Flintlock is a general term for any firearm that uses a flint -striking ignition mechanism , the first of which appeared in Western Europe in the early 16th century. The term may also apply to a particular form of the mechanism itself, also known as the true flintlock , that was introduced in the early 17th century, and gradually replaced earlier firearm-ignition technologies, such as the matchlock , the wheellock , and the earlier flintlock mechanisms such as the snaplock and snaphaunce .
103-461: The true flintlock continued to be in common use for over two centuries, replaced by percussion cap and, later, the cartridge-based systems in the early-to-mid 19th century. Although long superseded by modern firearms, flintlock weapons enjoy continuing popularity with black-powder shooting enthusiasts. French court gunsmith Marin le Bourgeoys made a firearm incorporating a flintlock mechanism for King Louis XIII shortly after his accession to
206-528: A Loyalist camp at Musgrove's Mill, which controlled the local grain supply and guarded a ford of the Enoree River . The Battle of Musgrove Mill , 19 August 1780 occurred near a ford of the Enoree River , near the present-day border between Spartanburg , Laurens and Union Counties in South Carolina . The Patriots anticipated surprising a garrison of about an equal number of Loyalists, but
309-636: A bayonet . On flintlocks, the bayonet played a primarily a deterrence role - casualty lists from several battles in the 18th century showed that fewer than 2% of wounds were caused by bayonets. Antoine-Henri Jomini , a celebrated military author of the Napoleonic period who served in numerous armies during that period, stated that the majority of bayonet charges in the open resulted with one side fleeing before any contacts were made. Flintlock weapons were not used like modern rifles. They tended to be fired in mass volleys, followed by bayonet charges in which
412-488: A Manton patch-lock, which could be troublesome, by designing a cap and nipple arrangement around 1816 when the patch lock was patented. He says he then presented a drawing to a reluctant Joseph Manton to make a few copper cap guns which were then sold. Hawker, seems to give Joseph Manton more of the glory eight years later in the 1838 edition of his 'Instructions to young Sportsmen', by stating categorically that "copper tubes and primers were decidedly invented by Joe Manton". By
515-463: A Patriot militia force mustered to put an end to his force of Loyalists, and he was killed in the Battle of Kings Mountain , at the border between the colonies of North Carolina and South Carolina . Leading a group of Loyalists whom he had recruited, he was the only regular army officer participating on either side of the conflict. The victorious Patriot forces desecrated his body in the aftermath of
618-515: A barrel that was unscrewed from the rest of the gun. This is more practical on pistols because of the shorter barrel length. This type is known as a Queen Anne pistol because it was during her reign that it became popular (although it was actually introduced in the reign of King William III ). Another type has a removable screw plug set into the side or top or bottom of the barrel. A large number of sporting rifles were made with this system, as it allowed easier loading compared with muzzle loading with
721-553: A challenge to the Patriot leaders to lay down their arms or he would "lay waste to their country with fire and sword." North Carolina Patriot militia leaders Isaac Shelby and John Sevier , from the Washington District (now northeast Tennessee), met and agreed to lead their militiamen against him. When Major Ferguson reportedly threatened to invade the mountains beyond the legal limit on westward settlement unless
824-486: A copper cup filled with fulminates. The first purpose-built caplock guns were fowling pieces commissioned by sportsmen in Regency era England. Due to the mechanism's compactness and superior reliability compared to the flintlock, gunsmiths were able to manufacture pistols and long guns with two barrels . Early caplock handguns with two or more barrels and a single lock are known as turn-over or twister pistols , due to
927-417: A flintlock was fired it sprayed a shower of sparks forwards from the muzzle and another sideways out of the flash-hole. One reason for firing in volleys was to ensure that one man's sparks didn't ignite the next man's powder as he was in the act of loading. An accidental frizzen strike could also ignite the main powder charge, even if the pan had not yet been primed. Some modern flintlock users will still place
1030-500: A furious argument with the American Lieutenant Colonel Carl Von Bose, that a detachment of Count Pułaski's troops, under Von Bose's command, was located nearby. Ferguson marched his troops to the site of Bose's infantry outpost, which comprised fifty men and was a short distance from Pulaski's main encampment. At first light on 15 October 1778, Ferguson ordered his men to use bayonets to attack
1133-574: A hollow conduit which goes into the rearmost part of the gun barrel, and the percussion cap is placed over the nipple hole. Pulling the trigger releases the hammer, which strikes the percussion cap against the nipple (which serves as an anvil ), crushes it and detonates the mercury fulminate inside, which releases sparks that travel through the hollow nipple into the barrel and ignite the main powder charge. Percussion caps have been made in small sizes for pistols and larger sizes for rifles and muskets. Earlier firearms used flintlock mechanisms causing
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#17327917527761236-404: A jammed tape primer system would instead reduce the rifle to an awkward club. This invention was gradually improved, and came to be used, first in a steel cap and then in a copper cap, by various gunmakers and private individuals before coming into general military use nearly thirty years later. The alteration of the military flintlock to the percussion musket was easily accomplished by replacing
