crewmen aboard the USS Texas (the one before the current "model") after the Battle of Santiago which took place July 3rd, 1898 during the Spanish-American War..........dont you know that July in the Carribbean it had to be hot as hell if you were a stoker in the boiler room or working your *** off in one of the gun turrets! quoted from the Traces of Texas facebook page "Sailors on the U.S.S. Texas after the Battle of Santiago in Cuba, 1898. The decks are blotchy/streaked from saltpeter from the gunpowder that was used during the battle. Gunpowder is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur (S), charcoal (C), and potassium nitrate (saltpeter, KNO3). The sulfur and charcoal act as fuels while the saltpeter is an oxidizer. The Texas was damaged in the battle but not severely."
