Firing the cannon

[RBSinTo]

This was shot in 2002 at an American Civil War Re-enactment at Black Creek Pioneer village, here in Toronto.
In addition to the actual battles being fought, there were demonstrations and displays of various crafts and skills of the period.
The firing of one of the field pieces took place in a large open patch of ground and I used a motor-driven camera and wide lens to grab this shot.
motorized Nikon FA
Nikkor 24 2.8 AIS manual focus
Fuji 100 ISO colour slide
5.6 @ 1/1000th

[DanK]

Good capture of both the canon and the men flinching.


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[rpcrowe]

Nice timing on that shot! I love historic reenactments and try to attend at least one every year. We have had two each year in San Diego County, California; although I see only one scheduled for 2018...

See my smugmug Civil War Reenactment Album at: https://rpcrowe.smugmug.com/Events/CIVIL-WAR/



There are however, numerous Civil War Reenactments in other California locations...

[Tronhard]

The capture of "the decisive moment" for firing a weapon would make a great theme for contributors, or for a competition!

[rpcrowe]

The "decisive moment" when firing a black powder weapon, with the resulting smoke erupting from the barrel, lasts a bit longer than trying to catch a modern weapon's projectile and limited flash.

[Tronhard]

Agreed!

This was my "decisive moment" when watching a demonstration of a Brown Bess circa 1815 at Old Fort George, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.
We each took one shot...


This was a small artillery piece used during the New Zealand Wars - 1840-1872

[Tronhard]

The "decisive moment" when firing a black powder weapon, with the resulting smoke erupting from the barrel, lasts a bit longer than trying to catch a modern weapon's projectile and limited flash.

The helpful thing about many modern weapons is that they are automatic or semi-auto, and the users tend to apply the "Rambo philosophy": why use a single shot when a hold magazine or belt is available???

[Tronhard]

Really excellent portfolio of images from the reenactment!

Nice timing on that shot! I love historic reenactments and try to attend at least one every year. We have had two each year in San Diego County, California; although I see only one scheduled for 2018...

See my smugmug Civil War Reenactment Album at: https://rpcrowe.smugmug.com/Events/CIVIL-WAR/



There are however, numerous Civil War Reenactments in other California locations...

[rpcrowe]

I have never fired a flintlock weapon like the Brown Bess you pictured but, I own and have frequently fired a percussion "Hawken Style" rifle. The percussion cap doesn't produce the amount of flash and smoke that a flintlock produces.

Besides it being smooth bore with the inherent lack of accuracy, I can see why troops armed with the Brown Bess "type" flintlocks couldn't hit the broadside of a barn.

Although, contrary to popular belief, we didn't win the American Revolution fighting with long barrel squirrel rifles like you saw in the film Last of the Mohicans. Instead, we won the War of Independence from out mother country fighting primarily with the British Brown Bess and French Charleville muskets. The long barrel squirrel rifle was too slow to load and couldn't handle a bayonet.

However, there were quite a few officers picked off using the flintlock Pennsylvania "type" rifle... Including Major Patrick Ferguson at the Battle of Kings Mountain (a couple of Crow surnamed men were in that battle, one was my direct ancestor) brought down, possibly by a young man named Darling Jones and a rifle he called Sweetlips, and General Simon Fraser during the Saratoga Campaign shot by a marksman from Daniel Morgan's Rangers (possibly Timothy Murphy). There was a Crow surnamed man serving with Morgan but, I haven't been able to establish a connection with him.

[Tronhard]

Good comments Richard and very informative!

I did learn one thing from the chap I shot firing the Brown Bess... It was very common for them to have issues with their right eyes from the explosion of the powder in the chamber. Apparently it was recommended that they actually close their right eye just before firing. It was extremely hazardous for left handers as their face would be to the side of the weapon where the exploding gases escaped. Even our demonstrator said that when he repeatedly fired the musket the right side of his face was black after a while...

The exhaust from the firing was one reason he was positioned to the left of a bank and we were prohibited from moving to his left. H&S!