1339-428: A lady (the boy's ill mother) and compassion to a family in need by giving up his personal firearm, asking only that the boy keep it always, and never use it against the king. (p7) In NCIS episode 18 Season 10 “ Scoped” referenced by Ducky during autopsy as he explained to his assistant Jimmy about early snipers. In Steve Ressel 's novel State of One (2010), Ferguson is the main antagonist featured against James Pariah,
1442-461: A leather cover over the frizzen while loading as a safety measure to prevent this from happening. However, this does slow down the loading time, which prevented safety practices such as this from being used on the battlefields of the past. The black powder used in flintlocks would quickly foul the barrel, which was a problem for rifles and for smooth bore weapons that fired a tighter fitting round for greater accuracy. Each shot would add more fouling to
1545-652: A lighted cord ("match") would have been a dangerous fire hazard. Such men armed with these flintlocks were called "fusiliers" as flintlocks were then called "fusils" from the French word for such. Various types were in use by elite infantry, scouts, artillery guards (as noted), and private individuals in European armies throughout most of the 16th and 17th centuries, though matchlocks continued to overwhelmingly outnumber them. The early Dutch States Army used flintlocks on an unusually large scale, issuing snaphances to its infantry in
1648-601: A local farmer informed them that the Tories had recently been reinforced by about a hundred Loyalist militia and two hundred provincial regulars on their way to join British Major Patrick Ferguson. The whole battle took perhaps an hour and within that period, sixty-three Tories were killed, an unknown number wounded, and seventy were taken prisoner. The Patriots lost only about four dead and twelve wounded. Some Whig leaders briefly considered attacking
1751-399: A lubricated cleaning patch down the barrel with the ramrod would also extinguish any embers, and would clean out some of the barrel fouling as well. Soldiers on the battlefield could not take these precautions. They had to fire as quickly as possible, often firing three to four rounds per minute. Loading and firing at such a pace dramatically increased the risk of an accidental discharge. When
1854-467: A military arm. Their effective range was short, and they were frequently used as an adjunct to a sword or cutlass . Pistols were usually smoothbore although some rifled pistols were produced. Flintlock pistols came in a variety of sizes and styles which often overlap and are not well defined, many of the names we use having been applied by collectors and dealers long after the pistols were obsolete. The smallest were less than 6 inches (15 cm) long and
1957-578: A military context, skirmishing and by specialist marksmen. In the United States, the small game hunting long rifle ("Pennsylvania rifle" or "Kentucky rifle") was developed in southeastern Pennsylvania in the early 1700s. Based on the Jäger rifle, but with a much longer barrel, these were exceptionally accurate for their time, and had an effective range of approximately 250 m (820 ft). They tended to fire smaller caliber rounds, with calibers in
2060-401: A nearly identical fashion to flintlock firearms and used a fulminating primer made of fulminate of mercury, chlorate of potash , sulphur and charcoal , ignited by concussion. His invention of a fulminate-primed firing mechanism deprived the birds of their early warning system, both by avoiding the initial puff of smoke from the flintlock powder pan, as well as shortening the interval between
2163-618: A number of major figures in the Scottish Enlightenment , including philosopher and historian David Hume , on whose recommendation he read Samuel Richardson 's novel Clarissa when he was fifteen, and the dramatist John Home . He had numerous first cousins through his mother's family: these included Sir William Pulteney, 5th Baronet , Commodore George Johnstone , and Sir James Murray (later Murray-Pulteney) . Ferguson began his military career in his teens, encouraged by his maternal uncle James Murray . He served briefly in
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#17327917527762266-469: A paper cartridge filled with black powder and strike the percussion cap that was fastened to the base of the bullet. While it had a number of problems, it was widely used by the Prussians and other German states in the mid-nineteenth century and was a major factor in the 1866 Austro-Prussian War . The needle gun originally fired paper cartridges containing a bullet, powder charge and percussion cap, but by
2369-468: A percussion cap connected to a detonator at one end. The detonator is inserted into an explosive charge—e.g., C-4 or a block of TNT . Triggering the booby-trap (e.g., by pulling on a trip-wire) releases the cocked firing pin that flips forward to strike the percussion cap, firing it and the attached detonator; the shock-wave from the detonator sets off the main explosive charge. Patrick Ferguson Patrick Ferguson (1744 – 7 October 1780)
2472-405: A piece of flint to strike a steel frizzen producing sparks to ignite a pan of priming powder and thereby fire the gun's main powder charge. The flintlock mechanism replaced older ignition systems such as the matchlock and wheellock , but all were prone to misfire in wet weather. The discovery of fulminates was made by Edward Charles Howard (1774–1816) in 1800. The invention that made
2575-691: A soldier formerly under Ferguson's command during the Battle of the Brandywine in 1777. Ferguson had been resurrected as a golem by the Leeds Witch with hopes of raising a golem army of similar soldiers, all armed with Ferguson rifles , to destroy the ratification of the US Constitution in September 1787. James Pariah cleaves to his old Ferguson rifle, sometimes referring to it as his wife, having modified it with special actions such as
