First up, I got to yammering with a cannon crew during one of the celebrations. After talking shop enough to clear me as somebody who knows a thing-or-two about cannons, I got the behind the scenes look at how they re-create bygone technology.
The Slow-matches are lit with kitchen matches for safety reasons. Also the cannon cartridges are wrapped in aluminum foil, which I assume is so the charges can be produced in large lots and stored for longer periods of time.
Also the cannons are cleaned only once a year, so to protect from corrosion they sleeve them in stainless steel.
So, onto the title. We also saw a re-enactment of a 18th century witch trial. It was hands down the best, and most-involved event we saw.
It Was awesome, but I prefer the Massachusetts methods of handling Witches.
I’ll leave it at that.
The MA way? What, going full on batshit-panic insane?
elect them ?
Now what do you have against Witches?
Salem would be lost without them. . . .
Why do witches burn?
Part of the “evidence” in the case was that madam witch “floated unnaturally high” in water. I had to fight to contain myself.
What else floats?
[/montypython]
Surprising to hear that the cannons are sleeved, but I guess it makes sense. I’d have thought that stainless would still be too brittle. The sched 80 pipe we used to aim into a disliked neighbors’ yard and fill up with lobster parts and smokeless powder distorted after a half-dozen shots.
I don’t understand how the field guns can be cleaned only once a year. Clearly, we need a Continental Army NCO to go around knocking heads till the grunts shape up.
Well they were using real black, and no ball or canister, so they don’t have to hold back much pressure.
What they do need is to repel corrosion on a humid Virginia summer.
More weight!
Foil catridges also protect against stray sparks from setting off the charge. I don’t know how much poweder they’re using, but I still wouldn’t want even a small bomb going off in my hands. It also makes a very neat hole once you prick the seated charge that doesn’t close back up, so your prime works more reliably. That’s my 2 tuppence, anyway.
The charges looked really small. When Doubletrouble touches off his scaled down Nepoleon he uses a charge twice that size.
Still charges are charges, and even a light one is no joke.