Load, Aim, Fire

You have likely seen movies depicting the operation of the sort of cannon on show in the Shipwrecks Museum. An examination of some of the displays here indicates that gunnery was a skill which required a specialised set of tools, a high level of training and careful preparations long before any battle was fought.

By the time Batavia set sail, cartridge bags, each containing a precise measure of gunpowder, were prepared by the gunners in the magazine, a cabin set below the waterline in most armed vessels. The magazine was lined with lead sheeting and copper tools were used to prevent accidental striking of a spark. The lamp used to illuminate the magazine was suspended at a window set in the side of the cabin, to keep naked flames away from the explosives. To arm a muzzle loading cannon the cartridge is carefully slid in with a long handled scoop, then wadding (fragments of rope and other fibers), followed by the cannon ball, and more wadding packed in to hold the charge firmly in place. The gun was then aimed, the cartridge ‘pricked’ through the firing hole and finally, a burning match was applied to a trickle of black powder. Between shots the barrel had to be sponged to quench burning embers, then the next cartridge loaded, and the process repeated.