2678-429: A spring-loaded knife in the stock. In Sharyn McCrumb 's novel Kings Mountain: A Ballad Novel (2014), Ferguson is the central antagonist. Events leading to and the battle itself are covered from multiple viewpoints on both sides. In the 2014 episode "Patriots Rising" of the television program The American Revolution , Ferguson is portrayed as having George Washington in his gunsight, but choosing not to shoot. In
2781-500: A supply of tiny fulminate detonator discs in a small magazine. Cocking the hammer automatically advanced a disc into position. However, these automatic feed systems were difficult to make with the manufacturing systems in the early and mid-nineteenth century and generated more problems than they solved. They were quickly shelved in favor of a single percussion cap that, while unwieldy in some conditions, could be carried in sufficient quantities to make up for occasionally dropping one, while
2884-414: A tight-fitting bullet and patch. One of the more successful was the system built by Isaac de la Chaumette starting in 1704. The barrel could be opened by three revolutions of the triggerguard, to which it was attached. The plug stayed attached to the barrel and the ball and powder were loaded from the top. This system was improved in the 1770s by Colonel Patrick Ferguson and 100 experimental rifles used in
2987-939: A wooden case with compartments for each piece. Flintlock muskets were the mainstay of European armies between 1660 and 1840. A musket was a muzzle-loading smoothbore long gun that was loaded with a round lead ball, but it could also be loaded with shot for hunting . For military purposes, the weapon was loaded with ball, or a mixture of ball with several large shot (called buck and ball ), and had an effective range of about 75–100 m (246–328 ft). Smoothbore weapons that were designed for hunting birds were called "fowlers." Flintlock muskets tended to be of large caliber and usually had no choke , allowing them to fire full-caliber balls. Military flintlock muskets tended to weigh approximately 10 pounds (4.53 kg), as heavier weapons were found to be too cumbersome, and lighter weapons were not rugged or heavy enough to be used in hand-to-hand combat. They were usually designed to be fitted with
3090-416: Is a small cylinder of copper or brass with one closed end. Inside the closed end is a small amount of a shock-sensitive explosive material such as mercuric fulminate (discovered in 1800; it was the only practical detonator used from about the mid-19th century to the early 20th century ). The caplock mechanism consists of a hammer and a nipple (sometimes referred to as a cone ). The nipple contains
3193-517: Is en route to the climactic scene in which he is killed in the Battle of Kings Mountain. In Louis L'Amour's book The Ferguson Rifle (1973), Ferguson stops by a poor family home on his way to the Battle of King's Mountain and kindly gives his personal copy of the Ferguson rifle to a boy who later carries it West. Ferguson is shown to be a gentleman who displays all the appropriate social graces to
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3296-572: Is now in a "primed and loaded" state, and this is how it would typically be carried while hunting or if going into battle. To fire: The British Army and the Continental Army both used paper cartridges to load their weapons. The powder charge and ball were instantly available to the soldier inside this small paper envelope. To load a flintlock weapon using a paper cartridge, a soldier would The weapon can then be fully cocked and fired. Firearms using some form of flintlock mechanism were
3399-552: The 1853 Enfield and 1861 Springfield , this involved installing a firing pin in place of the nipple, and a trapdoor in the breech to accept the new bullets. Examples include the Trapdoor Springfield , Tabatière rifle , Westley Richards and Snider–Enfield conversions. The British Army used Snider Enfields contemporaneously with the Martini–Henry rifle until the .303 bolt action Lee–Metford repeating rifle
3502-651: The 71st Foot on 25 October 1779. In 1780, the British Army sent General Lord Cornwallis to invade South Carolina and North Carolina . His mission was to defeat all American forces in the Carolinas and keep the two colonies within the British Empire. A key part of Cornwallis's plan was to recruit soldiers from local Loyalists . To achieve this goal, General Clinton appointed Major Ferguson as Inspector of Militia in South Carolina . Ferguson's mission
3605-655: The American Revolutionary War . The only two flintlock breech loaders to be produced in quantity were the Hall and the Crespi. The first was invented by John Hall and patented c. 1817. It was issued to the U.S. Army as the Model 1819 Hall Breech Loading Rifle . The Hall rifles and carbines were loaded using a combustible paper cartridge inserted into the upward tilting breechblock. Hall rifles leaked gas from
3708-496: The Battle of Kings Mountain . The battle went badly for the Loyalists positioned high on the mountain ridge, and during the fighting, Ferguson was shot from his horse. With his foot still in the stirrup, he was dragged to the Patriot side. According to Patriot accounts, when a Patriot approached the major for his surrender, Ferguson drew his pistol and shot him as a last act of defiance. Other soldiers retaliated, and Ferguson's body
3811-712: The Holy Roman Empire with the Scots Greys during the Seven Years' War , until a leg ailment – probably tuberculosis in the knee – forced him to return home. After recovering, now in peace-time, he served with his regiment on garrison duty. In 1768, he purchased a command of a company in 70th Regiment of Foot , under the Colonelcy of his cousin Alexander Johnstone, and served with them in
