Matchlocks
In the 16th and early 17th centuries, European nations gained a foothold in the New World. The gun of choice, that which paved the way for complete dominance of a native population, was the matchlock. “Lock” meaning the mechanism that fired the gun and “match” for the system of igniting it. Over the next century, these matchlocks evolved into wheelocks and early flintlocks. It was the true flintlock that emerged around 1610 that commanded military arms right up until the mid to late 19th century. This article will explore and illustrate the history, use of, and mechanized lock systems of these early firelocks (period syntax for guns) and their evolution to the true flintlock that prevailed by the late 1700’s and the American Revolution.
There were two types of matchlocks: the arquebus[1] and the musket. Both barrels were cumbersome with long heavy iron tubes. They were smooth-bored and attached to a rough-hewed stock with a massive butt. The arquebus was first used in the mid 1400’s. It was of .72 caliber (approximate internal diameter of the gun barrel) and shot a .66 caliber ball (smaller caliber ball allows for powder and patch/cartridge). It weighed about eleven pounds and was held against the chest when firing. The musket appeared about a hundred years later and was developed in Spain. It was huge, weighing twenty pounds or more with an eight to ten gauge barrel (a gauge is the measurement of ball weight to fit the bore of the barrel ie: 10 gauge ball weighs one tenth of a pound). It was fired from the shoulder using a forked rest or stake to steady it.
All were muzzle loaders: a fat charge of loose black powder, a lead ball, and a wad of tow or paper were dropped down the barrel and tamped home with a ramrod. Next, at the firing end, a small pan fixed to the barrel was filled with fine priming powder. A glowing match, a wick of loosely braided cord impregnated with saltpeter, was clamped in a serpentine, which had roughly the same function as the modern gun’s hammer.[2]
To fire these early matchlocks, the musketeer, or arquebusier, squeezed a lever that was clutched upward toward the stock (later models used a trigger). The serpentine was swung forward on its pivot to bring the match into contact with the priming powder, and the resulting flame shot through a touch hole above the pan and ignited the main charge in the barrel. The gun discharged with a huge belch of fire and smoke; the ball shooting out about three hundred paces. Once fired, the gunner removed the match, to avoid an accidental explosion during reloading. He poured in a new charge of powder and ball, primed the pan, clamped the match, and lifted to fire.[3]
The matchlock was used at Jamestown and arrived with the Pilgrims at Plymouth. It was the main weapon of choice until about 1625, yet was still in use well into the later 1600’s. Though inaccurate at best, it was quite devastating when it struck its target. As a weapon against the Native Americans, who had never witnessed such horrific power, it was overwhelming. Those native to the New World went into battle wearing arrow-proof armor woven of cotton thread and wool. The explosive might of these ‘firesticks’[4] easily cut through such primitive protection proving better than the pike, lance, or crossbow. Early colonists learned to discard the European tactics of open field with massed troops. They adapted to their new world of dense forests teaming with a potential enemy who struck swiftly with bow and silent arrows. Captain John Smith, early founder of Jamestown, said it best: “And we are sixteen, and they are but seven hundred at the most; and assure yourselves, God will so assist us, that if you dare stand but to discharge your pieces, the very smoke will be sufficient to afright them.”
These early matchlocks were highly ineffective. The powder had to be carefully protected from rain or while wading through streams or wetlands. They were also very sensitive to the moisture of humid days and often failed to fire. The slow-match had to be kept burning at all times. At night, its glow and or smoky fumes betrayed the white man’s position. Rain often doused the matches. The barrels were easily fouled as were touchholes, resulting in misfires or even explosions. And always lurking was the hazard of accidental ignition of the loose powder every musketeer carried.
Captain John Smith recorded that his powder pouch accidentally exploded and tore the flesh from his body and thighs, “nine or ten inches square in a most pitiful manner…it was a very grievous wound and I was in the sorest pain…” Yet even with all its setbacks, the matchlock’s thunderous roar and monstrous impact of ball inspired respect of all enemies in the stunning aftermath of its discharge.
During the matchlock’s prime use, late 1500’s to mid 1600’s, changes took place in design and nomenclature.[5] The trigger action moved from levers to something more in line with the modern gun. The trigger guard appeared and the stock took on a more modern shape, recognized in today’s rifles. A lighter type of arquebus was developed called a fusil, or corruptly, fusee or fuzee. It became the desired weapon of horsemen, cavalier (courtly gentlemen) and officers.
Wheel Lock
The British, French, Spanish, Swedes, and Dutch were sold on the matchlock. However the Germans developed and used what many thought to be a better weapon – the wheel lock. It did not use a match, but instead had a small, rough edged wheel that revolved under a spring tension against a lump of iron pyrite, somewhat as a modern cigarette lighter. The resulting shower of sparks ignited the priming charge and fired the gun. Its lock worked faster and more reliably than the matchlock, thus improving the accuracy of aimed firing. It even functioned to some degree in light rain and snow, the nemesis of matchlock weapons.[6]
The wheelock had its disadvantages. It was twice the cost of the matchlock, its complicated mechanism was difficult to repair, and some parts, like a small spanner wench that wound the spring, if lost, made the gun useless. Even though there was evidence of the wheel lock’s use by the Spanish and English, including armament records of wheel locks listed at the tragic Roanoke Island settlement in 1585 and excavated sites at Jamestown, it never took hold in the colonies.
