It was to be a 100 gun salute. On the 48th round, from the last of the upper tier guns, the No.1 Cannonear was blown almost in two while loading a powder cartridge that prematurely exploded- either from not properly sponging the tube or a spark from the fire still burning from the wooden buildings- then a secondary explosion from the stacked cartridges placed too near the muzzle did more damage. No. 2 Cannonear of the same gun was mortally wounded. The explosion took out two gun crews, wounding about seven men. The gun salute stopped at the fiftieth round.

David