Little else is known about the artillery's early years except that, in response to the British Navy's blockade of New England during the War of 1812, several of its members served in the defense of Portsmouth in 1814.
Of interest to military historians, the group also maintains the original caisson, made at the Watervliet Arsenal (and so marked), complete in all-original condition (except the paint), including the wheels.
Nearly a half-century later, surviving members remembered how they chased a den of gamblers from the muster field and took as their prisoner a blanket, which they used to cover the cannon for many years.
During the Civil War, the Artillery again was called upon to defend Portsmouth from possible attack, and the group served for six weeks at Fort Constitution, seeing no action.
However, about twenty of the Artillery's members enlisted in regiments which saw action in the Civil War, among them Harvey Holt, Jr., said to be the first New Hampshire man to die at the First Battle of Bull Run in 1861.
The town did eventually construct the building on a hill overlooking the village, and in an effort to emphasize its community nature named it Citizens' Hall.
Still, the library never materialized, and a number of townspeople were so disgusted by the use of public funds to support the artillery that they refused to set foot in Citizens' Hall as late as 1906.
The group's centennial in September, 1904 was, essentially, a February 22 celebration, though lunch and most of the orations during the day were held outdoors at the home of Artillery captain Andy Holt.
With the deaths of the last local GAR members, the artillery took over the planning for the town's Memorial Day activities, which it continues to oversee as of today (2006).
However, after the war, the Lafayette Artillery Company's fortunes declined as it competed with the VFW, television, increased commute times, and family life for the attentions of its members.
These changes kept the organization from collapsing, though membership has never totally rebounded, and was hurt more when, in 2004, a splinter group formed its own short-lived artillery in Lyndeborough.
A 1999 fire at one member's home destroyed some of the group's valuable mementos, though its records, guns, and cannon remain safely stored.