3914-1144: The US Cavalry during the Indian Wars , and also by gunfighters , lawmen, and outlaws in the old west. In the 1840s and 1850s, the percussion cap was first integrated into a metallic cartridge, where the bullet is held in by the casing, the casing is filled with gunpowder, and a primer is placed on the end. By the 1860s and 1870s, breech-loading metallic cartridges had made the percussion cap system obsolete. Today, reproduction percussion firearms are popular for recreational shooters and percussion caps are still available (though some modern muzzleloaders use shotshell primers instead of caps). Most percussion caps now use non-corrosive compounds such as lead styphnate . Caps are used in cartridges , grenades , rocket-propelled grenades and rescue flares . Percussion caps are also used in land mine fuzes , booby-trap firing devices and anti-handling devices . Most purpose-made military booby-trap firing devices contain some form of spring-loaded firing pin designed to strike
4017-631: The West Indies until his lame leg again began to trouble him. In 1770, Ferguson purchased the Castara slave plantation in Tobago . After Ferguson's death, the plantation was inherited by his younger brother George , who had managed it since the early 1770s and developed it into a successful enterprise. Exports of rum, sugar, and molasses were sent back to Europe from it. After returning home in 1772, he took part in light infantry training, coming to
4120-460: The caplock mechanism or percussion lock system which used percussion caps struck by the hammer to set off the gunpowder charge in rifles and cap and ball firearms . Any firearm using a caplock mechanism is a percussion gun . Any long gun with a cap-lock mechanism and rifled barrel is a percussion rifle . Cap and ball describes cap-lock firearms discharging a single bore-diameter spherical bullet with each shot. The percussion cap
4223-403: The flintlock or true flintlock. Flintlock firearms differed from the then more common and cheaper to manufacture matchlock arms in that they were fired by the spark of the flint against the powder charge rather than by the direct application of a lighted length of cord or (as it was then called) "match". This was particularly important with men armed with muskets guarding artillery trains where
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4326-485: The pepperbox revolver would sometimes fire all barrels simultaneously, or would sometimes just explode in the user's hand. It was often cheaper, safer, and more reliable to carry several single-shot weapons instead. Some repeater rifles, multishot single barrel pistols, and multishot single barrel revolvers were also made. Notable are the Puckle gun , Mortimer , Kalthoff, Michele Lorenzoni, Abraham Hill , Cookson pistols,
4429-490: The 1620s and true flintlocks by 1640. While it is known that the Dutch were the first power to adopt the flintlock as the standard infantry weapon, the exact chronology of the transition is uncertain. The new flintlock system quickly became popular and was known and used in various forms throughout Europe by 1630, although older flintlock systems continued to be used for some time. Examples of early flintlock muskets can be seen in
4532-440: The 1850s Hawker was again claiming the invention for himself in his press advertisements. Despite many years of research by Winant, Gooding and De Witt Bailey, the jury is still out as the competing claims are based on personal accounts and have little or no independently verifiable evidence. While the metal percussion cap was the most popular and widely used type of primer, their small size made them difficult to handle under
4635-472: The 1850s onwards, and new guns based on existing designs were manufactured as caplocks. The Austrians instead used a variant of Manton's tube lock in their Augustin musket until the conventional caplock Lorenz rifle was introduced in 1855. The first practical solution for the problem of handling percussion caps in battle was the Prussian 1841 ( Dreyse needle gun ), which used a long needle to penetrate
4738-549: The Bondikula known for its unique bifurcated butt and heavy ornamentation. These were widely used during the 17th-18th centuries. In China, some flintlocks had been acquired and illustrated by 1635, but they were not adopted by the army. An 1836 British report about the Qing dynasty's military strength noted that all Chinese firearms were "ill-made" matchlocks, with no flintlocks or any of the other "tribes of firearm." Southeast Asia
4841-519: The Jennings repeater and the Elisha Collier revolver . Flintlocks were prone to many problems compared to modern weapons. Misfires were common. The flint had to be properly maintained, as a dull or poorly knapped piece of flint would not make as much of a spark and would increase the misfire rate dramatically. Moisture was a problem, since moisture on the frizzen or damp powder would prevent
4944-725: The South Carolina backcountry could not be held by the Tories. Shelby and his Overmountain Men crossed back over the Appalachian Mountains and fled back into the territory of the Watauga Association at Sycamore Shoals in present day Elizabethton, Tennessee , and by the next month on 25 September 1780, Colonels Shelby, John Sevier , and Charles McDowell and their 600 Overmountain Men had combined forces with Col. William Campbell and his 400 Virginia men at
5047-771: The Southeast Asian states generally lacked the ability to natively produce the flintlock. The Jiaozhi arquebus was still the main firearm of Nguyễn dynasty musketeers at the end of the 18th century. The Burmese only obtained a majority of flintlocks in their armed forces by the 1860s (the Burmese kings demanded to be paid in surplus European muskets instead of currency), at which point the European powers had already moved on to percussion cap firearms. Flintlocks may be any type of small arm : long gun or pistol , smoothbore or rifle , muzzleloader or breechloader . Flintlock pistols were used as self-defense weapons and as
5150-624: The Sycamore Shoals muster in advance of the 7 October 1780 Battle of Kings Mountain near present day Blacksburg, South Carolina . On 2 September, Ferguson and the militia he had already recruited marched west in pursuit of Shelby toward the Appalachian Mountain hill country on what is now the Tennessee /North Carolina border. By 10 September, Ferguson had established a base camp at Gilbert Town, North Carolina and issued
