This
non-excavated canister was designed for use in the 12-pounder smoothbore howitzer.
The canister's wooden cylinder was tapered to fit the howitzer's tapered powder
chamber. It contains rows of iron balls packed in sawdust. The
illustrated disassembled view is of this actual canister. The single wide groove in
the wooden base was for the attachment of the cartridge bag. Standard canister
are found with iron or lead balls stacked in tiers; the interstices are then filled with
dry, sifted sawdust which is packed with a pointed stick so that the balls will hold by
themselves. The wooden sabots found on field canisters usually have two grooves cut
into them. The canister cylinder was commonly made of tin, which was dipped into a
lacquer of beeswax dissolved in spirits of turpentine, to prevent rusting while in field
service.