The North American east coast was settled by the Swedes, Dutch, French, and English, and as mentioned, their preferred weapon to meet the challenges in the New World was the matchlock. But by the mid to late 1600’s, another weapon was developed that proved more dependable. It gradually cast aside the more archaic matchlocks. It was the flintlock.
Flintlock Mechanism
Flintlocks evolved through a series of ‘flint arms’ to what became the true flintlock. They all followed a basic design with slightly developed differences. In all flintlock styles, a flint is held in a clamp at the end of a bent lever called a cock. When the weapon is cocked, the cock is drawn back against the pressure of a mainspring and held by a catch. When the trigger is pulled back or ‘squeezed’, the catch is released and the spring thrusts the cock (holding the flint) rapidly forward. The flint strikes a piece of hardened steel, sending a shower of hot steel shavings or sparks down into the priming powder held in a flash pan. The powder ignites and ‘flames’ through a touchhole in the firing chamber that ignites the main charge of gunpowder – propelling a projectile or ball.
The matchlock was the invasion weapon, that which demonstrated a powerful technological advantage in war to the native population. The flintlock secured America for European rule and advanced the white settler’s dominion over a new and vibrant territory. After its first appearance in the early 17th century, the early flint muskets quickly gained momentum as the weapon of choice. Captain Miles Standish, military adviser hired by the Pilgrims and accompanied them in 1620 aboard the Mayflower, is reputed to have carried one. His gun was an English lock, one of the several types of early ‘flint arms’ that preceded the actual or true flintlock.
Snaphaunces were developed in Scandinavia and the Low Countries in the mid to late 1500’s. Like the wheel lock, it was based on the flintlock principle of striking sparks to ignite a charge of powder. The flint upon which the steel hammer struck was held in a vise-like arm called a cock. Using the force of a mainspring, the cock pivoted on a pin to strike a section of steel called a battery. The sparks dropped into a flashpan below the battery that contained a priming charge of black powder. This weapon had what could be considered a safety – a sliding cover to retain the powder in the pan until the gun was ready to be fired – preventing sparks to ignite the powder until it was moved aside. When the priming powder ignited, the explosive flame traveled through the touch hole which in turn set off the main charge in the barrel that projected the shot out the muzzle. The name came from the Dutch snap-haan, or snapping cock, and the German schnapp-hahn, or ‘pecking fowl’. No longer did one need to retain a smoldering match nor did it have the complicated system of the wheel lock. It was simple, not too heavy, and readily loaded for hunting or defense. Because it was lighter, there was no need for a support staff. It could be brought up quickly and steadied with both hands for firing and quickly re-loaded. The snaphaunce was popular in Europe; however there were few of them in the American colonies.
English Dog Lock
By the time the Pilgrims landing in New England (1620), British gunsmiths had developed an improved English lock system with an adopted ‘dog lock’. Whereas the snaphaunce’s pan cover and battery were two separate pieces, this new lock incorporated both into one piece called a frizzen which pivoted so that the cover lifted automatically when the flint struck the steel. A few snaphaunce’s did have something similar, but not as efficient as the English frizzen. Most snaphaunce’s required to open the pan prior to firing. Often this step was forgotten resulting in misfires. The English dog lock avoided this mishap. However these early frizzens had no safety like the snaphaunce. When the pan cover was closed, necessary when the gun was primed, it was ready to fire. This was soon rectified with a manually operated ‘dog catch’ which hooked into a notch on the backside of the cock.[7]
Miquelet Lock
Almost as old as the snaphaunce, the miquelet lock was of Spanish design. It differed from the snaphaunce with the mainspring on the outside of the lock plate. In the Classic Style, the mainspring pushes up on the heel of the hammer and in the Roman Style, the mainspring pushes down on the toe of the hammer. They were found in America, though mainly in the south and southwest where there was a distinct Spanish influence.
Snaplock
It was developed in Scandinavia and used in the colonies. Relics were found along the Delaware River where there was a wide and diverse Swedish colony about the same time as the Dutch in New Amsterdam. It was basically an earlier version of the snaphaunce and worked the same way, though the mechanism was not as reliable.
Of these early flint arms that were of common use in the American colonies, the English dog lock that used a frizzen became the most popular. Between 1625 to around 1675, it replaced the matchlock, wheelock, and all other type flint arms. By 1700, these early dog locks gave way entirely to what is considered the true flintlock. This final model of flintlock that was the ultimate design of over a hundred years of flint arm evolution can be attributed to the French.
