A powder horn was a device used to carry gunpowder

Gunpowder

Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...

, and was generally created from cow or buffalo horn. They were most commonly used with eighteenth century musket

Musket

A musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth bore long gun, fired from the shoulder. Muskets were designed for use by infantry. A soldier armed with a musket had the designation musketman or musketeer....

s, but were rendered obsolete by the development of breech loading fire arms, in particular, innovations brought about by Hall, Sharps

Christian Sharps

Christian Sharps, the inventor of the first successful breech loading rifle, was born in Washington, New Jersey in 1810. He married Sarah Elizabeth Chadwick of Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania. The couple had two children, a daughter Satella and son Leon Stewart.Sharps was issued a patent for...

, Spencer

Christopher Miner Spencer

Christopher Miner Spencer was an American inventor, from Manchester, Connecticut, who invented the Spencer repeating rifle, one of the earliest models of lever-action rifle, a steam powered "horseless carriage", and several other inventions...

 and the later development of self-contained cartridge

Cartridge (firearms)

A cartridge, also called a round, packages the bullet, gunpowder and primer into a single metallic case precisely made to fit the firing chamber of a firearm. The primer is a small charge of impact-sensitive chemical that may be located at the center of the case head or at its rim . Electrically...

s that were developed and marketed successfully by Oliver Winchester. The first known creator of one was a man named Michael London, who was famed for such creations.

The use of animal horn along with nonferrous metal parts ensured that the powder would not be detonated by sparks during storage and loading. Horn was also naturally waterproof and already hollow inside. A number of period horns dating from the French and Indian war

French and Indian War

The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...

s throughout the American Revolution

American Revolution

The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

 and beyond, have been preserved in private and other collections. Many examples shed light on the life and history of the individuals that used them, and can be classified as a unique medium of folk art

Folk art

Folk art encompasses art produced from an indigenous culture or by peasants or other laboring tradespeople. In contrast to fine art, folk art is primarily utilitarian and decorative rather than purely aesthetic....

.

External links

Historic Deerfield

Historic Deerfield

Historic Deerfield is an open-air living history museum dedicated to the heritage and preservation of Deerfield, Massachusetts and the Connecticut River Valley. Its historic houses, museums and programs provide visitors with an understanding of New England's historic villages and countryside...

, Powder Horns from The William H. Guthman Collection