Need resources for the colors of cannons and their carriages for British and American Ships during the American Revolution Period. Thanks for help.
I am currently working on an 18th century Pirate Brig and was wondering the same thing about the color of the ship and the cannons.Hi Bob, I have been trawling the internet the past few days regarding gun carriage colour, specifically 18th century.
The gist of what I can find is that the carriages were red to deep red (deep red being the colour of lots of blood). The French had both blue and red.
The carnage on the gun decks would have been horrendous, at close quarters a 42 pounder had enough force to go completely through a ship. Anyone nearby would have showered with viscous splinters some as big as man's leg.
A book in my possession states that in tests at 100yards a 42 pounder using a one third charge (that is, charge is one third the weight of the ball) the ball will go through 5 feet of solid dry oak.
Sorry for the digress.
Regards
Eric