The true flintlock first appeared in the early 1600’s and became the dominant weapon for the next two hundred years. Its design was not original, but it combined the finest features of all other styles to present the shooter with the safest and most reliable weapon available. Marin le Bourgeory (1550-1634) was an artist and gunsmith during Louis XIII’s reign. He improved upon the flint arm and is credited in 1610 for developing with the first true flintlock. One of his added features set Bourgeory’s flintlock apart from all others and was an important improvement. This was the half cock.
The half cock is a position from which the weapon can be loaded, but can not fire. This revolutionized loading and firing the weapon in a smooth and even process. It also saved time and was far safer than all other designs. It proved inexpensive to manufacture and thereby less costly, easy to repair, durable, and readily manageable whether hunting or engaged in warfare. This became the French Pattern musket and was known as “Charleville Muskets, named for the armory in Charleville-Mezieres, Ardennes, France. These muskets were also produced at Tulle and several other sites. Bourgeory’s design was copied and spread all over Europe. By the 1660’s they were being shipped to the colonies in large quantities. The French army began equipping their soldiers with these modern flintlocks so that by 1700, it was the primary weapon in the colonies and throughout Europe.
Left illustrates the tumbler and sear mechanism that controls the cocking system which holds and releases the hammer and fizzen. The tumbler, when cocked, will move down and will be secured by the sear. The sear catches the tumbler and holds it in place. The tumbler which holds and releases the mainspring is transmitted to the hammer. The sear and sear spring releases the tumbler when the trigger is pulled. Below shows the positions of the tumbler & sear, frizzen and hammer in the three positions: Uncocked, Half Cocked, and Fully Cocked which is ready for firing.
Early Hand Gun
Pistols had been around since the 1520’s, used mainly by cavalry, though novelists and movie portrayals accentuate their use as predominantly among sea faring buccaneers. These weapons were massive wheel lock handguns with long barrels and straight grips. The earliest flintlock handguns used the same basic design as muskets, replacing the match and wheel lock with the flintlock. After the 1600’s, the handgun was looked upon more as a side arm and the curved grip was introduced that prevails to this day.
The handgun’s use by infantry gained notoriety during the mid 1700’s. Most officers of the Seven Years War, known as the French and Indian War in America, carried a side arm into battle. However, flint pistols were found in the earliest colonial settlements; an English dog lock pistol from the Plymouth Colony, mid 1600’s, has survived. The term pistol was used for hand gun since its earliest development. Its origin can be traced to the Czech pistala, meaning pipe or whistle and later the French pistolet (or pistol) and German pistole. The medieval French word pistallo means saddle pommel. The first holsters were large, long, and lashed to a dragoon’s saddle pommel or pistallo. The name was also applied to the firearm within.
Usage of the Word Gun
Quoting the Merriam Dictionary and found in similar sources, the usage of gun, instead of firelock, became more common by the late 18th and early 19th century. It can be traced back to the 14th century, a shortening of Gunilda. The English may have learned the name gunilda (also gunhilda) from early Norsemen who invaded and settled the British Isle. A ballista (large missle-throwing devise in the form of a crossbow) that defended Windsor Castle in the 14th century was named in Latin Domina Gunilda (Lady Gunilda). Gunilda is an Old Norse name and is a compound of gunnr and hildr, both meaning battle or war. This was not an isolated use of a form of gun to describe similar weapons as Gonnylyde was also the name of a 14th century cannon.
Trade and War
Besides protection, American settlers and European financiers found another important use for guns in the colonies. More than just settling a new land, European powers wanted to reap the spoils and natural resources found in abundance. The Spanish sought gold and treasures whereas the other European nations widened their thirst for what the new land offered. One of the earliest benefits that provided monetary wealth proved to be the rich quantity of furs, mostly beaver. Throughout Europe, fur had always been a mark of prestige as well of comfort. With a rising middle class that could afford what was once financially impossible, there was a ready market that drove up the value of furs. The earliest trappers discovered that they could acquire far more furs if they incorporated the native people to do most of the work for them. They need only trade European goods for an unlimited quantity of fur. And what the Native Americans wanted the most, beyond trinkets, household items, and beguiling rum, was the incredible powerful weapon at first used against them, a gun.
Trade began with the Dutch and continued under British rule. This exchange remained largely along the east coast. The French had probed up the Mississippi River and down the St. Lawrence Seaway and penetrated the interior. They soon established a network of trading posts from Canada to Louisiana. A single musket could bring in as many as twenty beaver. This was an incredible return when considering the weapons exchanged were not high quality and were quickly mass produced.The early settlers soon learned that if they also supplied ‘friendly’ Native Americans with firelocks, that tribe would in turn use these weapons against another tribe who might be a potential threat to the white man. These same tribes might also become a major force when dealing with another nation over land and trading routes. By the late 1600’s, English interests advanced further west and bellied up against the entrenched French. This led to a series of armed conflicts: King William’s War (1688-1697),Queen Anne’s War (1702-1713), and King George’s War (1744-1748).
