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Originally Posted by katana
Thinking 'laterally' I wonder if the stilleto had another use.....if you quenched the blade ...without tempering it, the blade would be very hard...but brittle. Still functional as a stabbing weapon but could be used to incapacitate a cannon.... Your position is over-run, the enemy are about to capture your guns ...you stick the stilleto in the fuse hole (perhaps even 'hammer it in ) hardened steel would 'bite' into the softer iron,....grab the hilt and snap the (brittle) blade ...which would likely snap 'flush' with the cannons outer surface. This would be very difficult to remove, especially in 'battle' conditions.
Voila...a cannon without a useable fuse hole ......a cannon that cannot be 'turned' on your comrades..
Regards David
PS the 'graduation' marks ...if deep enough ....would make good 'snapping' points
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Hi
It seems 'plugging' the touch hole was a common procedure when necessary. I still think that the stilleto, carried by the gunners, would be quickly and easily accessible and if the 'point' thin enough would make an ideal spike.
".....When a cannon had to be abandoned such as in a retreat or surrender, the touch hole of the cannon would be plugged flush with a iron spike, disabling the cannon (at least until metal boring tools could be used to remove the plug). This was called "spiking the cannon"...."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannon
Regards David