Cherry gun

History

The cherry cannon was first used by Bulgarian anti-Ottoman revolutionaries in the April Uprising, arming under-equipped rebels against the Ottoman army. Balance scale masses and pieces of metal served as ammunition. The first cherry guns were created in the spring of 1876. Later, cherry guns were employed by Bulgarian anti-Ottoman revolutionaries in the Kruševo Republic and other insurgency sites during the Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising in 1903, which was designed as a belated replica of the April Uprising.

The only original cherry cannon from the April Uprising is kept in the museum of Bratsigovo, Bulgaria. The sole surviving cherry cannon from the Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising was captured in 1903 by the Ottoman army after a battle near Kruševo, following the death of an entire insurgent company defending the concession during the population's escape. The Turks transferred that cannon to the Istanbul Military Museum. In 2003, for the 100th anniversary of the Ilinden Uprising, a cherry cannon from the Istanbul museum was loaned for three months to the national museum in the then Republic of Macedonia.

In 2014, Macedonian historians researching at the Istanbul military museum discovered two cherry guns from the Ilinden Uprising stored there, with exhibits from the early 20th century labeled as from the "Bulgar millet." After an official protest from the Macedonian delegation, the origin was changed to "Makedon millet," though historically a Macedonian millet never existed.