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UNITED SPANISH AMERICAN WAR VETERANS CANNON

at the UNIVERSITY OF TAMPA



Location: 

27° 56.728′ N, 82° 27.876′ W 


The historic War Veterans Cannon at the University of Tampa is located on the north side of the 400 block of W. Kennedy Blvd in Tampa, Florida.    It is approximately 400 feet southwest of Plant Hall.

Inscription:

The monument base of the Cannon actually has 8 inscriptions:

(1) THIS SPOT WAS HEADQUARTERS FOR ROOSEVELT ROUGH RIDERS.  WHEELER CALVARY AND THE FIRST FLORIDA TROOPS 1898

(2) THIS WAR BROUGHT THE BLUE OF THE COLD BLEAK NORTH AND THE GRAY OF THE SUNNY SOUTH INTO ONE GREAT BROTHERHOOD AND LIBERTY TO AN OPPRESSED PEOPLE.

(3) REMEMBER THE MAINE

(4) ADMIRAL GEORGE DEWEY   VICTOR OF THE BATTLE OF MANILA BAY    MAY 1  1898

(5) ERECTED HERE IN 1927 BY GEN. JOE WHEELER CAMP NO. 2 DEPT. OF FLORIDA, U.S.W.V.

(6) PRESENTED TO TAMPA AS A MEMORIAL TO THOSE WHO SERVED IN THE WAR WITH SPAIN

(7) THIS GUN ERECTED AT FORT DADE FOR THE DEFENSE OF TAMPA IN 1898

(8) COMMITTEE

CHAIRMAN ADJUTANT W.E. CLUM
PAST DEPT. COM  W.A. JOUGHIN
CAMP COM. JAMES R. BROWN
PAST COMS ED. KANE    J.W. SULLIVAN
HONORARY MEMBER. D.B. MCKAY


Erected:

The monument was erected at its current location in 1927 by Gen. Joe Wheeler, Camp No. 2, Dept. of Florida, U.S.W.V. [United Spanish American  War Veterans].    Read the Description section below for more background information on how the Cannon evolved to its current presentation.

Description:

This impressive turn-of-the-century coastal defense cannon memorializes the 1898 Spanish American War and symbolically points south towards Cuba.    The inscription on its monumental base describes it as an eight-inch (203 mm) gun on a "disappearing carriage" taken from Fort Dade, an old coast defense fort on Egmont Key at the mouth of Tampa Bay.    Its full story is as follows:

The original Fort Dade gun described on the base was placed in Plant Park in November 1927, but was donated to a steel scrap drive during World War II. Following the war, an eight-inch (203 mm) cannon of similar vintage was obtained from Fort Morgan, Alabama, and installed on the 1927 memorial's vacant foundation. The new gun is mounted on the top portion of a railway gun carriage dating from World War I, rather than the "disappearing carriage" of the original Fort Dade cannon. 

The monumental base for the cannon contains 8 faces, each with a separate inscription.    

The monument is placed on the location of the 1898 headquarters for the Roosevelt Rough Riders, Wheeler Calvary, and the first Florida troops of 1898, as they assembled in Tampa in preparation for Cuba. 


Rough Rider Office - 813-248-1898 - 601 N 19th St . - Tampa, FL 33605  Email: office@tamparoughriders.org
© 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment - Rough Riders, Inc. 501(C)(3)  Non-Profit Charitable Organization. 
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