STATEHOUSE NEWS

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CLEVELAND, Ohio - The 1st Ohio Light Artillery, Battery A (1st OLA, Bat. A), in conjunction with the Capitol Square Review & Advisory Board (CSRAB) will bring an original Civil War cannon, gun #179, to Cleveland from the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus to salute the new USS Cleveland, a Littoral Combat Ship.

Battery A is a 501(c)(3) Civil War reenactment unit attached to the Ohio Statehouse, with a mission to educate Ohioans about their history in the Civil War.

On Saturday, May 16, Battery A will participate in the USS Cleveland ship commissioning ceremony alongside fellow reenactors from Valley View, Ohio, who reenact the Cleveland based 19th Ohio Independent Battery.

Gun #179 is now stationed on the grounds of the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus. It was made for the state of Ohio in 1864 and issued to a Cleveland based unit, the 8th Ohio National Guard Independent Battery. This is the cannon that fired a salute at the funeral of President Lincoln in Cleveland on April 28, 1865.

The cannon will fire again in Cleveland, for a much happier occasion, during the ship commissioning ceremony which begins at 10 a.m. on May 16, 2026.

Contact: Duane Rezac
Captain, 1st Ohio Light Artillery, Battery A
740-503-8023
Duane.rezac@gmail.com