| Facing
the sea stands a Crimean war cannon, a Russian war trophy
seized from the British.
In 1904
it was mounted on a granite pedestal to mark the 50th
anniversary of the defense of Odessa during the Crimean
War.
The 1853-1856
Crimean War was against Russia and Turkey. Turkey's
allies were France and England, which blocked the
Black Sea coast. On April 8th, 1854 thirty-two French
and British ships sailed to Odessa. The ships demanded
the surrender of the city. Odessa ignored this demand.
On April 10th, over 350 naval guns
opened fire on Odessa. The defending garrison
was small and only had 48 small cannons. Most of the
coastal batteries were placed unskillfully, so they
could not take part in the battle. Only one small
battery under Ensign Stcheglov's command were engaged
in the battle. Despite the mistakes of the Odessa
defenses, the French and English were unable to land
their forces. For six hours the Odessa garrison and
the naval ships fought. The ships were forced to move
away from the coast, and three ships were left to
patrol the coast. One of these ships was one of the
best naval vessel of the time, the British steam frigate
"Tiger".
On the
foggy morning of April 30th, the Tiger ran aground
near Arcadia, and was shelled by coastal artillery.
The crew was taken prisoner and the frigate was set
on fire. The crew got so accustomed to Odessa, were
they were welcomed with the best bars, that they returned
to England with reluctance.
Later divers
lifted its engine and eleven guns, some of which were
used to reinforce the garrisons and some of the ship
was used as scrap metal. In 1904 divers lifted two
of the guns, which were given to the city, one of
them being set up on the boulevard.
|
|
|
|
On
April 30, 1854, frigate "Tiger", having
being set on fire by the Russian artillery's shells,
exploded near the Srednyi Fountain coast and sunk
|
|
|
There is
an old saying about this military monument. An innocence
test. If a potential bridegroom was eager to know
whether his potential bride was a virgin, he had to
bring her to the gun. If the gun fires a shot, than
her innocence was guaranteed. (adapted from Odessa,
the Almanac)
Historic photo of the cannon
|
