Peekskill Museum - Patriot Cannon

The Patriot's Cannon

The Patriot's Cannon - The cannon that is permanently mounted in front of the Herrick House is in fact the famous "Patriot's Cannon". This cannon is reputed to be the same cannon which fired on the HMS Vulture off Teller’s Point (now Croton Point) on September 22, 1780 during the American Revolution.

While the New York State Militiamen who manned the gun did not know it at the time, the shots they fired had a pivotal effect on the outcome of the war, for they set into motion a chain of events which led to the unraveling of Benedict Arnold’s plan of treason, thereby averting disaster for the American cause.

On the morning of September 21, 1780, the Vulture’s arrival did not go unnoticed. The local residents kept a wary eye on the enemy ship and speculated as to what mischief it might be up to. Two local militiamen were working at a cider mill on the point. One man was 19 year old Moses Sherwood, The other man was John Peterson, a 35 year old a resident of Peekskill of African-American descent. John Peterson was known as "Rifle Jack" to his friends due to his skill as a marksman. Peterson had been serving his country since the beginning of the Revolution five years earlier and had fought in many local engagements.

They watched with some alarm as the British sloop set out a boat of soldiers who began rowing toward the Eastern shore. The purpose of the landing party is unknown. It may have been a small raid or they many have been looking for Arnold. Peterson and Sherwood did not wait to ask. As soon as the boat was within range they opened fire with their muskets, striking some of the occupants. The boat quickly returned to the Vulture while the sloop peppered the shore with grape shot. That act indicated to the two Americans that the ship was within artillery range. Rounding up some fellow militiamen and a team of horses, the went to Col. James Livingston, commander of Fort Lafayette at Verplanck, to report what they had seen and done and to ask for a cannon with which to drive away the enemy ship. After some hesitation, Livingston agreed. The cannon was sent from Ft. Lafayette at Verplanck's Point, South to the area of Teller's or Croton Point. By the morning of the September 22, the gun had been emplaced on Teller’s Point and at first light, as Andre was arriving at Joshua Smith’s house on the opposite shore, they opened fire on the H.M.S. Vulture.

With the wind and tide against her at that moment, the hapless Vulture was forced to endure a two hour pounding from the American gun which severely damaged her rigging. By the time the tide had changed and the sloop was able to drop down the river out of range of the Americans, she was too badly damaged to return to pick up Andre. Thus stranding Major Andre, which led to the uncovering of the Benedict Arnold conspiracy in 1780. John Peterson and Moses Sherwood lived the rest of their lives in obscurity and poverty. Even though they started the chain of events which led to Andre’s capture and the unraveling of Arnold’s plot their deeds have been little noted except in local histories. The names of their comrades who helped service the cannon on that fateful September morning are unrecorded.

The cannon was discovered in 1924 on the site of Fort Lafayette by Paul L. Bleakley, whose father owned the land on which the fort had stood. In 1952 Bleakley presented the cannon to the Museum and it has been displayed on the Museum’s front lawn ever since.

Museum trustee Kay Amory-Moshier, a genealogist and historian, "adopted" the cannon when she discovered that her husband, Charles Mosier, is a direct descendant of John Peterson. She has devoted a considerable amount of her time and financial resources toward the restoration and remounting of the cannon and in documenting the lives and contributions of Peterson and other African-Americans during the Revolution.

The cannon has been restored by Lawrence Cook of Cook’s Arsenal Works in Meriden, CT. According to William Bradford, Curator of the Watervliet Arsenal Museum, the cannon is a cast iron, medium 6-pounder (meaning it fired a six pound ball) of English pattern. The absence of any royal markings which were cast into English cannons indicate that this gun was made in the colonies, probably in the Canaan-Salisbury area of Connecticut. The cannon weighs 1,100 lbs.

The Peekskill Museum is grateful to Mrs. Moshier and her family for their efforts in restoring the cannon and in publicizing its story and historical significance. The Museum is proud of this artifact and is proud to honor John Peterson and Joshua Moses and the patriotic devotion to duty that they exemplified.

To read the inscriptions on the cannon's stone below, just click on the picture and use your horizontal scroll bar to move left to right.

Front of cannon

Right side (looking at cannon)

Left side (looking at cannon)

back of cannon

Rear of cannon

To contact us in writing or to send a
donation or contribution, please mail to
The Peekskill Museum
P.O. Box 84
Peekskill, NY 10566