The cannon (c. 1600) that sits behind the Patton Homestead was taken by General Patton's staff in 1942 during World War II from the coast of Morocco as a souvenir from the North Africa Campaign. He sent it home to Hamilton, alerting his wife, Beatrice, by telegram that she would need to pick it up at the Hamilton Train Station when it arrived. Beatrice placed it here, pointed towards the Ipswich River, as a tongue-in-cheek gesture to ward off invading pirates.
You will find the next QR code located in the outdoor patio next to the cannon.
Photo: Major General George S. Patton and his wife, Joanne Holbrook Patton, and their children sitting on the cannon behind the Patton Homestead. Photo from the Patton Family Archives of the Wenham Museum.