5253-538: The Tory stronghold at Ninety Six , South Carolina; but they hurriedly dispersed after learning that a large Patriot army had been defeated at Camden three days previous. Shelby's forces covered sixty miles with Ferguson in hot pursuit before making good their escape. In the wake of General Horatio Gates ’ blundering defeat at Camden, the victory at Musgrove Mill heartened the Patriots and served as further evidence that
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#17327917527765356-569: The US military was the percussion carbine version (c.1833) of the M1819 Hall rifle . The Americans' breech loading caplock Hall rifles, muzzle loading rifled muskets and Colt Dragoon revolvers gave them an advantage over the smoothbore flintlock Brown Bess muskets used by Santa Anna 's troops during the Mexican War . In Japan, matchlock pistols and muskets were converted to percussion from
5459-525: The advent of the Minié ball – by which time the percussion cap had made the flintlock obsolete. Because of the time needed to reload (even experts needed 15 seconds to reload a smooth-bore, muzzle-loading musket), flintlocks were sometimes produced with two, three, four or more barrels for multiple shots. These designs tended to be costly to make and were often unreliable and dangerous. While weapons like double barreled shotguns were reasonably safe, weapons like
5562-481: The aide in hussar dress might indicate the senior officer was Count Casimir Pulaski . For some months after being wounded, Ferguson was at risk for amputation of his arm. During this time, he received news of his father's death. Ferguson eventually recovered, although his right arm was permanently crippled. Ferguson resumed his military duties in May 1778, under the command of Sir Henry Clinton . In October 1778, Ferguson
5665-660: The attention of General Howe . During this time, he developed the Ferguson rifle , a breech-loading flintlock weapon based on Chaumette's earlier system. In 1777, Ferguson went to the colonies to serve in the American War of Independence ; commanding an experimental rifle corps equipped with his new rifle. However, after initial success, he was shot through the right elbow joint at the Battle of Brandywine on 11 September 1777 in Pennsylvania. Shortly before, he had had
5768-506: The barrel, making the weapon more and more difficult to load. Even if the barrel was badly fouled, the flintlock user still had to properly seat the round all the way to the breech of the barrel. Leaving an air gap in between the powder and the round (known as "short starting") was very dangerous, and could cause the barrel to explode. Handling loose black powder was also dangerous, for obvious reasons. Powder measures, funnels, and other pieces of equipment were usually made out of brass to reduce
5871-649: The battle and was buried with the officer. In the 1920s, the U.S. government erected a marker at Ferguson's gravesite, which today is a part of the Kings Mountain National Military Park , administered by the National Park Service . Ferguson's personal correspondence reveals a man of intelligence, humour and charm. He also wrote several articles, satirical in tone, for publication in Rivington's Royal Gazette , under
5974-565: The battle. Patrick Ferguson was born at Pitfour in Aberdeenshire, Scotland , on 25 May ( Old Style )/4 June ( New Style ) 1744, the second son and fourth child of advocate James Ferguson of Pitfour (who was raised to the judges' bench as a Senator of the College of Justice , so known as Lord Pitfour after 1764) and his wife Anne Murray, a sister of the literary patron Patrick Murray, 5th Lord Elibank . Through his parents, he knew
6077-399: The calculus of infantry combat; by one calculation, a formation equipped entirely with flintlocks (with paper cartridges) could output ten times as many shots in an equivalent period of time as a typical early 17th-century pike and shot formation equipped with matchlocks (pike:shot ratio of 3:2). Various breech-loading flintlocks were developed starting around 1650. The most popular action has
6180-497: The chance to shoot a prominent American officer, accompanied by another in distinctive hussar dress, but decided not to do so, as the man had his back to him and was unaware of Ferguson's presence. A surgeon told Ferguson in the hospital that some American casualties had said that General Washington had been in the area at the time. Ferguson wrote that, even if the officer were the general, he did not regret his decision. The officer's identity remains uncertain; historians suggest that
6283-472: The coat pocket pistol, or coat pistol, which would fit into a large pocket, the coach pistol, meant to be carried on or under the seat of a coach in a bag or box, and belt pistols, sometimes equipped with a hook designed to slip over a belt or waistband. Larger pistols were called horse pistols. Arguably the most elegant of the pistol designs was the Queen Anne pistol , which was made in all sizes. Arguably
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#17327917527766386-483: The colonists there abandoned the cause of American independence (Ferguson was actually in pursuit of Issac Shelby following the Battle of Musgrove's Mill), the Overmountain Men first mustered at Sycamore Shoals organised a militia to eventually fight Ferguson and his British Loyalists at King's Pinnacle , an isolated ridge on the border between the Carolinas. On 7 October 1780, the two armies clashed during
6489-538: The flintlock did not proliferate globally. Flintlocks were far more complicated to manufacture than simple matchlocks, thus less-developed countries continued to use the latter into the mid 19th century, long after Europe had made the switch in the late 17th. In the Indian subcontinent , the natively-manufactured toradar matchlock was the most common firearm type until about 1830. The Sinhalese Kingdoms locally produced flintlock mechanisms for long-barreled muskets known as
