Blackpowder, first and foremost, is an explosive. Reenactors such as Jade and myself, along with the people we reenact with, have experience with it and know how to use it safely. It should always be treated with respect.
But what is blackpowder itself? Blackpowder is a mixture consisting of primarily three components. Saltpetre, Sulfur, and Charcoal. The exact ratios and production techniques have changed over the centuries but these are the key components. How is blackpowder made? I'll leave the particulars to other websites and books with one key exception for explanation purposes. After the ingredients have been properly combined, they are wet during the production process. Once this cake has dried, it is broken up and sifted.
The reason it is sifted is to permit a sorting into different sizes of grains. Different sizes are useful for different purposes. Commonly the grains are sorted on the "F" scale, the more "F" the finer the grain. 1F powder is primarily used, in reenacting, by cannon for blanks or live fire. 2F is intended for muskets (shoulder weapons) for live fire and blanks. 3F is used for live fire in pistols and can be used for blanks in muskets and pistols. 4F is used as the priming powder in a flintlock.
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| Example of the size of 1F powder |
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| Example of the size of 3F powder |
The key thing about the fineness of the powder is the finer the powder, the faster the burn. I have seen 4F used in a cannon once due to accidental purchase, but the noise factor and the pressures involved makes this highly dangerous.
The key visible component of blackpowder is the smoke that is generated when fired. It is this smoke that caused the powders created beginning in the latter half of the 19th century to be generically called "smokeless." This was due to the lack of telltale smoke left behind. All one has to do is compare these photos with almost any modern action film to tell the difference right away.
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| Squad of Federal Infantry, musket smoke |
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| 20lb Parrott Rifle, prior to firing. Robinson's Battery |
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| Same weapon, recoiling from live round. Grayling, MI artillery shoot |
The term "Blackpowder" is a term that may have been coined in the late 19th century as well. As it was, literally, the only explosive and firearm propellant around, for centuries it was primarily called "gunpowder." With the advent and general use of the new smokeless powders, a new generic term was needed. Thus we get the term "Blackpowder" applying to the older while "gunpowder" began to be applied to the new smokeless forms.
A slight sidebar directly pertaining to the Civil War era. At the beginning of the conflict, the largest powder mill was in the North. The company still exists but doesn't manufacture Blackpowder any longer. The family that started the company still has the name attached to the company. Who is it? The DuPont corporation. During the course of the war, however, a much larger powder mill was established in the Confederacy in Augusta, Georgia.
A word of caution IF you happen to be looking to purchase "Blackpowder." As it is an explosive, many firearms stores do not stock it. This is due to it be classified differently from modern smokeless powders. Also, smokeless powders come in many colors. I relate this because I do know of one reenactor who accidentally purchased smokeless powder because it was black. In any historic or reproduction blackpowder firearm, NEVER use smokeless powder. They are not interchangeable. It will blowup a blackpowder firearm of any scale.
-Corporal
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