This ten inch Columbiad cannon defended Charleston Harbor from 1863 until the end of the War Between the States in 1865. It has a smooth, non-rifled bore and fires a ten inch round ball weighing 104 pounds. Its markings include serial number 22 on the muzzle, the letters BF for the Bellona Foundry outside Richmond, Virginia, the inspector’s initials RMC, and JLA for Junius L. Archer, owner of the Bellona Foundry. Manufactured in 1863, the cannon weighs 13,028 pounds and was shipped by rail to Charleston. Dozens of these cannons were used in Charleston’s defenses as Union forces blockaded the city early in the war, bombarded this part of South Carolina constantly, and established several beachheads for Union artillery. Duels between Union and Confederate forces occurred constantly, and cannons like this Columbiad helped keep Charleston from falling until Sherman’s successful invasion of South Carolina forced evacuation in 1865. In 2000, this cannon was recovered off the South Carolina coast at the site of the sunken ship Philadelphia, a salvage ship that carried old iron north to be refoundered after Union forces removed rail iron, cannons, and defense weapons from Charleston. When the vessel encountered rough seas near Georgetown, South Carolina, its planking broke free and it sank. Sport fishermen from Murrell Inlet, South Carolina, discovered the wreck after noticing many fish around the site, then formed Long Bay Salvage Company, Inc. and petitioned the federal government for rights to the vessel and removal of artifacts. Columbiad serial number 22 was the first raised and underwent an extensive one year de-salting and electrolysis process to preserve it.