Flintlock
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.
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 Although long superseded by modern firearms, flintlock weapons enjoy continuing popularity with black-powder shooting enthusiasts.
History
French court gunsmith Marin le Bourgeoys made a firearm incorporating a flintlock mechanism for King Louis XIII shortly after his accession to 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 English Army was a snaphaunce, the rest being matchlocks. The development of firearm lock mechanisms had proceeded from the matchlock to wheellock to the earlier flintlocks 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 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 "match". This was particularly important with men armed with muskets guarding artillery trains where a lighted cord 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, 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 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 the painting "Marie de' Medici as Bellona" by Rubens. 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 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 the calculus of infantry combat; by one calculation, a formation equipped entirely with flintlocks 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.
Various breech-loading flintlocks were developed starting around 1650. The most popular action has 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. 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 a tight-fitting bullet and patch.
One of the more successful variants 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 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 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, the flintlock did not proliferate globally. Large Flint reserves are available only in Europe and North America. 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 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 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 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, at which point the European powers had already moved on to percussion cap firearms.
Subtypes
Flintlocks may be any type of small arm: long gun or pistol, smoothbore or rifle, muzzleloader or breechloader.Pistols
Flintlock pistols were used as self-defense weapons and as 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 long and the largest were over. From around the beginning of the 1700s the larger pistols got shorter, so that by the late 1700s the largest would be around 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 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 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 long and were usually sold in pairs along with accessories in a wooden case with compartments for each piece.