These brass "James" cannon, named for their designer, were manufactured only in 1858 and 1859. They were the first U.S. Army cannon provided with rifling along the bore, a feature added to improve the accuracy of their projectile trajectory. The federal government gave both cannon to the City of Fort Madison in 1916 as memorials to local residents who had served in the American Civil War. In 1996, these cannon were placed on new mountings at this location in Riverview Park by the Fort Madison Sesquicentennial Commission in commemoration that year of the 150th anniversary of the State of Iowa.