Apologies for veering into a historical aside, but rifle-powder-in-a-cannon (OK, lots of rifle powder in a cannon) was involved in a peculiar event in my hometown, before the Civil War...
St. Joseph Saturday Herald
Wednesday, July 6, 1859
Death of Capt. Jack Napier by the Bursting of a Cannon
It has become our painful duty to chronicle one of the saddest events that ever occurred in this community, whereby an esteemed and beloved fellow citizen, in the prime and pride of manhood, was hurried to a sad and untimely death. On Monday the 4th instant, at about six o’clock P.M., Capt. Jack Napier, who had just returned from a pleasure trip down the Lake shore in the Montezuma, charged with rifle powder a six pounder which was on the bluff fronting the Perkins House where it had been fired many times during the day, and then applying a match himself, the cannon burst with a terrific report into a dozen pieces, one of which hit the unfortunate man in the right side, mangling him fearfully, and causing his death in less than two hours. Portions of the cannon flew in every direction, but no other person was injured save one man whose head was just touched by a glancing piece which inflicted a slight wound as it shot by.
The Chicago Tribune reported Capt. Napier had also burst a gun on the Montezuma on his pleasure cruise that day, damaging the propeller but not injuring anyone, but upon his return to port had charged the gun on the bluff with five (italics in original) pounds of powder, ramming it down with sod. I haven't found any information on the gun other than these stories.
Captain Napier's headstone is a portion of the burst gun, just sitting on the ground.
Apologies again.
