Dear Mr. Cornwell,

Since I saw the films of your Sharpe series on German television in the middle of the 90s, I am a fan of these stories.

Why I contact you now is a help with research. I’m also a fan of Steampunk and I also build models in this area. For this reason I deal with artillery of the 18th and 19th centuries.

My problem is I can not find clear information about the firing of the artillery guns. I know that there were charges with detonator that you stuck in the lock. If you have films and books but there were also flintlock or in the course of the 19th century percussion lock ignition. I recently started reading the Sharpe books. Sharpe’s Trafalgar mentions the flintlock ignition.

Unfortunately, what I found in specialist information on the Internet is not exactly what matters. However, I have read that the ignition locks were not so common because they would have been prone to failure.

Since I find their stories very well researched, you can perhaps help me with more detailed information on the subject or forward my request to someone who knows more about it.

I need this information to detail the gun models I use.

As the question is:

How did the firing of artillery guns in the 19th century develop both on land and at sea?

Which types of fats were the most common.

I hope for your help.

Yours sincerely

Marcel Ruppach