6592-418: The flintlock. Many of the older flintlock weapons were later converted to the caplock, so that they could take advantage of these features. Joshua Shaw is sometimes credited (primarily by himself) with the development of the first metallic percussion cap in 1814, a reusable one made of iron, then a disposable pewter one in 1815 and finally a copper one in 1816. There is no independent proof of this since Shaw
6695-597: The fragments of the cap if it fragmented, reducing the risk of injury to the firer's eyes. From the 1820s onwards, the armies of Britain, France, Russia, and America began converting their muskets to the new percussion system. Caplocks were generally applied to the British military musket (the Brown Bess ) in 1842, a quarter of a century after the invention of percussion powder and after an elaborate government test at Woolwich in 1834. The first percussion firearm produced for
6798-480: The high point of the mechanical development of the flintlock pistol was the British duelling pistol ; it was highly reliable, water resistant and accurate. External decoration was minimal but craftsmanship was evident, and the internal works were often finished to a higher degree of craftsmanship than the exterior. Dueling pistols were the size of the horse pistols of the late 1700s, around 16 inches (41 cm) long and were usually sold in pairs along with accessories in
6901-582: The idea in Britain. The earliest known patent anywhere in the world which specifically mentions a percussion cap and nipple was granted in France on 29 July 1818 to François Prélat , four years before Shaw's patent. Prelat made a habit of copying English patents and inventions and the mode of operation he describes is flawed. Secondly a French patent of a percussion cap and nipple had been granted in 1820 to Deboubert. However predating both of these French claims,
7004-450: The idea until 1822, having moved to America in 1817. According to Lewis Winant, the US government's decision to award Shaw $ 25,000 as compensation for his invention being used by the Army was a mistake. Congress believed Shaw's patent was the earliest in the world and awarded him a large sum of money based on this belief. The investigators had overlooked two French patents and the earlier use of
7107-689: The inside of the gun barrel and the lock mechanism. Flintlock weapons that were not properly cleaned and maintained would corrode to the point of being destroyed. Most flintlocks were produced at a time before modern manufacturing processes became common. Even in mass-produced weapons, parts were often handmade. If a flintlock became damaged, or parts wore out due to age, the damaged parts were not easily replaced. Parts would often have to be filed down, hammered into shape, or otherwise modified so that they would fit, making repairs much more difficult. Machine-made, interchangeable parts began to be used only shortly before flintlocks were replaced by caplocks. The gun
7210-428: The largest were over 20 inches (51 cm). From around the beginning of the 1700s the larger pistols got shorter, so that by the late 1700s the largest would be around 16 inches (41 cm) long. The smallest would fit into a typical pocket or a hand warming muff and could easily be carried by women. The largest sizes would be carried in holsters across a horse's back just ahead of the saddle. In-between sizes included
7313-485: The loading process. A soldier did not have to take the time to measure out powder when using a paper cartridge. He simply tore open the cartridge, used a small amount of powder to prime the pan, then dumped the remaining powder from the cartridge into the barrel. The black powder used in flintlocks contained sulfur . If the weapon was not cleaned after use, sulfur dioxide in the powder residue would absorb moisture, producing sulfuric and sulfonic acids which would erode
7416-456: The main form of firearm for over 200 years. It was not until Reverend Alexander John Forsyth invented a rudimentary percussion cap system in 1807 that the flintlock system began to decline in popularity. The percussion ignition system was more weatherproof and reliable than the flintlock, but the transition from flintlock to percussion cap was a slow one, and the percussion system was not widely used until around 1830. The Model 1840 U.S. musket
7519-409: The most likely inventor of the percussion cap, according to historian Sidney James Gooding, was Joseph Egg (nephew of Durs Egg ), around 1817, . There were other earlier claims. Col. Peter Hawker in 1830 simultaneously claimed and denied being the inventor. "I do not wish to say I was the inventor of it - very probably not" but then immediately recounts that he came up with the idea of simplifying
7622-432: The need to manually rotate the second barrel to align with the hammer. With the addition of a third barrel, and a ratchet to mechanically turn the barrels while cocking the hammer, these caplock pistols evolved into the pepper-box revolver during the 1830s. The caplock offered many improvements over the flintlock. The caplock was easier and quicker to load, more resilient to weather conditions, and far more reliable than
7725-490: The nickname of "Bulldog" among his militiamen. After winning several victories over American forces, Cornwallis occupied Charlotte, in the summer of 1780. He divided his army and gave command of one section to Ferguson. Ferguson's wing consisted of Loyalists he had recruited to fight for the British cause. On the evening of 18 August 1780 two hundred mounted Patriot partisans under joint command of Colonels Isaac Shelby , James Williams , and Elijah Clarke prepared to raid
7828-1169: The often poorly fitted action. The same problem affected the muskets produced by Giuseppe Crespi and adopted by the Austrian Army in 1771. Nonetheless, the Crespi System was experimented with by the British during the Napoleonic Wars , and percussion Halls guns saw service in the American Civil War . Flintlock weapons were commonly used until the mid 19th century, when they were replaced by percussion lock systems. Even though they have long been considered obsolete, flintlock weapons continue to be produced today by manufacturers such as Pedersoli, Euroarms, and Armi Sport. Not only are these weapons used by modern re-enactors, but they are also used for hunting, as many U.S. states have dedicated hunting seasons for black-powder weapons, which includes both flintlock and percussion lock weapons. Even after it became dominant in Europe,
