WRONG!

[Cannoneer]

Some folks firing what appears to be a repro U.S. M1835 Mountain Howitzer on a 4th of July in San Diego, CA.
They're using friction primers for ignition, and experience two misfires before the "Chief of the Piece" decides to do something to correct the situation.

[KABAR2]

OUCH!!!    Lets count the number of wrongs here......
First missfire first time did not wait sufficent time before placing a second friction primer....
second missfire again does not wait to add primer
Third attempt seats cartridge with rammer after NOT waiting sufficent amount of time..... And a dangerous procedure at best!
appears to be an inexperianced crew I whish they showed the loading sequence it may have shown the cartridge not rammed home properly ...... it was that or too much alumin foil facing the breech end also I did not see them prick the cartridge before using a friction primer.....

[Zulu]

I was a gun inspector at a Civil War re-enactment once.  I was inserting a bore light down the vent into the bore of the cannons I looked at so I could see the condition of the bore.
 
On one of the guns, after inserting the light, I couldn't see any light at all.  And the light was in the bore.
 
I had the gun owner worm it out and he pulled out about 5 or 6 crushed aluminum foil packets.
I said "what the heck!" and he said he always sponges first then worms.  I told him that was backwards and he gave me that "look" and said the famous words,  "I've been doing it that way for 20 years and never had a problem".

Nuff said.
Zulu

[Cannoneer]

Allen,
I agree with nearly all your observations, but the gunner does use the vent prick after the second misfire. I think that feeling no resistance there, may indeed be what prompted him to take a chance, and try to tap the cartridge home (he can also be seen to prick the cartridge after he used the rammer).
Your comment about inexperience seems right on the money, this salute could have very well ended in disaster.

[dominick]

One of the problems with firing a cannon in the presence of a large crowd is they probably felt urgency in getting the shot off and not keep the crowd waiting.  This may be why they didn't wait the proper time for their second or third attempt.

[KABAR2]

One of the problems with firing a cannon in the presence of a large crowd is they probably felt urgency in getting the shot off and not keep the crowd waiting.  This may be why they didn't wait the proper time for their second or third attempt.

All the more reason to slow down.... besides the fact you put your crew at risk do you really want the public taking away from this the scene of a horrific accident?  and or one more investigation on the books of a cannon accident? Lifes too short for short cuts when it comes to cannon safety... if something like this happens you apolgise to the public and explain there are certian steps that must be observed during a misfire for saftey I think the public would understand....   The problem here is although this crew had trained on loading and firing there was no training proceedure as to what to do with a misfire.... and the crew didn't have enough training to begin with on the loading proccdure otherwise whoever had rammed the charge home would have seated it properly and the gun would have fired the first time around...  hopefully they learned a valuble lesson and that proper ramming will be done in the future....

[subdjoe]

You can hear the "pop" ring in empty space on those two Fail to Fires.  Sounds very different than a FtF with a seated charge. 

[brass cannon]

That group is from San Pasqual Battle field State Park. They have a nice bronze reproduction mtn howitzer on a pack carriage representing those brought to California in 1847 by Stephen Kearny and his dragons in the Mexican War.  They were trained by the national park service about ten years ago.  That explains some of their problems, some of which weren't shown.  They had been under the direction of LeRoy Ross who may no longer be with us.  LeRoy was a good man who provided me with some important information on a search for a missing Sutter's Fort cannon.  Thanks to LeRoy and some others I found the missing  Spanish cannon.  I have attended several events where they fired their gun usually without a misfire.  They have other problems, too.  However, they are good people who, unfortunately, received NPS training.  For those who may take exception to my NPS comments, keep in mind that for "safety reasons" the NPS requires 10 minutes between shots on a cannon.

[Cannoneer]

One of the problems with firing a cannon in the presence of a large crowd is they probably felt urgency in getting the shot off and not keep the crowd waiting.  This may be why they didn't wait the proper time for their second or third attempt.

I agree with Dom's observation here, and it's not the first time that I've seen a situation like this. You can hear the crowd's oh and a kid ask are you gonna do it again, but (as has already been said) the gun crew has got to act with safety foremost in mind, and not feel pressured to please an audience .

[Doc Brown.]

 I can see how a foil wrapped charge is a major plus in the safety department. Especially when it comes to a miss fire!

[dittles]

It's obvious what the problem was, their chevrons were the wrong color!