<P> The powder in the touch hole was lit either with a slow match, a linstock or a type of flintlock mechanism that was known as a gunlock . </P> <P> Spiking a gun was a method of temporarily disabling a cannon by hammering a barbed steel spike into the touch - hole; this could be removed only with great difficulty . If a cannon was in danger of being captured by the enemy, its crew would spike the gun to prevent it from being used against them . Captured guns would be spiked if they could not be hauled away and the gun's recapture seemed unlikely . </P> <P> If a special spike was unavailable, spiking could be done by driving a bayonet into the touch - hole and breaking it off, to leave the blade's tip embedded . However, Count Friedrich Wilhelm von Bismarck, in his Lectures on the Tactics of Cavalry, recommended that every cavalry soldier carry the equipment needed to spike guns if an encounter with enemy artillery was expected . Guns could also be rendered useless by burning their wooden carriages or blowing off their trunnions . </P> <P> Covert missions to spike the enemy's guns could also be done to prevent counterattacks and protect ships during withdrawal, as in the case of the Ranger's attack on Whitehaven during the American Revolutionary War . </P>

Where is the touch hole on a flintlock muzzleloader