7931-476: The outdoor drama Horn in the West , Ferguson is portrayed harassing Daniel Boone's Patriot friends ultimately leading to the Battle of Kings Mountain whereby his final defiant moments are carried out by shooting a Patriot with his pistol. In Stephen Hunter 's 2022 novel "Targeted", Ferguson is given a short biographical treatment focusing on his prowess with firearms and is linked, genetically to Bob Lee Swagger ,
8034-486: The painting "Marie de' Medici as Bellona" by Rubens (painted around 1622–1625). These flintlocks were in use alongside older firearms such as matchlocks, wheellocks, and miquelet locks for nearly a hundred years. The last major European power to standardize the flintlock was the Holy Roman Empire , when in 1702 the Emperor instituted a new regulation that all matchlocks were to be converted or scrapped. The "true" flintlock
8137-596: The pan " remain current in English. In addition, the weapon positions and drill commands that were originally devised to standardize carrying, loading and firing a flintlock weapon remain the standard for drill and display (see manual of arms ). Percussion cap The percussion cap , percussion primer , or caplock , introduced in the early 1820s, is a type of single-use percussion ignition device for muzzle loader firearm locks enabling them to fire reliably in any weather condition. Its invention gave rise to
8240-535: The percussion cap possible using the recently discovered fulminates was patented by the Reverend Alexander John Forsyth of Belhelvie , Aberdeenshire, Scotland, in 1807. The rudimentary percussion system was invented by Forsyth as a solution to the problem that birds would startle when smoke puffed from the powder pan of his flintlock shotgun, giving them sufficient warning to escape the shot. This early percussion lock system operated in
8343-412: The powder pan and steel frizzen with a nipple and by replacing the cock or hammer that held the flint by a smaller hammer formed with a hollow made to fit around the nipple when released by the trigger. On the nipple was placed the copper cap containing Shaw's detonating composition of three parts of chlorate of potash, two of fulminate of mercury and one of powdered glass. The hollow in the hammer contained
8446-569: The pseudonyms Egg-Shell , Memento Mori and John Bull . He was survived by his mother, his brothers James and George , and sisters Annie, Elizabeth (Betty) (Mrs Scrymgeour-Wedderburn of Birkhill), and Jean. In the novel Horse-Shoe Robinson (1835) by John Pendleton Kennedy , an historical romance set against the background of the Southern campaigns in the American War of Independence, fictional characters interact with Ferguson as he
8549-484: The range of .32–.45 in (8.1–11.4 mm) being the most common - hence being sometimes referred to as a "pea rifle." The Jezail was a military long flintlock rifle, developed near and popular throughout Afghanistan , India , Central Asia and parts of the Middle East . However, while European military tactics remained based on loosely-aimed mass volleys, most of their flintlocks were still smoothbore - as
8652-418: The rest being matchlocks. The development of firearm lock mechanisms had proceeded from the matchlock to wheellock to the earlier flintlocks ( snaplock , snaphance , miquelet , and doglock ) in the previous two centuries, and each type had been an improvement, contributing design features to later firearms which were useful. Le Bourgeoys fitted these various features together to create what became known as
8755-462: The risk of creating a spark, which could ignite the powder. Soldiers often used pre-made paper cartridges , which unlike modern cartridges were not inserted whole into the weapon. Instead, they were tubes of paper that contained a pre-measured amount of powder and a lead ball. Although paper cartridges were safer to handle than loose powder, their primary purpose was not safety related at all. Instead, paper cartridges were used mainly because they sped up
8858-668: The sleeping men of the American force. Pulaski reported that Ferguson's Tories killed, wounded or took prisoner about 30 of his men in what the Americans called the Little Egg Harbor massacre . Ferguson's own account (under the pen-name Egg-Shell ) expresses his dismay at Pułaski's lack of preparations and failure to post look-outs. He said in his official report that little quarter could be given, and his men took only five prisoners. Ferguson reported that he did not destroy
8961-546: The spiral grooves of rifling made rifles take more time to load, and after repeated shots black powder tended to foul the barrels. Rifled flintlocks saw most military use by sharpshooters, skirmishers, and other support units. While by the late 18th century there were increasing efforts to take advantage of the rifle for military purposes, with specialist rifle units such as the King's Royal Rifle Corps of 1756 and Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own) , smoothbores predominated until
9064-409: The stress of combat or while riding a horse. Accordingly, several manufacturers developed alternative, "auto-priming" systems. The " Maynard tape primer ", for example, used a roll of paper "caps" much like today's toy cap gun . The Maynard tape primer was fitted to some firearms used in the mid-nineteenth century and a few saw brief use in the American Civil War . Other disc or pellet-type primers held
9167-408: The three houses which sheltered the Americans because they were the dwellings of inoffensive Quakers , who were innocent civilians. Pułaski eventually led his mounted troops ( Pułaski's Legion ) forward, causing Ferguson to retreat to his boats, minus a few men who had been captured. Ferguson reported his losses as two killed, three wounded, and one missing. Ferguson was commissioned as a Major in
