Nice story, it's good to know that people care about this cannon.
One thing did make me raise an eyebrow however.
It says that they identified it as a replica based on the fact that the wheels on the carriage are made from steel not wood.
That doesn't strike me as a very reliable method, as historical cannon are very frequently displayed on reproduction carriages.
In fact, I'd guess that majority of the cannon I have ever seen were displayed on some kind of reproduction carriage or base.
In an outdoors display, I expect wooden wheels would be the first things to go.
I hope they didn't just sandblast and epoxy a real relic!
EDIT: The guys above beat me to it
Glad I'm not the only one to notice this...