What Saltpeter Is and Why It Matters

On Feb. 23, 1776, John Adams offered resolutions in the Continental Congress with the intent of boosting domestic production of saltpeter, a main ingredient in gunpowder, and gunpowder mills. Domestic production never really took off during the war, only accounting for a small percentage of total gunpowder. Instead, the colonies imported or smuggled supplies in from the French and the West Indies.

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