9270-399: The throne in 1610. However, firearms using some form of flint ignition mechanism had already been in use for over half a century. The first proto-flintlock was the snaplock, which was probably invented shortly before 1517 and was inarguably in use by 1547. Their cost and delicacy limited their use; for example around 1662, only one in six firearms used by the British royal army was a snaphaunce,
9373-599: The time of the Franco-Prussian War this had evolved into modern brass ammunition. The percussion cap brought about the invention of the modern cartridge case and made possible the general adoption of the breech-loading principle for all varieties of rifles, shotguns and pistols. After the American Civil War, Britain, France, and America began converting existing caplock guns to accept brass rimfire and centrefire cartridges. For muskets such as
9476-512: The trigger pull and the shot leaving the muzzle. Forsyth patented his "scent bottle" ignition system in 1807. However, it was not until after Forsyth's patents expired that the conventional percussion cap system was developed. Joseph Manton invented a precursor to the percussion cap in 1814, comprising a copper tube that detonated when crushed. This was further developed in 1822 by the English-born American artist Joshua Shaw , as
9579-467: The weapon from firing. This rendered flintlock weapons unusable in rainy or damp weather. Some armies attempted to remedy this by using a leather cover over the lock mechanism, but this proved to have only limited success. Accidental firing was also a problem for flintlocks. A burning ember left in the barrel could ignite the next powder charge as it was loaded. This could be avoided by waiting between shots for any leftover residue to completely burn. Running
9682-452: The weapons were used much like the pikes that they replaced. Because they were also used as pikes, military flintlocks tended to be approximately 5–6 feet (150–180 cm) in length (without the bayonet attached), and used bayonets that were approximately 18–22 inches (46–56 cm) in length. In Germany, the Jäger rifle was developed by the late 18th century. It was used for hunting, and in
9785-501: Was a Scottish officer in the British Army , an early advocate of light infantry and the designer of the Ferguson rifle . He is best known for his service in the 1780 military campaign of Charles Cornwallis during the American Revolutionary War in the Carolinas, in which he played a great effort in recruiting American Loyalists to serve in his militia against the Patriots. Ultimately, his activities and military actions led to
9888-410: Was advised he could not patent it due to Alexander Forsyth's patent for using fulminates to ignite guns being in force between 1807 and 1821. Shaw says he only shared the development of his innovation with a few associates (gunmakers and others) who were sworn to secrecy and never provided affidavits at a later date. Shaw's claim to have been the inventor remains clouded in controversy as he did not patent
9991-553: Was assigned to lead a raid in southern New Jersey to suppress privateers who had been seizing British ships. They were based around the Little Egg Harbor River , which empties into the Great Bay. Ferguson attacked their base in what is known as the Battle of Chestnut Neck . About a week later, Ferguson was notified by a Hessian defector, Lieutenant Carl Wilhelm Juliat, who had returned to the British side after
10094-461: Was found with eight musket holes in it. Patriot accounts said their militia stripped his body of clothing and urinated on him before burial. They buried him in an oxhide near the site of his fall. Col. Benjamin Cleveland of North Carolina claimed Ferguson's white stallion as a "war prize” and rode it home to his estate of Roundabout. One of Ferguson's mistresses, "Virginia Sal", was also killed in
10197-465: Was in a similar position to China and India. The Vietnamese were introduced to flintlocks by the Dutch in the 1680s, and bought some from European merchants. Flintlocks began to appear in Javanese arsenals in the first decade of the eighteenth century and the Dutch began to supply flintlocks to the rulers of Surabaya in the 1710s and 1720s. But matchlocks remained prominent until the mid-19th century, and
10300-597: Was introduced in the 1880s. Later, military surplus Sniders were purchased as hunting and defensive weapons by British colonists and trusted local natives. Caplock revolvers such as the Colt Navy and Remington were also widely converted during the late 19th century, by replacing the existing cylinder with one designed for modern ammunition. These were used extensively by the Turks in the Russo-Turkish War ,
10403-405: Was less expensive to manufacture than earlier flintlocks, which along with general economic development allowed every European soldier to have one by the 18th century. Compared to the earlier matchlock, flintlocks could be reloaded roughly twice as fast, misfired far less often, and were easier to use in various environments due to the fact that they did not require a lit match. This instantly changed
10506-441: Was the last flintlock firearm produced for the U.S. military. However, obsolete flintlocks saw action in the earliest days of the American Civil War . For example, in 1861, the Army of Tennessee had over 2,000 flintlock muskets in service. As a result of the flintlock's long active life, it left lasting marks on the language and on drill and parade . Terms such as: " lock, stock and barrel ", " going off half-cocked " and " flash in
10609-549: Was to recruit Loyalist militia in the Carolinas and Georgia and to intimidate any colonists who favoured American independence. Major Patrick Ferguson was appointed Inspector of Militia Corps on 22 May 1780. His task was to march to the old Tryon County area, raise and organize Loyalist units from the Tory population of the Carolina Backcountry , and protect the left flank of Cornwallis' main body at Charlotte, North Carolina . By this time, Ferguson had acquired
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