"April 4, 1840- My word, the Princeton boys just buried me in a field behind that old hall of theirs
what was it called? Ah, well, I'm sure the Rutgers chaps have quite the elaborate prank planned; what a shame that I'll be gone before I ever find out. This bitter, active rivalry truly is timeless!..."
One disclaimer, the link takes you to a Princeton humor magazine article on the Big Cannon. Remember that it's a humor piece so the dates and events may, or may not, be true. But it seems like the humor is based off of actual dates and events.
This spring, exactly 175 years ago, Princeton students cemented the Big Cannon stolen by the local Princeton Blues militia on July 3 and 4, 1836 and the Princeton students who completed the heist by dragging the Cannon onto their property by Nassau Hall two years later, into the ground.
There was an immediate Rutgers sortie to recover the cannon that was aborted when local professors and others showed up. This raid prompted the permanent cementing of this cannon into the ground. Today it is known as Cannon Green.
Outside of the painting of this cannon, all the other publicity, including the 1875 Cannon Raid by Rutgers students, were directed at the Little Cannon buried about 40 feet away. Rutgers has no claim to that Revolutionary War cannon but seemingly draws all the undeserved attention. That might be because it is easier to dig over by the buildings and the Little Cannon rather than out in the open by the Big Cannon.
Anyway, whatever the exact day was, it happened 175 years ago this semester.
The Life and Times of the Cannon Green Cannon
One disclaimer, the link takes you to a Princeton humor magazine article on the Big Cannon. Remember that it's a humor piece so the dates and events may, or may not, be true. But it seems like the humor is based off of actual dates and events.
This spring, exactly 175 years ago, Princeton students cemented the Big Cannon stolen by the local Princeton Blues militia on July 3 and 4, 1836 and the Princeton students who completed the heist by dragging the Cannon onto their property by Nassau Hall two years later, into the ground.
There was an immediate Rutgers sortie to recover the cannon that was aborted when local professors and others showed up. This raid prompted the permanent cementing of this cannon into the ground. Today it is known as Cannon Green.
Outside of the painting of this cannon, all the other publicity, including the 1875 Cannon Raid by Rutgers students, were directed at the Little Cannon buried about 40 feet away. Rutgers has no claim to that Revolutionary War cannon but seemingly draws all the undeserved attention. That might be because it is easier to dig over by the buildings and the Little Cannon rather than out in the open by the Big Cannon.
Anyway, whatever the exact day was, it happened 175 years ago this semester.
The Life and Times of the Cannon Green Cannon