This rubbing of nations’ interests over a new land ripe for the picking created a tinderbox that ultimately ignited in a full scale struggle in what Europe called the Seven Years War and in the colonies, The French and Indian War (1754-1763). Regulars from both mother countries poured into the colonies, as did their firearms. Colonial militias gained importance and were drawn upon to fight alongside English infantry. The Native Americans loyal to the French were soon armed with the finest French firelocks to carry on what had become a guerrilla war of ambush and attrition. Through it all, there was a growing demand on shipped arms, but also on recruiting gunsmiths to bring their skills to America and manufacture weapons on colonial soil.
By war’s end in 1763, the gun had proved itself to be the tool of survival; the finer the gun, the better chances of lasting another day. The demand for improved weapons was never greater and gunsmiths and manufacturers answered the call. There were no radical changes to the flintlock’s basic design, however there were slight improvements for increased range and better accuracy. Weapons became more deadly when it was discovered that the firelocks could withstand an increased load of buckshot rammed home with a shot, buck & ball. But perhaps the most significant change occurred in the development of fixed ammunition.
Many of us have witnessed the old Daniel Boone TV and movie series of backcountry frontiersmen pouring powder out of their horn, followed by dropping a ball down the barrel and ramming it home with wad. By the mid 1700’s, charges were prepared ahead of time. This facilitated a quicker reloading time and a more dependable shot of impact and distance. This combination of powder and ball were called cartridges. Measured amounts of powder charges were wrapped in tubes of paper or wadding along with the ball. The cartridge was packed in leather and or wooden cartridge boxes that were either worn around the hip or more often, slung over the shoulder. To load, one needed only to pull out a cartridge, tear off a portion to sprinkle a little powder down the barrel, then ram it home prior to firing.
Cities, Farms, Wilderness
By the 1770’s, the colonies were thriving. Since Jamestown and The Mayflower, European immigrants surged across the ocean and several generations had long established farm communities. The settler’s quality of life was among the most prosperous in the world. Hessian soldiers, employed to fight alongside the British, were dumbfounded by the health and wealth of America’s citizenry, something reserved only for European royalty and large landowners. British law kept a flourishing trade between the colonies and the rest of the world that fed a strong colonial economy. As for protection, militias, so necessary during the past frequent wars, played a less active role. However they remained a standard for every community, participating in muster days that required every adult male to answer the call with musket, powder, ball, and cartouche or cartridge box. Most were farmers with one family musket, usually passed down from father to son. For those who drilled once a month, farming, artisan trades, and retail was the mainstay. No longer did a husband need to hunt just so his family would be fed. As such, their skill in loading and accuracy did not depend on their survival. This was not so for the frontier settlers who moved into the interior and still faced a wild, unforgiving country. For those who lived in these backwoods, a weapon that was efficient and accurate meant the difference between life and death. It was here that the Pennsylvania Rifle (later called the Kentucky Rifle) came into its own. But first we’ll look at the two most popular weapons in use during this time: The English Brown Bess and the French Charlieville.
American Revolution
When hostilities broke out in 1775, as mentioned, militiamen mainly carried smoothbore flintlocks, some quite old; a family relic going back generations. Some colonials carried more modern guns as American gunsmiths had become more common, guns were still being shipped from predominantly England for private purchase, and with the start of the war, militiamen raided British military storage facilities, confiscating flintlocks and ammunition. At the start of the war, the weapon of choice was the English Brown Bess. It came with a bayonet which most American units did not have. As the war progressed and France came to America’s aide, the French Charleville Musket, also a smoothbore like the Bess, was shipped to America and armed the rebellious armies.
Brown Bess English Musket
The British infantry carried the famous Brown Bess smoothbore flintlock. It was a .75 caliber flintlock with a round barrel thirty nine inches long. Its stock was made of walnut, its mountings of brass, and its ramrod of iron. An acid bath pickled the unfinished barrel iron and left it the uniformly brown color from which its name derived. Bluing[8] as we know of today, did not exist. The original model, somewhat longer in the barrel, was selected by John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, in the reign of Queen Anne[9], and with only minor modifications, it served the British army well for more than a hundred years.[10]
The Brown Bess weighed ten pounds including bayonet and was not very accurate. With a close fitted and undersized ball using a paper cartridge, its projection was random. Major George Hanger, British officer, stated a now famous quote on the smoothbore and Bess’ effectiveness: “…a soldier must be very unfortunate indeed who shall be wounded by a musket at 150 yards…and as to firing at a man at 200 yards…you may just as well fire at the moon and have the same hopes of hitting your object.” Tactically, using 18th century military procedures of open warfare with long, strung out battle lines, the Bess need not be efficient beyond 100 yards.
The individual soldier did not depend on his weapon’s accuracy. Infantrymen were not trained to aim. They stood shoulder to shoulder in two or three lines deep. ‘File-closers’ were stationed behind who stepped in when a man had fallen. The goal was mass fire or volley, straight on, with a hail of lead followed by the bayonet charge. If in a defensive stance, they were to fire and load as quickly as possible. Black powder of the day erupted in a cloud of dense whitish smoke making aiming after the first volley near impossible.
