On October 26th, KWTX (Texas) Channel 10 News reported that a celebration was held at the Confederate Reunion Grounds State Historic Site in Limestone County to mark the return of the Civil War cannon called "Old Val Verde." It had been for almost a year for restoration work at Texas A&M.
It was originally part of the Union Army's Chicago Mercantile Battery and captured by the 12th Texas Artillery, Val Verde Battery, at the Battle of Mansfield, Louisiana. Another cannon from the Mercantile Battery is at the Freestone County Courthouse in Fairfield.
Confederate Civil War veterans gathered at the grounds from 1889 to 1948. Today, the grounds also have an 1893 dance pavilion. The site has 77 acres with big trees and crystal springs along a bend of the Navasoto River.
"Old Val Verde" was fired at dawn and dusk each day of the reunions. In 1889, the vets first met at the then Pen Camp Meeting Grounds and were so impressed with what it had to offer, that they formed a group and in 1892 purchased the first 20 acres. The land was divided into lots with Lee and Jackson streets as main thoroughfares.
One More Time for "Old Val Verde." --Old B-Runner
The Battle of Fort Fisher, N.C.
