Thanks for the info Double D, it certainly adds to what information I had ! ...And I LOVE to LEARN..
Does it sound plausible that a wet wooden bore block or a wet swab left in the barrel before loading with a hot ball, would do the trick?
True, hot shot were greatly feared by experienced sailors. While hit shot would be near useless on land, where the target is mobile, for all practical purposes, when a wooden ship is hit and a ball is buried deep in it's hull, it is a stationary target. Fire on land is bad, but fire at sea is sheer terror ! Often, disabled or old rotten ships were set afire, and floated downstream against enemy ships, which were often anchored when hit.
For those reasons, a hot shot oven would not likely be found in at Fort Kearney or Fort Laramie.
However, they would likely be very useful at Fort Michilimackinac, Fort Pitt or the fort at St Augustine.