Thought this interesting , Just read this ,Regarding how long a cap and ball can be left loaded From an article i found in an old arms magazine about Robert E Lee.....
The Confederate general carried an 1851 Colt Navy and the gun almost immediately made the “commentaries” (i.e. print news) after the war as an object of public fascination. According to Flayderman’s Guide To Antique American Firearms, when the gun was shot in 1870 after the General’s death, every chamber fired as was, last loaded during the middle of the War seven years prior.