American arms and the 1763 Charleville French Musket
Political radicals and rebellious leaders formed individual colonial governments that, by the early 1770’s, began to stir the cauldron of revolt from what the colonists considered oppressive British laws. These were called Committees of Safety, the brainchild of Boston’s radical patriots led by the inexhaustible Samuel Adams. They sought to arm a standing army beyond the family muskets readily available among militiamen. They placed orders with local gunsmiths preferring a .75 caliber flintlock with a forty two to forty six inch barrel. In many ways these colonial weapons were similar to the Brown Bess. Because the orders were not stockpiled, this did not nearly produce the necessary weapons needed. Emissaries of Congress were sent to arrange the shipment of weapons from mainland Europe, particularly Holland and Belgium, but most importantly France. France was eager to aid the Americans. By befriending the struggling colonists and supply much needed arms, they could deliver a blow to their longtime enemy, England. Also by helping to establish a government on American soil, friendly to the French, it would guarantee the safety of their huge landmass in Louisiana, a territory far larger than England’s present holdings in the colonies.
France began to smuggle arms to America before an alliance with America was sealed. It is estimated that up to 25,000 muskets landed clandestinely in America before the formal pact was announced, followed by another 75,000 by war’s end. The cost of each musket was approximately $5 and the chosen weapon was the finest true flintlock of French design, the Model 1763 Charleville and later, the Model 1777 Charleville. These flintlocks had a caliber of .69 with a forty four and a half inch barrel. They weighted the same as a Bess, ten pounds. The first French musket of this design was the Model 1717 and had gone through fifteen slight changes until the 1763 model became available. These French muskets were on par with the Brown Bess in efficiency and durability and the Americans were pleased with their use. After the war, the first prototype of an American production musket, the U.S. Model 1795 musket, was based on the Charleville design.
Pennsylvania Long Rifle Also Known as Kentucky Long Rifle
These long barreled rifles were an American product, handmade specifically to survive in a wilderness that encompassed the interior of the North American continent. They were unlike the smooth bore flintlocks of the English Bess and French Charleville whose use was designed for mass infantry that did not depend on distance or accuracy. These grove-bored rifles were incredibly accurate and could fire up to five times the distance of a Bess. The technology of a grove-bored rifle was not new, dating back to around 1460 in Germany. These early rifled muskets, or German yeagers, proved far more accurate than the common smoothbore weapons. By 1700, German gunsmiths were experimenting with longer barrels than the yeager forerunner. It was this technology that accompanied the German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania during the late 1600’s and early 1700’s. With modifications to fit the needs of frontier settlers, they produced a superior weapon.
Martin Mylin arrived in America and settled in the Lancaster area of southern Pennsylvania. He produced what is thought to be the first American made Pennsylvania Long Rifle. Evidence shows he manufactured these guns as early as 1704. The smoothbore’s effective range was rarely beyond 100 yards. Pennsylvania rifles proved incredibly accurate and effective at 300 yards. The rifle achieved this by putting a spin on the ball or bullet. Smoothbore shots tended to drift from the intended line once the lead left the muzzle. Not so with the rifle, retaining the sighted object in line until the target was struck.
Rifles were of a smaller caliber and used slightly less powder than a smoothbore. When ignited, the powder within the smaller caliber bore created a tremendous amount of pressure. The groves or curved lines within the barrel caused the bullet to rotate at a high rate of speed. The bullet continued to spin until it struck its target. The comparison between a grove-bore rife and a smoothbore musket was like that of an arrow with fletching and one without. An arrow will fly much farther and straighter if feathers are added. This is because the fletching causes the arrow to spin, much like the bullet projected from a rifle. A typical rifle was of .50 caliber using curly maple in a full stock that supported a 42 inch to 46 inch barrel. A crescent shape butt plate and patchbox[11] or cheek piece was common.
The name Kentucky to describe the Pennsylvania Long Rifle – referring to flintlock rifles made mostly by 18th century German gunsmiths in Pennsylvania – was not commonly used until the early 1800’s. One line of thought states that the Pennsylvania Long Rifle became the Kentucky Long Rife after the popular 1812 song, “The Hunter of Kentucky,” later known as “The Battle of New Orleans.” Another possible reason for renaming the rifle had to do with the popular wilderness explorer Daniel Boone’s successful use of the Pennsylvania Long Rifle while exploring the Kentucky region. He made the weapon so famous that people began to call it a Kentucky Long Rifle.
