Oldest Gun Found in the U.S. Tells the Story of a Forgotten Battle

Talk astir a blast from the past: A squad of researchers successful Arizona discovered a bronze cannon that they’re associating with conquistador Francisco Vázquez de Coronado, making it the oldest firearm recovered successful the continental United States.

The agelong cannon, oregon partition gun, was recovered connected the level of a Spanish stone-and-adobe gathering successful confederate Arizona. It astir apt required 2 radical to operate, and would’ve been supported by a operation oregon tripod—as opposed to it being carried similar a manus cannon. The probe squad dated the weapon to Coronado’s epoch and speculated connected however specified an costly portion of weaponry successful bully information would beryllium near abandoned by the Spaniards, who went to specified lengths to haul it determination successful the archetypal place. The team’s findings were published past week successful the International Journal of Historical Archaeology.

Coronado made his mode into what is present the cardinal United States, inspired by stories astir legendary, treasure-filled cities. Those cities did not exist, but it didn’t halt Coronado’s expedition from seizing onshore and enslaving autochthonal groups arsenic it made its mode crossed the continent.

“Until this peculiar cannon was recovered nary firearms from the Coronado Expedition had been discovered,” said Deni Seymour, an autarkic archaeologist and pb writer of the study, successful an email to Gizmodo. “No firearms from this aboriginal play are known from the U.S. oregon connected the continental onshore wide arsenic a whole.”

The 42-inch-long (1.07-meter) weapon weighs astir 40 pounds (18 kilograms) and was recovered abandoned connected the level of a Spanish gathering successful confederate Arizona. It is the archetypal weapon recovered from the Coronado expedition, which moved done Arizona betwixt 1539 and 1542. Coronado’s expedition yet got as acold inland arsenic cardinal Kansas.

“All professionals who person seen this grounds and been to the tract concur that this is simply a Coronado site, and that this is grounds of a conflict and a settlement,” Seymour added. “From the standpoint of interpretation, this cannon and the conflict that occurred astir it are are important successful that they correspond the earliest palmy Native American uprising successful the Continental U.S. since the Spaniards did not travel backmost for 150 years.”

The settlement, attacked by the section Sobaipuri O’odham, inactive bears “abundant” grounds of the battle, the researchers noted successful their paper. This includes crossbow bolts, arrowheads, pb bullets, and fragments of weaponry. The struggle astir apt happened successful 1541, the researchers said, specifically dating the abandonment of the partition weapon to 483 years ago.

The gun’s plan dates to the mid-to-late 1400s, the researchers concluded, making it “practically obsolete by the clip of the expedition.” That whitethorn explicate wherefore the weapon was abandoned successful Arizona, alternatively of being slogged further into the American continent oregon hauled backmost towards Mexico erstwhile the expedition made its instrumentality trip. The expedition is not documented arsenic bringing immoderate wagons oregon carts connected its trip, truthful each cogwheel was carried by humans and animals. However, the researchers stated that the weapons were excessively costly to beryllium near down successful mean circumstances, indicating that the colony whitethorn person been attacked, causing the Spanish to flee.

“We besides person a 2nd cannon that was astir apt made successful the aforesaid foundry due to the fact that it looks precise similar,” Seymour said. “The 2nd cannon was successful the battlefield itself and exploded during the battle.”

The partition weapon arsenic it was found, connected the level of a Spanish structure. Photo: International Journal of Historical Archaeology (2024)

The elemental plan of the artillery suggested to the squad that the cannons were formed successful Mexico oregon the Caribbean, alternatively than Spain, wherever the formed weapons would person been much ornamented. If researchers tin corroborate that the cannon was made connected this broadside of the Atlantic, the researchers accidental it would beryllium the oldest firearm inactive successful beingness that was manufactured successful the New World.

More archaeological investigations could clarify however wide utilized the cannons were, and precisely however the Spanish were routed by the autochthonal populations successful confederate Arizona. The partition weapon is simply a singular model into that play of taste clashes successful the American Southwest.