An original cannon barrel dated 1869, numbered 9981, engraved in Spanish "Fundicion de Artilleria" in Seville, Spain, and commissioned by Queen Isabella II of Spain by royal decree, was captured in 1898 at Fort San Felipe in the Philippines. At the opening of Manila Bay, Corregidor Island guarded the bay, with Battan, Luzon, and Cavite on its flanks, and Cavite City, 20 miles south of Manila, was home to Fort San Felipe, built in the 16th century. In September 1899, David Secor obtained the barrel from the Bureau of Ordinance in Washington D.C. to honor Winnebago County Spanish-American War veterans, and it was shipped from San Francisco with freight paid by the City of Forest City. In 1942, the barrel was donated to support the World War II war effort in a metal scrap drive. Weighing 2,070 pounds of solid brass, it brought $144.90. Brass barrels were commonly used in the mid 1800's because brass was very durable, dispersed heat better than iron, and was less prone to premature ignition. The Spanish-American War was provoked by reports of Spanish colonial brutality in Cuba, and at the war's end Spain relinquished sovereignty over Cuba and ceded rights over the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam to the United States. The war cost the US $250 million and 3000 lives, of whom 90% died from infectious diseases. A round metal disc at the lower left bottom of the pedestal is a geodetic survey marker denoting an elevation of 1200 feet above mean sea level. The barrel had come from the area of Luzon, Corregidor, and Battan, later associated with World War II, and could have returned there in the form of shell casings. A replica was put in place on Veterans Day, 11 Nov 2013.