The rifle’s advantage in firing power and accuracy was countered by the time it took to reload, much longer than a Bess or Charleville smoothbore flintlock, and the lack of bayonet. This longer span to reload and without a bayonet proved detrimental when facing mass infantry on an open field. British Major Hanger reported a clash between American Daniel Morgan’s riflemen and Colonel Abercrombie’s light infantry. “Not one [rifleman] out of four had time to fire, and those that did had no time given them to load again: the light infantry not only dispersed them instantly, but drove them for miles over the country…” Once an infantry equipped with bayonets charged, the rifleman was unable to counter the deadly pikes. Their only option was to retreat with all haste. Regiments therefore formed rifle companies for specific support duties such as patrolling, skirmishing, or ambushing an enemy in dense forested areas. American General Daniel Morgan used his militia in the Battle of Cowpens, many armed with rifle, as a tactical ploy to draw in Colonel Banister Tarleton’s troops. When the riflemen ran before the charging enemy, his Continental line, armed with smoothbore and muskets, including his cavalry, surprised the attacking British and decimated them. Hessians, German mercenaries’ from the German State Hesse, had long developed special rifle companies of hunter/marksmen called Jaegers. Their weapons were of an earlier, smaller barrel version of the American rifle.
German Smoothbore & Grove-bored Jaeger
The common features of German smoothbore muskets were a heavy stock, sizable butt, a large lock, and an elliptical brass front sight the rifled weapons. Not so their rifles. They were state of the art in concept and effectiveness and evolved through several designs over the years. The grove-bored muskets that Hessian riflemen brought to war in American were a much improved model of the jaeger style rifles that the German’s expertly developed; light, shorter than the American rifle (measuring only forty-four to forty-six inches overall), and having a large lock similar to their smooth-bore cousins. These German rifles were carried by companies of Jaegers, trained woodsmen and hunters of excellent shot.
Fusil or Fuzee
British & French officers preferred the fusil or fuzee rather than the standard musket when carried into battle. It was lighter, better made, and often had its mountings ornamented or engraved. It was commonly used by soldiers on horseback (dragoons) and light infantry who were required to move quickly. Typical weights ranged from six to eight pounds. The total length varied from forty-five to fifty-five inches, .68 to .71 calibers with barrel lengths from thirty to forty inches. American officers and later dragoons[12] carried fusil. General Israel Putnam would proudly display his fusil, elaborately carved with his initials, recently engraved prior to his commission as Major General.
Ferguson Breechloader
A breech-loading[13] musket was not a new concept by the time of the American Revolution. Europeans had been experimenting with the possibilities since the early 1700’s; however its use was mainly by the sportsman. Such a weapon could outperform both the smoothbore and typical rifle in the number of shots per minute. Captain Patrick Ferguson of the 70th Regiment of Foot sought to improve Isaac de la Chaumette’s 1704 breech loading mechanism. His insight was unique. He sought to arm all British rifle corps in America with a breech-loading rifle that could also mount a 25 inch bayonet[14] called a sword bayonet (rifles did not have bayonets). He developed his idea in 1775 in England and by 1776, had manufactured several prototypes to test. They weighed from seven to eight pounds, approximately 50 inches in length, and had a caliber of .65. He trained twelve local militiamen on the rifle’s use. In one test, he and his men were able to get off seventy shots per minute.
A typical similar number of infantrymen would average about 26 shots in the same time span. He arranged a military demonstration and was able to put 15 balls into a target at 200 yards in five minutes. He averaged six shots per minute. Orders for the first 300 rifles were placed in the summer of 1776 and on Dec. 2nd, 1776, an English patent #1139 was issued to Ferguson. The process of loading was efficient: a vertical rising screw breech-lock was lowered by rotating the trigger guard. It exposed the chamber to which the ball would be dropped. The gunpowder was poured in after and the breech was closed without the use of a ramrod. One of the drawbacks was that the screw breech-lock had to be greased frequently between firings.
Eventually only about 100 Ferguson rifles would be shipped to the colonies during the American Revolutionary War. Ferguson landed in New York City in June, 1777. He was accompanied by sixty men trained in using his breech-loading rifle. General Howe added thirty more men to his corps as thirty-three more weapons were to be shipped on June 22nd, however they never arrived. Production was slow as the weapons proved to be too expensive to mass produce. The four gunsmiths making the Ferguson Ordnance Rifle could not make 100 in six months at four times the cost per musket. There just wasn’t enough production capacity to manufacture the multi-start thread necessary for breech loading. Ferguson’s corps of riflemen did not impress the British brass during the Battle of Short Hills, fought shortly after the corps arrived. They saw limited use in a rear guard action sustaining casualties.
Later that year, Sept. 11, 1777, Ferguson’s rifle corps fought at the Battle of Brandywine and took heavy loses including the severe wounding of Ferguson. During his recuperation, the rifle corps was eventually disbanded. When the war turned south, now Major Ferguson was assigned to lead a contingency of southern loyalists. He was killed at the Battle of King’s Mountain,October 7, 1780, fought between totally rebel and loyalist forces. Most of these colonials carried the long rifle of Pennsylvania design. With Ferguson’s death, the British army’s breech-loading rifle design was cast aside.
