Image - Powder Horn, ca. 1757

Powder Horn, ca. 1757

In the eighteenth-century, muskets and flintlock rifles needed black gunpowder in order to fire. But gunpowder had to be kept separate from the rifle until the time came to use it. Gunpowder fizzled when wet, so keeping it dry was crucial. Soldiers used many different objects for carrying their powder. A favorite lightweight case for gunpowder was to take ox or bull horns, boil them in potash, and then scrape them clean and oil them, for improved waterproofing. Wooden stoppers would then be placed on both ends of the horn to seal it shut. This rare example is the only known powder horn with pewter seals, on both top and bottom.

Engraving powder horns had long been a popular pastime. Soot or plant dyes would be rubbed into the engravings to add color. Typical engravings showed animals, people, or cannon. However, during the French and Indian War (1754-1763) soldiers on the British side began carving maps onto their powder horns, creating a unique type of cartography.

The powder horn here shows New York City at its base (top panel) and illustrates two separate routes important during the French and Indian War. Both routes begin at Albany, 150 miles north of New York City, with one route extending northward along the Hudson River to Lake Champlain and ending at Saint Jean sur Richelieu, southeast of Montreal (third and fourth panels from the bottom). The second route heads westward along the Mohawk and Oswego Rivers to the shores of Lake Ontario (second and third panels from the top). The tip of the horn shows the route from Lake Ontario north along the Saint Lawrence River past the Thousand Islands region to Montreal, where British soldiers defeated the French in the final battle of the French and Indian War.

This map belonged to a British soldier. It has an elaborately carved English Royal coat of arms featuring a unicorn and lion supporting the crest on either side. Engraved below is the motto “Dieu et Mon Droit,” “God and My Right,” referring to the divine right of the English monarchy (see top panel and bottom panel).

An estimated 500 powder horns engraved with maps have survived, dating principally from either the French and Indian or the American Revolutionary wars.

Source: Courtesy of the Library of Congress