[1] Early in the war, Confederate leader P. G. T. Beauregard, recognizing the immediate need for large metal sources for artillery pieces, suggested one expedient would be for local communities to donate bells from churches, courthouses, and other institutions.
While retreating, the St. Paul and Edenton and their gun crews were captured in the Battle of Town Creek after inflicting heavy casualties on Union forces.
The Fannie Roulac and Columbia were rumored to have been dumped into the Eno River during the unit's retreat with Confederate forces west of Raleigh after the Battle of Bentonville.
When contacted, the National Park Service (NPS) stated the Edenton could be returned to its hometown only as part of a trade for a similar early Civil War Confederate cannon tube.
However, in 1999, the NPS helped put the Edenton Historical Commission in contact with Fort Niagara in Youngstown, New York, where the St. Paul was located in storage.