NENA is the New England states equivalent of FUN. It’s a regional organization which publishes a magazine and holds a convention, which they call a conference each year. Every year, since the late 1940s, the organization has issued a medal which is sold before and during the annual conference. The 2025 medal celebrated the transport of cannon from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston. After the Battles and Lexington and Concord in April 1775, the British retreated to Boston. There the local militias laid them under siege. On June 17, 1775 the British tried to break the siege in the Battle of Bunker Hill. The British won a technical victory when the patriots run out of ammunition and had to retreat, but the British suffered terrible losses. One British officer comments that many more such victories would break the Army. Washington took charge of the Continental Army in July. The discipline among the troops was poor, and Washington did all he could to whip them into shape. In December Washington sent his ordinance expert, John Knox, to Fort Ticonderoga in upstate New York. His assignment was to bring cannon to Boston from the fort which the patriots had captured earlier. Moving the heavy cannon over land was an arduous task. The patriots were actually aided by the ice and snow which made dragging the artillery pieces easier, but it was a tough task. This medal depicts that movement using oxen to do the pulling. These medals, one in silver plate and the other in bronze, commemorated that event. Ultimately Washington mounted the cannon on Dorchester Heights, which overlooks the Boston Harbor in March 1776. This forced the British to withdraw from Boston because their military position was untenable. The deal was the British would be allowed to withdraw if they did not torch the city. For this victory, the Continental Congress awarded George Washington a gold medal. It is interesting to note that the Congress awarded this medal to Washington a few months BEFORE they declared America’s independence. The medal would be awarded to Washington in 1790. This is an example of the medal in bronze, struck from the original die pair. There are about 50 of these medals known. This piece is listed as #2 in the Whitman book, America's Greatest Tokens and Medals.
