An unveiling ceremony at the Governor Sprague Mansion on Cranston Street Tuesday officially returned two Civil War era cannons to the former Rhode Island Governor’s namesake.

Governor William Sprague purchased the two cannons in 1861 to equip a regiment of the Rhode Island militia during the Civil War and, according to Gregory Mierka, a member of the board of directors of the Cranston Historical Society, put $110,000 of his own money to outfit Union troops during the war.

The two cannons had been removed from the mansion earlier this year for refurbishing by the National Guard. The Guard and the city then negotiated an agreement over the cannons’ rightful ownership, whether that be the Rhode Island militia or Sprague. They agreed to have the cannons returned to the mansion.

Commanding General of the Rhode Island National Guard Colonel Christopher Callahan was on hand for the unveiling, calling the cannons “the most visible symbol of militia in Rhode Island.”

Mayor Allan Fung also spoke during the unveiling, which was also attended by Councilmen Ken Hopkins and Trent Colford, former Guard general Reginald Centracchio, and a large contingent from the National Guard.

“We are celebrating our city’s history,” Fung said. “And particularly the legacy of Governor William Sprague…these cannons are back in their rightful place.”

Mayor Fung also said this shows the many school students who come here that Cranston was, in fact, connected to many of the things they’re reading about in their history books.

“What we think the cannons represent, long term, is almost 380 years of sovereignty,” Major General Callahan said. “Of people, the militia, built on citizens that cared about what America meant to them and then what it means to us now.”

The cannons were officially unveiled in the carriage house of the Sprague Mansion, which is where they’ll be held from here on out.