DETROIT — A British cannon that sat at the bottom of the Detroit River for more than two centuries is now on display at a maritime museum after undergoing a three-year restoration.

The 18th century cannon, embossed with the crest of King George II, was unveiled today by the police diver who found it in 2011 while taking part in a training program. Dean Rademaker pulled a sheet off the cannon during the ceremony at the Dossin Great Lakes Museum on Belle Isle, an island park in the Detroit River.

Based on markings on the cannon, it was made in East Sussex, England, in the mid-1740s, the Detroit Historical Society says. The organization says the cannon likely was used in various conflicts before being moved to Fort Lernoult in Detroit.

The cannon, when it was new, would have been capable of firing a cannonball about a mile, according to Detroit Historical Society senior curator Joel Stone.

When the British abandoned Detroit in 1796, the society says the cannon probably ended up in the river after soldiers were ordered to destroy some weapons. The dive team found it 20 feet underwater behind downtown’s Cobo Center convention hall, the same area where several other cannons have been found.

Thanks to the restoration work, Stone says, the cannon now “is in very good condition.”

Rademaker says he and other dive team members “brought a little bit of history back to the city of Detroit” and will “have an opportunity to bring our kids here, our grandkids here, and it will always be displayed here for people to see.”

The Dossin Great Lakes Museum is open Saturdays and Sundays. Admission is free.

First Published December 10, 2014, 10:34 p.m.