Revolutionary-era cannonball

BHS possesses a unique collection of Revolutionary War family heirlooms, found objects, and relics that together provide a window into the history of the war itself, and also how later generations commemorated it.

Before her death in 1943, New Yorker Nora Gertrude Welch donated this three-pound cannon ball to Long Island Historical Society (today Brooklyn Historical Society). Having discovered it near White Plains, New York, she likely inferred its connection to the Revolutionary War and George Washington's unsuccessful New York campaign against British General Lord William Howe. That campaign began with the Battle of Brooklyn in August 1776. Following defeat at the Battle of White Plains two months later, Washington and his armies abandoned New York to the British.

Our collections staff has recently cataloged and photographed BHS's historic artifact collection. We are excited to make this collection available online for the first time! Explore more artifacts in our Digital Collections.