Photos Provided MASON KYER, of St. Clairsville, stands beside his Eagle Scout project, a refurbished Civil War cannon in Walnut Grove Cemetery in Martins Ferry. Bill’s Towing helped Kyer move the cannon this week.

MARTINS FERRY — A local Boy Scout’s project to refurbish a Civil War cannon is complete and the public is invited to see the results.

Boy Scout Mason Kyer, 17, of St. Clairsville, is scheduled to hold a rededication of the Civil War cannon at noon Sunday in the historic Walnut Grove Cemetery.

Kyer raised thousands of dollars to replace the chassis on the cannon as part of his Eagle Scout project. The carriage was made and installed by Steen Cannon and Ordnance Works of Ashland, Kentucky.

Kyer, a lifelong scout with Troop 59 in St. Clairsville, is the son of Curtis and Brenda Kyer.

He became interested in history when he was just 5 years old. His father took him to a Civil War re-enactment in Virginia, which sparked his interest.

The money raised helped replace the carriage on the 12-pound Napoleon artillery piece, which was made at the Augusta Foundry in Georgia in 1864, he said.

“This piece of history was used by the Confederate Army in the Civil War,” he wrote in his brochure about the project.

Before his endeavor, the cannon was refurbished last in 1986 by the Ohio Valley Civil War Roundtable. The new carriage was made of aluminum instead of wood, which was falling apart.

“It will last a lifetime with minimal maintenance,” Kyer wrote about the new material used.

Kyer said Friday that he raised about $20,000 for the project with several large donations included in that amount. He is pleased with the results of the work.

“It turned out great,” he said. “It was definitely a challenge with how much money needed to be raised.”

Kyer also had a deadline looming: he was required to have the project finished by Dec. 19. But there is one more step before he can get his Eagle Scout pin. He must go before a board of review, which will decide if he met all the requirements to attain Eagle Scout status.

Kyer said all the people who helped him along the way will also get to help him push the cannon onto its new concrete platform during the rededication ceremony. There may be a of couple speakers as well, he said.

Walnut Grove Cemetery, at 420 N. Fifth St., Martins Ferry, dates back to 1795. There are 20 Civil War soldiers buried there. The cannon that Kyer seeks to refurbish was with Gen. Braxton Bragg’s forces at the battle of Lookout Mountain near Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Kyer’s father, Curtis, previously said they had not been able to find much information about when exactly the cannon came into Martins Ferry’s possession. However, he believed it may have been given to the city sometime during the 1880s. He said the war department gave out cannons and other artillery as memorials at that time.

When Kyer presented plans for his project to Martins Ferry City Council in May, he already had raised $2,000 for the project. He estimated the project would cost $16,000, with another $4,000 for a historical marker, posts for the area where the cannon will sit and tools.