Serpentine powder

**cannonmn** · 01-21-2010

This is definitely a long way from Civil War artillery, but it is an antique artillery question, and there are enough smart people who read this forum that I'm guessing someone knows the answer. A friend of mine who lives in CA and is one of the co-founders of SARA (Spanish Artillery Research Associates-a Yahoo group site) asked me whether the following info he found in a book was correct or not. I don't know for sure, but somehow I don't think everyone who used this early form of black powder in their small arms took the time to pound a wooden plug in over the powder. I'm assuming grained or corned black powder wasn't available for the first 200 years or so after firearms were invented. The statement below comes from Roth, Rudi, THE VISSER COLLECTION. The exact part of the statement I'm asking about is "It (serpentine powder) required a confined space to develop explosive energy, which had to be achieved by hammering a wooden plug into the chamber mouth of a gun. For this reason its use was limited to chambered guns."

full quote:

Serpentine powder: A dust-like substance consisting of sulfur, saltpeter, and charcoal mixed in specific proportions that varied during the period of its use. It easily absorbed humidity and caused spoiling by generation of lumps. In close barrels, components tended to separate when exposed to vibrations of transport. It was characterized by unpredictable ignition and burning characteristics. It required a confined space to develop explosive energy, which had to be achieved by hammering a wooden plug into the chamber mouth of a gun. For this reason its use was limited to chambered guns.

**Mike McDaniel** · 02-01-2010

I won't claim to be an expert, but it's my understanding that early black powder was not corned...just mechanically mixed on the spot. This sounds like that sort of early powder.

**cannonmn** · 02-01-2010

Thanks. Let me restate the question:

Is everything in this statement true?

"It (serpentine powder) required a confined space to develop explosive energy, which had to be achieved by hammering a wooden plug into the chamber mouth of a gun. For this reason its use was limited to chambered guns."