NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A Spanish cannon used in the Battle of New Orleans and weighing nearly 3 tons has been lowered by pulleys, chains and human muscle onto a new gun carriage like one that once might have held it on a naval ship.
For generations, the 10½-foot-long weapon has sat on three big wooden blocks in New Orleans' French Quarter, outside the Cabildo - part of the Louisiana State Museum.
Museum director Mark Tullos says nothing is known about the cannon's history before it became part of Gen. Andrew Jackson's defenses at Chalmette for the battle on Jan. 8, 1815.
He says its shape and markings show that it was a naval cannon made in Spain.
Tuesday's remounting was part of preparations for the museum's exhibit about the War of 1812.
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