I am reporting on an accident involving a small bronze cannon, which took place in the state of Florida during the summer of 2000. My involvement with the accident began when I was retained by the firm of Kerrigan, Estess, Rankin and McLeod, Attorneys at Law, as an expert witness for the prosecution.
The case was scheduled for court in mid-October 2005 but was settled out of court just days before the trial was to begin. The settlement was for a substantial amount for the injured party.
The cannon in question was a small salute cannon with a bore of 1.5 inches and an overall length of 21 inches. The cannon was fired once a day, 365 days a year. The accident occurred at a restaurant which selects a patron every night to fire the cannon at sunset as a salute to the end of the day.
After closely examining the cannon and reading the depositions of all those involved with the loading and firing of the cannon I could see many problems which led to the accident.
The night the accident occurred it was very windy. The usual method of lighting a fuse with a barbecue grill lighter to fire the cannon would not work; the wind would simply blow out the flame. After failing to light the fuse with the grill lighter, the restaurant patron who was selected to fire the cannon was handed a cigar to try and light the fuse.
With the cigar in his mouth and puffing away to get a red glow of hot embers, the patron leaned over the vent in an attempt to light the fuse and the cannon unexpectedly fired. His face was badly burned and powder granules were embedded in his face and one eye.
I will not discuss any of the conversations of the restaurant employees or the patron involved in the accident. What I can do is give you information about the conditions of the cannon and the basic safety issues that were not followed in the procedures of loading and firing the cannon on the night of the accident.
All of us who participate in activities involving black powder cannon should always make safety issues the first and foremost concern of our involvement before any other concerns or issues.
The following violations of basic safety rules I believe all contributed collectively to the accident.
No. 1: Frequently inspect your cannon for vent wear and maintain good operating equipment.
The cannon involved in this accident had an extreme vent erosion problem which should have been corrected long ago or it should have been taken out of service.
The vent measured .75 of an inch across and 1 inch diagonally. The vent was positioned at a 45-degree angle to the rear and was eating away into the breech. The 45-degree angle and oversized vent caused a greater vent debris area back towards the shooter. The vent diameter should be 0.2 inches.
No. 2: A powder charge should be contained in a plastic baggie inside an aluminum cartridge.
The procedure for the handling of powder in this accident was to place the cannon on end, standing vertically, insert 6 inches of fuse into the vent and pour loose powder down the bore. Then, a paper wad was used and “packed real good.”
The ramming of the wad probably pushed the loose powder into the vent. Keep in mind the size of this vent and its 45-degree angle. At this point in the loading process the vent was probably filled with the loose powder. An aluminum cartridge would have contained the powder in the bore.
No. 3: Black powder for firing a cannon should be 1 Fg or cannon grade. 2 Fg may be used for blanks, but in reduced amounts.
The amount of powder used in this accident was never determined, but we do know that the carriage for the cannon had been damaged and repaired some time ago and a recoil mechanism was added which solved the problem of the heavy recoil.
Sounds to me like whatever the size of the charge was, it was too much.
What we do know is that the powder used to fire the cannon in question was 3 Fg. This powder can be used as a priming powder in a vent, but never as a main charge. The 3 Fg powder not only produces more pressure (which causes vent erosion), but is more susceptible to quick and easy ignition. Remember, this cannon fired unexpectedly.
No. 4: Because of vent debris and recoil, a cannon should always be fired at least at an arm's length away from the vent with a linstock or lanyard.
During said accident the person firing the cannon was allowed to attempt to light the fuse with a lit cigar in his mouth.
No. 5: The gun commander should oversee all movements of the cannon crew and stop the process when something is not right and correct it before proceeding.
During this accident whoever was in charge clearly did not have control of the one-man crew.
No. 6: All persons firing a cannon should be well trained and understand the procedures which have been assigned to them to perform.
In the case of this accident I don't think any persons involved with the loading and firing of the cannon understood any of the basic principles of operating a black powder cannon.
No. 7: Alcohol should never be consumed before or during the shooting of a cannon, just as it is unacceptable in operating an automobile, boat or airplane.
In this accident the person asked to fire the cannon was a patron of the restaurant, which had already served him several alcoholic drinks before he attempted to light the fuse. Enough said.
In a short summary: I believe what happened was that ashes from the lit cigar fell down into an extremely large vent. Remember, it was a windy night and the grill lighter would not stay lit. The size of this vent acted almost like a funnel and caught some hot ashes from the cigar.
With the vent filled with 3 Fg priming powder, ignition was very quick and easy.
Another possible cause of the unexpected firing of the cannon would have been that the initial ignition of the fuse threw a hot spark down the powder-filled vent. Either way, the results would be the same.
I strongly believe that if all the basic safety procedures had been observed this accident would never have happened.
Cannon accidents hurt all of us who enjoy participating in historical re-creations or demonstrations of the use of artillery as it was intended. I hope this article in some way may cause people to stop and think about what they are doing before another cannon accident happens.
If you are not sure about something, don't do it. Contact someone who can help you with information to make sure what you are doing is safe.
The best place to start asking questions and looking for information about black powder cannon is the editor of The Artilleryman magazine. If he cannot solve your problem or answer your question I am sure he can put you in contact with someone who can.
Safe shooting is a responsibility of all of us who participate in activities involving weapons of any type. If you observe an unsafe practice at an event bring it to the attention of the event promoters. You may upset someone's feelings, but you also might prevent the next accident from happening.
Safe shooting to all and hope to see you on the range.
About the Author: Longtime subscriber and past contributor Duffy Neubauer is founder and president of Turner's Battery in northern Mississippi. He is a cannon owner and has been firing artillery for 32 years.
Editor's Note: Three sources for artillery safety information are the National Civil War Artillery Association at http://ncwaa.com; the North-South Skirmish Association at www.n-ssa.org; and the artillery safety rules posted at http://artillerymanmagazine.com/safety_rules.html
Readers might be interested in the detailed report and photos related to the accident which killed an Oregon Boy Scout in August 2003 and was reported in these pages.
The Oregon Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation report is at www.cdc.gov/niosh/face/stateface/or/03or020.html