Edited by: Daniel S. Burton
The two iconic 19th-century cannons have returned to Officers’ Square in downtown Fredericton, following a meticulous restoration by the City of Fredericton.
Removed in 2018 during the square’s revitalization, the cast iron artillery pieces have called Officers’ Square home since 1947, and were reinstalled on May 5, 2025 near their original positions in front of the Fredericton Region Museum.
These cast iron 64-pounder 71-cwt muzzleloading rifles (MLRs) were originally 32-pounder smoothbore muzzle-loading guns (SBMLs) that were later converted using the Palliser method, a Victorian-era innovation that inserted a rifled liner into older barrels. Both weapons feature Queen Victoria’s royal cypher, the broad arrow (denoting Crown ownership), and RGF IRON markings from the Royal Gun Factory.
Following the 2010 painting, the layers of paint slowly peeled, revealing previously obscured serial numbers, weight markings, and trunnion engravings.
Undertaken by a team of local experts, the restoration involved critical work in cleaning and repainting to preserve the structural integrity and historical authenticity of the cannons, with the work taking place on the north side of the river at the city’s workshop.
The cannons were then repainted and mounted on new Garrison Red wooden carriages (seen in featured image), a nod to their 19th-century military heritage.
1. Gun No. 1 (Serial No. 672) weighs 6,608 lb and stands west of the lighthouse.
2. Gun No. 2 (Serial No. 308) weighs 6,596 lb and stands north of the lighthouse, opposite the museum.
Both cannons were brought to Fredericton from Halifax, Nova Scotia around 1947 through the initiative of Major A. Moulton Libby, a former ordinance officer in Saint John (New Brunswick). They were originally installed outside the Area Headquarters Officers’ Mess on Woodstock Road (161 NB-102, Fredericton, New Brunswick.
Today all that takes place is the occasional driver practicing their parking.
In 1946, Military District No. 7 in Saint John was disbanded and replaced by Headquarters New Brunswick, later relocated to the former training centre buildings between Woodstock Road and the Saint John River.
When the headquarters was decommissioned, Lieutenant-General E. W. Sansom proposed they be moved to Officers’ Square. This was actioned by Alden R. Clark, honorary colonel of the first Royal New Brunswick Regiment.
According to archival records from the York-Sunbury Historical Society, the reinforced concrete foundations of Officers’ Square were designed and supervised by Lieutenant-Colonel A.A. Dodge, P.Eng. (retired). The mounts included 10 inches of coarse gravel, topped with creosoted Douglas fir cradle supports, and were built by the New Brunswick Department of Public Works with formal approval granted by Dr. George MacBeath, the then administrator of historical resources.
While legends have claimed the cannons once served on HMS Victory, the Victory was launched in 1765 and saw action at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, while the cannons in Officers’ Square—based on their serial numbers, markings and construction—have been dated to the mid-1800s.
Regardless of their combat history, the cannons have stood for decades downtown as landmarks in the Garrison District—symbols of Fredericton’s colonial and military past.
With their restoration complete, the cannons once again draw the gaze of locals and tourists, standing gloriously as they had pre-restoration.
