. only to
fall a victim TO the temptation of British
gold The official whose negligence was
the cause of this erroneous inscription
was therefore guilty of a double wrong
in his actin giving Yorktown an undue
credit and in not disclosing the romantic
history of the little gun.
AS one turns Pennsylvania avenue. near
the southeast corner of the Treasury, ne
sees standing off a hundred feet from
the south front of that building an inn
posing group of statuary. 1t is the eques-
trian statue of Gen. William r. Sherman.
At each of the four corners of the pedes-
tai is a bronze figure of a soldier in uni
form; those on the northwest and south
west corners are in marching FORM each
with his rolled blanket strapped over his
shoulder. But. alas. for the architect.
Any soldier who would present himself
before his superior officer with his blan-
ket adjusted these two models carry
theirs would be promptly reprimanded
with severity: for. instead of having the
rolled blanket over the left shoulder IL
I.asses over the right-an utterly impos-
sib!e position practically. for the soldier
could thus neither shoulder his rifle nor
get the stock to his shoulder to shoot,
\ further ludicrouS mistake was made
in turning and lowering the horses head
so that, wien the horse and rider are