John Wesley Powell, born in 1834 in Mount Morris, New York, was the son of Joseph Powell, a Methodist preacher and avid abolitionist. At age 12 his family moved to a farm in Wisconsin, and at 18 he began teaching in a one-room country school to earn money for college. Over the next seven years he taught school, attended Illinois College, Illinois Institute, and Oberlin College, and explored the Midwest. In 1858 he joined the newly formed Illinois State Natural History Society as curator of conchology of Illinois, began teaching in Hennepin, Illinois, and in 1860 became superintendent of its schools. During a lecture tour in the summer of 1860, he concluded that civil war was inevitable, then studied military science and engineering. A strong abolitionist, he was among the first to volunteer when President Lincoln called for troops, enlisting as a private in the 20th Illinois Volunteer Infantry and by the end of the year becoming captain of Battery F of the 2nd Illinois Light Artillery. He lost his right arm at Shiloh in April 1862 but continued serving until January 1865, when he was discharged as a lieutenant colonel. After the Civil War, he taught at Illinois Wesleyan and Illinois State Normal, explored the Rocky Mountains, and led two expeditions down the Colorado River in 1869 and 1872. Their success led to his appointment as the second director of the U.S. Geological Survey from 1881 to 1894, and he also served as the first director of the Bureau of Ethnology at the Smithsonian Institution from 1879 to 1902. The 30-pounder Parrott Rifle was a 4.2-inch iron cannon with a rifled barrel developed by Captain Robert Parrott, superintendent of the West Point Foundry. The 30-pounder was the next step in the Parrott line after the 10- and 20-pounder field pieces and was used successfully in several theaters. Though technically a siege and garrison weapon, it was usually mounted on a wooden siege carriage for use where operations had slowed and it could be brought to bear from somewhat prepared positions. It typically fired percussion shells, though case shot and bolts were also available. Its markings included Parrott's initials, RPP, on one trunnion, the manufacture date 1861 on the other, and the serial number and bore on the muzzle. The Federal Government provided the cannon to the Hennepin G.A.R. Post #231, and it was delivered in Hennepin on October 13, 1900.