A soldier was injured in an accident with a muzzle-loading cannon.
Since the article indicates that he was reloading the cannon at the time of the accident, I'd guess that he probably didn't swab out the cannon with a wet mop before trying to ram in a new charge. It's probable that burning residue from the previous charge was still in the barrel and ignited the powder of the new charge as it was rammed home. When such cannons were still regularly used in warfare it was the responsibility of the gun captain to call out the steps required to load and fire it, including the command to sponge out.
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Didn’t sponge … didn’t worm first … didn’t have the vent hole properly covered … who knows? But why did he have so much of his body in front of the tube?
I served as a gunner on a 3 lb. Rev War field piece for oh … 4 or 5 years. The first thing we were taught is never, ever, get in front of the tube. To this day, I can not walk in front of a cannon, even if it’s a tube sitting in front of a courthouse, or at a state park. I have to walk around the back. It’s that ingrained in me. When we served the piece, we stood to the side of the tube, and when we inserted a worm or sponge or rammer, it was done with it sitting on the palm of our hand as we reached forward of the muzzle with one arm only. Our thumbs stayed glued to the sides of our hands – never were they used to wrap around a handle. That way if a tool unexpectedly left the tube at a high velocity, we reduced the chance of losing a thumb.
And the command to “ram down cartridge”? You don’t need to ram it. You just need to tap it so it’s seated.
Take your time, people. Nobody is shooting back at you.
Best wishes to Sgt. Smithey for a speedy and complete recovery.
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