An Unlikely Convergence of Two of My Interests

[jamesbeat]

For those of you not familiar with 'snuff', it is a powdered form of tobacco intended to be sniffed into the nostrils (not to be confused with chewing tobacco, also called snuff).
Snuff is a very interesting hobby, and surprisingly harmless. Being the oldest method of taking tobacco, it is also steeped in history.

As there are a lot of history buffs here, I thought I'd post a quote from a book I was reading last night called 'A Pinch of Snuff.' which is a contemporary treatise on snuff and snuff taking from 1840.

It makes reference to snuff-taking by soldiers during the Peninsular War, and most interestingly, to the use of Fribourg & Treyer (a major snuff producer) snuff containers as canisters for grape-shot:

The late gallant Sir Amos Norcott was an admirable connoisseur of the weed in all its shapes, but especially when in pulvio. During the Peninsular war, it would have been deemed heresy in an officer of the Rifle Brigade to regale his olfactories with any but Norcott's Mixture. Those excellent men, Messrs. Evans, of the Haymarket, can vouch for the fact, that they became aware of the magnitude of the military movements in Portugal and Spain by the increased demand for snuff made by the Light Division. Nay, we have heard it affirmed, that in more than one general action, the enemies ranks were thinned by shots delivered in Canisters, bearing the well-known label of  Fribourg and Treyer.

I love this kind of thing.
Not only is it a combination of two of my interests, but accounts such as this make the history seem more 'real' to me.

[KABAR2]

As a re-enactor of the American Revolution I and other's partook of snuff.... though I have never seen it in cannisters large enough for use in a cannon........ 
As to it being harmless?  tobacco products have been shown to cause cancer lung and gum, there have not really been any long term studies done on the long term effects of taking snuff......
http://www.wikihow.com/Use-Nasal-Snuff

[jamesbeat]

Yes, I should have phrased that differently I suppose, it's surprisingly harmless compared to other forms of tobacco use.
Interestingly, there is only one documented case of snuff being linked to cancer, and that was a farmer who stuffed it in his ear for several decades!
It's certainly orders of magnitude safer than the cigarettes that I have dramatically cut down on by taking snuff.

The usual size tin nowadays is 25g (just inder an ounce) or 10g, but in those days, it would have been supplied to the army in bulk cans for soldiers to fill their boxes from.

Did you enjoy the pinch that you sampled?

[KABAR2]

It's been so long I don't remember the brands we used each had it's own "flavor".... some attacked the sinuses more than others....

[RocklockI]

Interesting post ! I like those kind of interactions as well . 
Gary

[Double D]

Cannons guys cannons.  Say something cannons to stay on topic...

[jamesbeat]

Cannons!
Before I read this, I hadn't really thought about the canister part of canister shot.
Learning that they sometimes used F&T cans for this drove it home to me that these were real people doing real things, if you see what I mean.
This thread should really be about canister shot rather than snuff, and now I've had my curiosity piqued, what would the normal canister have been like?
Would it be something that was made by a blacksmith?
Mass produced on machinery for the purpose?
Was the repurposing of containers originally intended for other items common?
How did the shot actually leave the canister? Like a sabot, or did the canister fragment?

[Double D]

Ah snuff cans used as canister in cannons, that is back on topic...now I can go take my nap! 

[seacoastartillery]

     

Cannons!
 
 This thread should really be about canister shot rather than snuff, and now I've had my curiosity piqued, what would the normal canister have been like?
 Would it be something that was made by a blacksmith?
 Mass produced on machinery for the purpose?
 Was the repurposing of containers originally intended for other items common?
 How did the shot actually leave the canister? Like a sabot, or did the canister fragment?   

 
      Jamesbeat,  although we are not experts with canister, we have had some interesting experiences with the stuff and over the past years we have shot about 40 Lbs. of  .75 cal.  lead balls down range at targets.  The fact that these shots were accomplished using a 4" mortar, simply means that the muzzle velocity was less than a longer cannon.  Second, the fact that the canister charge container opened perfectly on all shots, proves that terrific velocity is not required to open the container to release the balls.
 
      A simple tin can of the proper size to fit your bore and some lead balls is what's needed.  Anything may be used to hold the balls in the can.  In our past experiments we have used wooden disks, news print and masking tape and heavy duty aluminum foil.  In our experience, it is best to cut the can in 5 different places approximately half way down the side with tin snips or metal shears.  A simple two layer ring of masking tape at the can's top will be strong enough to maintain the can's cylindrical shape during loading.
 
     We found a tin can size chart and DD was nice enough to post it in the stickies here:
 
                                  http://www.sizes.com/home/cans.htm
 
      Do your own experiments and you can have a good time and answer your own questions.  After all, this is just another excuse to go out and do some shooting!  Good luck!
 
 Mike and Tracy
 
 
 
 After looking for almost 30 years, we finally found a replacement for those old style quart oil cans that we once obtained for free and filled with concrete to shoot in the 4" mortar.  While these cans have a bastard size and are not on the chart above, sometimes you just have to bring your tape measure to the grocery store and start measuring!







This is the 1/2 scale 1797 8" Mortar made by South Bend Replicas that we used during the Cancer Shoot.






The effects of canister were terrible in war which you can see in the 6' X 6'  target we shot.






Yes, yes this has been posted before.  There are some things which bear repeating.  10.27 Lbs. or 120  .75 cal. lead balls and a white colored wood top piece can be seen in flight just ahead of the roiling inferno.  The can was torn to pieces.  The clip was filmed at 600 FPS.









 

[flagman1776]

 

[Mike H.]

Interestingly, there is only one documented case of snuff being linked to cancer, and that was a farmer who stuffed it in his ear for several decades!

Hearing protection while shooting cannons?