Washington Crossing State Park, Philadelphia, PA

Conservation Solutions, Inc. (CSI) preserved two bronze cannons captured by George Washington in the Battle of Trenton in 1776 as part of an IDIQ contract that it had with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. These memorialize the daring raid across the Delaware River on Christmas Eve that kept hope alive for the struggling Continental Army.

Long on display at the Washington Crossing Historic Park, the cannons were heavily soiled with excess wax, paint, and dirt. Each was carefully protected and transported from its exhibition site to our studios by CSI conservation technicians.  Soiling, paint remnants, and surface corrosion were removed by solvent gels, careful hand cleaning, and low pressure waterjetting.  Extreme care was taken to protect historic markings and signs of use including spikes. All inscriptions were transcribed and documented during the work.

All debris was removed from the barrel interiors which were then waterjetted to remove soiling and corrosion.  The patina on the cannons was chemically adjusted to remove streaking and mottling and each was protected using a hot-applied custom made wax coating that included multimetal corrosion inhibitors.  The treated artifacts were then wrapped, crated, and returned to their sites for display on their existing mounts.

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