Musketoon Carbines & Blunderbuss
Musketoons were basically smoothbore carbines, the term used interchangeably. It was a musket conforming to the infantry standard, but with a smaller bore, .66 caliber, and a barrel that was drastically shortened to twenty-eight and a half inches. French officers carried these carbines or musketoons and many more appeared among the American dragons and officers’ corps after 1777. The French musketoon, based on the French model 1763, had a round, 31 inch iron or brass barrel with a shortened stock. The entire weapon’s length was thirty-three and a half inches.
The blunderbuss had a shortened barrel length with a very large caliber bore. The barrel was often flared at the muzzle. It frequently shot buck and ball, loaded with other projectiles termed ‘buck Shott.’ It was the predecessor to its more modern cousin the shotgun. It was only effective at a short range, spraying a wide swath of destruction. The bell-mouthed blunderbuss saw action principally as a naval weapon.[15] Smaller blunderbuss’ were called dragons and were often carried by horsemen, therefore the term dragoons when referring to eighteenth century cavalry.
Fowler, Wall Gun, & Grenade Launcher
Fowlers were primarily used for hunting waterfowl. These smoothbore flintlocks saw some action during the Revolutionary War with militias. The fowler operated similar to flintlock muskets, but was longer and there was no place to attach a bayonet. The typical weight was 10 to 11 pounds. The total length was approximately 75 inches. The barrel was usually 59 inches with a caliber of .75.
Wall guns, rampart guns, or amusette were an oversized musket that was used on barricades and fortifications. The caliber was quite large, l.05 to 1.5 or larger with a barrel length of 54 to 60 inches. The total length was similar to the long rifle, an average of 72 – 75 inches. However it could not be shot from the shoulder, weighing from 30 to upwards of 50 pounds. It literally was mounted on the wall or parapet by use of a steel swivel on the underside midway down the barrel. It was also commonly found aboard ships-of-war, fitted to the railing or bow of a rowboat.
They were primed, loaded, and fired by a single shooter much as any other musket. A lead ball weighing a tenth of a pound or more could be accurately fired at targets far beyond the standard rifle. American Major General Charles Lee boasted in a letter that practice shots from a newly acquired amusette had struck a paper target at 500 yards. Some were reported to be effective up to 1,000 yards. Between 1776 and 1782, the Rappahannock Forge in Stafford, Virginia manufactured pistols, muskets, and amusettes.[16] Some were even fixed to wheeled trunnions and could be rolled into action like a ‘grasshopper cannon.’[17]
The grenade launcher saw service mostly on walled fortresses or aboard ships. They were rarely used in the open battlefield due to their limited range. However, shells could be lobbed over a fort’s wall either by attacker or defender. So too, when attacking ships converged, grenades could be hurled onto the other vessel. The weapon fired powder filled hollow shells which were ignited by an attached fuse.
Pistols
Some militia and enlisted men carried standard issue pistols, however most officers did so. The officers’ pistols were personal side arms, better made, and finely ornamented signifying their class status. The standard British model was a smoothbore, had a nine inch barrel, .69 caliber bore, and a lock very similar to the Brown Bess. Companies of Horse, dragoon, or cavalry carried pistols as well as those aboard men-of-war ships, most particularly used when boarding an enemy craft. Scottish Highland regiments were unique. Every man was to carry a pistol. They were distinct from the usual standard models, made entirely of metal (with brass stock), had a bulbous trigger without a guard, and whose stock was of fishtail, kidney, or ram’s horn design. They were lighter than most other flintlock pistols, weighing in at two pounds or slightly under.
Americans copied the British model. Many of these American pistols had a smaller caliber than the British; .50 – .60 was common. Like the Pennsylvania models of rifling, pistols with grove bores were also made in Pennsylvania. After the war, like the muskets, they were labeled Kentucky Pistols. Two other distinctions were prevalent; unlike European models, they had sights, and the workmanship used indigenous American woods such as maple, cherry, and walnut for the stock.
French pistols did not become standardized until 1763. The 1777 model was most favored in America. It was of .69 caliber and had a seven and a half inch barrel. They weighed an average of three pounds, much the same as British Models. After the war, they served as the model for the first standardized U. S. production of handguns.
Exciting New Series on African Americans who fought in the American Revolution. Book 1 Josiah on Amazon
Also more informative articles on the usage and history of Muskets and Rifles in the Revolutionary War Journal
Loading and Firing a Brown Bess Musket in the Eighteenth Century
Were Musket Cartridges Used During the American Revolutionary War? Yes!
Rifles and Groove-bored Muskets in the American Revolutionary War
Mass Musketry in the American Revolutionary War
Volleying Muskets in the American Revolution
Brown Bess – Musket of the American Revolution
SOURCES
Angier, R. H. Firearm Blueing and Browning. 1936: Arms & Armour Press, London, UK.
Canfield, Bruce & Bailey, De Witt. British Military Flintlock Rifles 1740-1840. 2002: Andrew Mowbray, Inc. Publications, Woonsocket, RI.
Dillin, John Grace. The Kentucky Rifle. 1924: Palladium Press. 1992 Edition: George Shumway Publishing, York County, Pennsylvania.
