Thanks for that link, it will give me some good reading. One thing that struck me as odd though reading the first page about incorporating a powder chamber the author states that many a good cannoner failed to get the charge seated to the proper depth and he would drop the charge in the barrel. Now I find it hard to believe they didn't figure out to mark the handle at the proper depth thus insuring the charge was "home". Maybe the problem was caused more from being in the "heat of battle" that caused this.
Michael