About an hour before sunrise, the British cannons at Fort George opened fire on Fort Niagara. For the next twelve hours, the American and British artillery exchanged a cannonade that was heard along the entire length of the Niagara River.
During this exchange, Betsy Doyle carried red-hot cannonballs from a fire to the six pound cannon mounted on top of the mess hall. That hot-shot" was intended to set fire to British buildings and battlements.
But loading hot-shot was difficult and dangerous. The hot iron could cause gunpowder to explode prematurely in the cannon, wounding or killing anyone standing nearby.
--Brock-Perry
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