3 Civil War cannons recovered from South Carolina river

[tencats]

In this photo provided by the University of South Carolina, University of South Carolina archaeologist and state archaeologist Jon Leader washes and inspects one of the three Civil War cannons pulled from the Pee Dee River on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015, in Mars Bluff, S.C. The three cannons were dumped in the river by Confederate forces from the gunboat CSS Pee Dee in 1865 in order to keep them from falling into the hands of Union forces. (Margaret "Peggy" Ryan Binette/University of South Carolina via AP) (Margaret )

Archaeologists have pulled three heavy cast iron Civil War cannons from the waters of a South Carolina river where they were hidden for 150 years.

Confederate forces dumped the cannons in the river and set the gunboat CSS Pee Dee on fire in 1865 so it wouldn't fall into the hands of advancing Union forces under Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman.

The three cannons range in weight from 9,000 to 15,000 pounds and measure from 9 to 12 feet in length, Spirek said.

The fact the weapons were in fresh river water, rather than salty seawater, helped them retain markings such as serial numbers, the years they were cast and other bits of information that helped flesh out their history, he added.

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