An extremely rare weapon of war will be displayed by the Sons of Confederate Veterans in Anderson County. The first machine cannon ever used in combat was built for the Confederate War Department at the Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond, Virginia, in September 1861. R.S. Williams of Kentucky designed the breech-loading rapid-fire cannon that was first used at the Battle of Seven Pines. It performed so well that the Confederate War Department ordered twenty of them. There is no proof that the order was ever completed. The crank operated, light artillery piece fired a one-pound projectile 2000 yards. A crew of three men operated the weapon which fired sixty-five rounds per minute. Only five of the original weapons survived, all of which are in museums in the North, and there are only seven reproductions. The rare reproduction Williams gun will be displayed and fired by the Sons of Confederate Veterans on April 2 & 3 during the upcoming Battle of Anderson Re-enactment, which will take place at 715 Due West Road in Honea Path.