Ducke, Peter. British Military Rifles. 2005: Shire Publications Ltd., Buckinghamshire, UK.
Gruber, Ira D. Of Arms & Men, “Arming America” and Military History. William & Mary Quarterly, Vol. 59, No. 1, (Jan. 2002) pp 217-222.
Kauffman, Henry. The Pennsylvania-Kentucky Rifle. 2005: Masthoff Press, Morgantown, PA.
Koller, Larry. The Fireside Book of Guns. 1959: Ridge Press Book, Simon & Schuster, New York, NY.
Patten, Lieutenant-Colonel George. Patten’s Infantry Tactics, Bayonet Drill and Small Sword Exercise…” 1865: Published by James Waldon Fortune, New York, NY.
Peterson, Harold L. Arms & Armor in Colonial America 1526-1783. 1956: Stockpole Company, Harrisonberg, PA, 1990: Dover Publications, Inc., Mineola, NY.
Reid, Stuart. The Flintlock Musket, Brown Bess & Charleville 1715-1865. 2016: Osprey Publication, Oxford, UK.
Rimer, Graeme & Houze, Herbert & Smithurst, Peter. Smithsonian Firearms an Illustrated History. 2014: DK Publishing, New York, NY.
Internet
Bogan, Dallas. A Short History of the Kentucky Long Rifle. History of Campbell County, TN
Shoulder Arms of the American Revolution. George C. Neumann Collection, Valley Forge National Historical Park.
Stenger, Dieter (Curator). Arming the Revolution. CHM News & Features, U.S. Army Center of Military History. CHM March 28, 2013.
Thomas, Ryan. The Pennsylvania Long Rifle. Fall 2009:
FOOTNOTES
[1] Arquebus: From Old French harquebuse and middle Dutch hakebusse; literally meaning hook gun from the shape of its butt (hake – meaning hook + busse – meaning box or gun). It is a portable long-barreled gun dating from the 15th century; fired by a matchlock or wheel lock mechanism. It was also called a hackbut or hagbut.
[2] Koller, pg. 19.
[3] Ibid., pg. 21.
[4] Early Native American name for gun.
[5] Nomenclature of a musket included the Barrel, Lock, Stock, Rammer, and Mounting. Specific parts of the firelock: Upper-barrel, Middle-barrel, Tall-band, Barrel, Swell, Guard, Swivels, Small of the Stock, Butt, heel of the Butt, Toe or beak of the Butt, Lock, Rammer, Trigger, Blade or Bayonet, Shank of Bayonet, Socket, Clasp, Lock-plate, Hammer, Main Spring, & Sling. Also parts of the barrel: Muzzle, Breech, Bore, Sight, and Tang.
[6] Koller, pg. 23.
[7] Ibid., pg. 26.
[8] Bluing – It is a process in which steel is partially protected against rust and is named after the blue-black appearance of the resulting protective finish. True gun bluing is an electrochemical conversion coating resulting from an oxidizing chemical reaction with iron on the surface selectively forming magnetite, the black oxide of iron. A distinction can be made between traditional bluing and some other more modern black oxide coatings, although bluing is a subset of black oxide coatings.
[9] Reign of Queen Anne: 1665 – 1714.
[10] Koller, pg. 44.
[11] A patchbox is a recess in the stock of a flintlock rifle for carrying patches (cloth greased and wrapped around the ball before loading), grease, and flints.
[12] American forces were void of companies of mounted soldiers or dragoons early on in the war. General Washington did not see their importance when in the summer of 1776. He sent a company of dragoon militiamen back to Connecticut, preferring to keep only those mounted troops necessary for relaying orders and occasional scouting. He paid dearly at the Battle of Long Island when a few horsemen were sent to reconnoiter a road leading behind the American left flank. The few horsemen were readily captured and General Clinton and General Howe routed the Americans the next morning resulting in a devastating defeat. The importance of cavalry was painfully learned so by 1777, they were more common. General Washington’s distant cousin, Colonel William Washington was to lead a cavalry charge at the battle of Cowpens that soundly defeated Colonel Banastre Tarleton’s British forces.
[13] Breech-loading: A firearm in which the cartridge, shot, or shell is inserted or loaded into a chamber at or near the rear portion of a barrel.
[14] Rifles did not have bayonets. The average size of a smoothbore musket’s bayonet was 17 inches.
[15] Contrary to literature and romantic popular thought, the wide muzzle blunderbuss’ were not used by the Pilgrims of New England. They were very rare and not used prior to 1700. There is no primary source that places one aboard the Mayflower.
[16] Stenger, “Arming the Revolution.”
[17] Grasshopper cannon – Nickname for a cannon used by 18th century British as a light battalion gun to support infantry. It was designed for service in rough terrains. The barrel was bronze – it was less brittle than cast iron so could be thinner and weigh less. It fired a three pound ball or canister shot. The split trail could be drawn by drag lines or wooden shafts like a hand cart.