Colonial Williamsburg powder storage and memory

[Horse]

Years ago my wife and I took a trip to Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown and some other historic places. One memory I have is the armory
at Williamsburg. i seem to remember a historic inturpitor? giving a talk about how the powder was stored in wooden barrels and every so often the barrels were taken outside and rolled on the grown to keep the powder mixed. Is that something that was done back then or am I remembering something that ddn't happen? It was a great trip we both loved Williamsburg.

 

[maillemaker]

The proper incorporation of black powder ingredients did not happen until the early 19th century. Consequently, the strength of British black powder roughly doubled from the early 1700s to 1829. Once powder started being turned into proper cake with rolling mills it was no longer necessary to mix the meal. Prior to that it may have been.

Medieval powder (serpentine) absolutely would settle out into its constituent ingredients during shipping and had to be re-mixed prior to use.

 

[Sean E Bug]

also powder that gets damp can form clumps. rolling it around would break up the clumps.