Watervliet Arsenal Celebrates Bicentennial

WATERVLIET, N.Y. (AP) — The Albany-area factory that makes big guns for the U.S. Army is marking its second century in operation.

The Watervliet Arsenal was founded 200 years ago this past Sunday. The site started production in the second year of the War of 1812, when it supplied American troops fighting British forces along the Canadian border.

Later in the century, the factory just north of Albany began making cannons for the U.S. military.

Today, the arsenal is the Army's manufacturer of large-caliber cannons and mortars. Some 600 employees at the site work for the Department of the Army, while another 800 are employed by the New York Army National Guard and private businesses.

Anniversary events at the arsenal were canceled because of federal sequestration, but a ceremony marking the bicentennial was held last month.