Cannonball (Cannon Ball) from the Battle of Bennington
Unknown American, American
about 1777
Iron
Overall: 3 1/16 in. (7.9 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Gift of Frank C. and Clara G. Churchill
46.22.16424
Geography
Place Made: United States, North America
Period
1600-1800
Object Name
Armament
Research Area
American History
On view
Label
The objects in this case function as relics, or things that physically link the past with the present. The cannonball from the Battle of Bennington, recorded as “ploughed up in 1894,” is a perfect example. The idea of the American Revolution also lived on through those who participated, including both everyday people like Samuel Peaslee, the owner of the powder horn who served in the 21st Regiment during the Revolutionary War, and famous figures such as George Washington. Other objects, including the pine tree shilling, took symbols like the pine tree featured on many Revolutionary-era flags and spread them widely. While many of these objects have little or no inherent value, their association with historical figures and events imbues them with symbolic power.
From the 2025-26 exhibition Revolution Reconsidered: History, Myth, and Propaganda, curated by Michael W. Hartman (Jonathan Little Cohen Curator of American Art), Haely Chang (Jane and Raphael Bernstein Associate Curator of East Asian Art), Elizabeth Rice Mattison (Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Academic Programming and Curator of European Art), Ashley B. Offill (Curator of Collections), and Evonne Fuselier (Hood Museum Board of Advisors Mutual Learning Fellow)
Exhibition History
Revolution Reconsidered: History, Myth, and Propaganda, Harteveldt Family Gallery and Owen Robertson Cheatham Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, October 18, 2025 - August 8, 2026.
Provenance
Ploughed up in Bennington, Vermont in 1894; Collected by Frank C. (1850-1912) and Clara G. Churchill (1851-1945), Lebanon, New Hampshire; given to present collection, 1946.
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