My best guess is that the New Haven Police Department dumped these guns in Long Island Sound.
At one time, I could have pinpointed the location within a few yards, but now, I only have a vague recollection that I found them somewhere along the west breakwater of New Haven Harbor. I suspect these were guns taken as evidence or confiscated or turned in during amnesty periods, then taken out, dumped in the Sound and marked as destroyed. There’s no way to know how many lay on the bottom, but I would generally retrieve one or two whenever I worked in that area.
Stabilizing rust while preserving its beauty has always been a challenge. These pieces have had the advantage of 20 years of drying time. I think they should be hung side by side rather than one above the other, but this is the space that was available when I took the photos.
Please refer to Vernon Lee’s Philosophic War Trilogy.