In 1892, as Fulda prepared to host the Encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic, members of Zach Taylor Post 42 and a majority of the town's citizens urged the Village Council to buy a Civil War three-inch ordnance rifle. William M. Davis, Fulda's first mayor, arranged its purchase from W. Stokes Kirk Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for $155.00 including freight, and it arrived on June 25, 1892. It was fired that same year at the encampment held just south of town. The cannon bears the initials of T.T.S. Laidley, serial and manufacturer information, the year of manufacture, the barrel weight, and the marking "NJ," showing it was ordered by the New Jersey Militia; only nine are said to exist today. Its trunnions are marked "Phoenix Iron Co." and the date of a patent for an improved forging and welding process, while the cannon itself was patented in 1855. Between January 1, 1861, and June 30, 1866, the federal government purchased 925 rifles of this type. Around the turn of the century, the cannon appeared in parades and celebrations across the area, including Fulda's Memorial Day and Fourth of July parades. It was fired on Armistice Day, November 11, 1918, and then fell silent for decades. Because of its historical significance, the Fulda Village Council hid it from view rather than surrender it for scrap. In 2001, after the Fulda City Council found it in disrepair, Paulson Bros. Ordnance Co. of Clear Lake, Wisconsin, restored it, and after 83 years of silence it was fired again on May 12, 2001.