1540s Bronze Cannon Dug Up In Arizona Is The Oldest Gun Ever Found In The U.S.

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Posted on 12/15/2024 8:21:22 AM PST by CFW

A bronze cannon used by Spanish conquistadors in the 1540s and unearthed by archeologists in Arizona is the oldest firearm ever found in the continental U.S. — and more than 200 years older than the first guns ever in Wyoming.

The 42-inch-long, 40-pound piece survived as long as it did only because it was made of bronze, Wyoming historical firearms expert Dick Blust told Cowboy State Daily.

Back in the 1500s, many firearms were made of iron, but not this one.

“I have no reason to doubt it (being the oldest firearm ever in the U.S.),” he said. “The reason that it’s not just rusted away to nothing is that it’s bronze. If it would have been iron, it would have been gone.”

Archeologists think the cannon was used during a 1539-1542 expedition led by Francisco Vázquez de Coronado.

It was found at the site of a small Spanish stone-and-adobe settlement, and likely placed there in 1541.

It was a “wall gun,” or relatively small artillery piece used to either defend a wall or breach an enemy wall, according to historians.

(Excerpt) Read more at cowboystatedaily.com ...

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1 posted on 12/15/2024 8:21:22 AM PST by CFW

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