Have you ever noticed the cannon barrel sticking out of a sidewalk in Gettysburg?
Gettysburg had three active newspapers at the time of the battle. The Democratic paper – called the Gettysburg Compiler – was produced in the building shown here (today 126 Baltimore Street).
As the fighting swirled through town on July 1, 1863, soldiers may have noticed a strange object protruding from the ground in front of the newspaper office. Still present today (but now cemented into the sidewalk) is the barrel of a cannon that was once fired to celebrate Democratic election victories. This ended abruptly in 1855 when the cannon crew overloaded the barrel with powder and destroyed it. Named “Penelope,” the cannon became a permanent fixture in the streets of Gettysburg.
Look closely at the photo and you’ll see “Penelope” on the sidewalk in front of the building’s cellar door.
