Whereabouts of cannon remain a mystery

From SILive.com (report on Aug 6, 2011) Whereabouts of cannon remain a mystery
Members of the Staten Island Sports Divers, as well as the National Resources Protective Association, conducted a dive yesterday morning off the shore of the Conference House Park in Tottenville.

The group was searching for a 400-pound, iron cannon that was used during the Revolutionary War. "The location of the cannon remains a mystery," said Jim Scarcella, of NRPA. "We did a lot with the metal detectors, and we found what appeared to be an automobile bumper or chassis, but no cannon."

The historic weapon spent nearly 40 years chained to a stone pedestal on the side of the Conference House, before it disappeared on May 21, 1972 -- two centuries after the British operated it to repel an attack from American General John Sullivan and 1,500 troops from Carteret, N.J. It had been donated in 1933 by Virginia Cutting; it had been on her family's waterfront estate in Rossville for many years.

Nobody knows how it vanished, but over time, rumors have circulated, some suggesting the cannon is in the water. "We are going to regroup and evaluate our findings to see if we think it's worth another shot. It might just not be there," said Scarcella.

Meanwhile, on land, volunteers helped remove debris -- including traffic cones, bottles, oil containers, plastic bags, and driftwood -- from the beaches of Conference House Park. The next beach cleanup will be at New Dorp Beach in September. For more information, call Scarcella at 718-873-4291.