If you are like me and have always wondered why that piece of leather we put over a frizzen as a safety device is called a 'Hammer Stall' ... here's you answer!
"Frizzen"
The singular problem with the "frizzen," the metal arm of the lock portion of a flintlock that sparks when struck by a flint, is the word "frizzen" itself. The term is conspicuously absent in drill manuals that predate the American Civil War. It is not found in the 1825 drill manual, nor in the "Abstract" of 1828. It is not found in Gen. Winfield Scott’s Tactics manual dated 1836 on. Perhaps the term "frizzen" comes from America’s colonial experience? Mr. Mark Tully of Baraboo effectively dismantles this notion:
Rifles, pistols, muskets, fusees, carbines--the one thing that they all have in common is the lock. But how well do each of us know the various parts that comprise this vital piece of machinery? Perhaps the most common faux pas we make when talking with the public about our weapons is in calling the cock a hammer and the hammer a ”˜frizzen.’ The cock apparently got its name from its resemblance to a pecking rooster, and only became known as a "hammer" much later in the percussion-cap era. As for the term ”˜frizzen,’ there simply was no such word in the 18th-century; in fact I could not find ”˜frizzen’ listed in ANY dictionary, new or old, including the huge, multi-volume Oxford Dictionary of the English Language. The best guess I have heard so far is that this anachronistic term dates from the late 19th or early 20th-century and is a corruption of the Dutch or Germanic word ”˜frizzel’ or ”˜furison,’ both of which were apparently first used to described the hammer of a flintlock in 1892.
The term ”˜frizzen cover’ is also an anachronism. Both Simes and Cuthbertson talk of ”˜hammer stalls,’ being used as a safety device, but there is no mention of frizzens or frizzen covers in either text. The hammer can also be referred to as a ”˜steel,’ but should never be called a frizzen.
The word "frizzen" is not found in Noah Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language. Work by museum professional and historian Mike Breza indicated "I did take a look in a 1810 and 1814 dictionary. I found no frizzen in either. I also see that touch hole (cannon) and touch pan (musket) are used then. A gun a soldier uses is a firelock. No other info could be gained."
Webster's 1828 Dictionary defined "cock" as The part of a musket or other fire arm, to which a flint is attached, and which, being impelled by a spring, strikes fire, and opens the pan at the same time. Finally, I located several pre-Civil War manuals that lists flintlock nomenclature. While one such manual terms the "cock" as the "hammer" (a percussion weapon term,) there is again NO mention of the frizzen.
Some investigators have claimed that that the term "frizzen" is a civilian term. Indeed, my good friend Jim Patton pointed out a mention of "frizen" in Ellen Whitney's The Black Hawk War 1831-2, Vol. II, Letters and Papers, Part II, p. 1238:
Henry Eddy: Statement of Arms Issued in 1832 (Jan. 1, 1833) Statement shewing the number of arms Issued by the Quarter Master General to supply the volunteers called into service during the spring and summer of 1832, against the Indians and the number returned &c.
Muskets 11 Bayts. 7 Wipers & 5 screws by Capt. Dunn one ramrod & frizen broke.
Likewise, Jim located the following citation in Dictionary of Americanisms, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL, 1951: frizen, frizin, n. [Cf. EDD frizzens, "plow irons."] The frizzle of a flintlock gun; the pan cover or plate struck by the flint. Colloq.--1850 Lewis - La. Swamp Doctor 173, I primed old 'bar death' fresh, and rubbed the frizin, for it war no time for rifle to get to snappin'. 1853 P. Paxton - Yankee in Texas 175 Down I sat, shook out my priming, wiped the frizen, then up again, and taking a long, deliberate aim, touched the hair trigger.
Other investigators have cited military manuals from the 1840s-50s that seem to indicate the use of the word. Indeed, the citation from the Disctionary of Americans (a reprint of a book purportedly published in 1848) has examples of the word "frizin" dated from 1850 and later. However, the lone citation from Whitney's book appears to indicate the existance of the word in 1832.
CONCLUSION: While the evidence suggests that the term "frizzle" of "frizen" or "frizzen" did exist in 1832-3, the use of the term or its citation is so rare in period texts, journals, and accounts as to discount its widespread use in historical recreation circles today. Clearly the military manuals, etc. of the period used the expression "hammer." The words "steel" or "battery" also appear to be correct.
Source:[url] http://www.geocities.com/old_lead/oops.htm[/i[/url]]
"Frizzen"
The singular problem with the "frizzen," the metal arm of the lock portion of a flintlock that sparks when struck by a flint, is the word "frizzen" itself. The term is conspicuously absent in drill manuals that predate the American Civil War. It is not found in the 1825 drill manual, nor in the "Abstract" of 1828. It is not found in Gen. Winfield Scott’s Tactics manual dated 1836 on. Perhaps the term "frizzen" comes from America’s colonial experience? Mr. Mark Tully of Baraboo effectively dismantles this notion:
Rifles, pistols, muskets, fusees, carbines--the one thing that they all have in common is the lock. But how well do each of us know the various parts that comprise this vital piece of machinery? Perhaps the most common faux pas we make when talking with the public about our weapons is in calling the cock a hammer and the hammer a ”˜frizzen.’ The cock apparently got its name from its resemblance to a pecking rooster, and only became known as a "hammer" much later in the percussion-cap era. As for the term ”˜frizzen,’ there simply was no such word in the 18th-century; in fact I could not find ”˜frizzen’ listed in ANY dictionary, new or old, including the huge, multi-volume Oxford Dictionary of the English Language. The best guess I have heard so far is that this anachronistic term dates from the late 19th or early 20th-century and is a corruption of the Dutch or Germanic word ”˜frizzel’ or ”˜furison,’ both of which were apparently first used to described the hammer of a flintlock in 1892.
The term ”˜frizzen cover’ is also an anachronism. Both Simes and Cuthbertson talk of ”˜hammer stalls,’ being used as a safety device, but there is no mention of frizzens or frizzen covers in either text. The hammer can also be referred to as a ”˜steel,’ but should never be called a frizzen.
The word "frizzen" is not found in Noah Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language. Work by museum professional and historian Mike Breza indicated "I did take a look in a 1810 and 1814 dictionary. I found no frizzen in either. I also see that touch hole (cannon) and touch pan (musket) are used then. A gun a soldier uses is a firelock. No other info could be gained."
Webster's 1828 Dictionary defined "cock" as The part of a musket or other fire arm, to which a flint is attached, and which, being impelled by a spring, strikes fire, and opens the pan at the same time. Finally, I located several pre-Civil War manuals that lists flintlock nomenclature. While one such manual terms the "cock" as the "hammer" (a percussion weapon term,) there is again NO mention of the frizzen.
Some investigators have claimed that that the term "frizzen" is a civilian term. Indeed, my good friend Jim Patton pointed out a mention of "frizen" in Ellen Whitney's The Black Hawk War 1831-2, Vol. II, Letters and Papers, Part II, p. 1238:
Henry Eddy: Statement of Arms Issued in 1832 (Jan. 1, 1833) Statement shewing the number of arms Issued by the Quarter Master General to supply the volunteers called into service during the spring and summer of 1832, against the Indians and the number returned &c.
Muskets 11 Bayts. 7 Wipers & 5 screws by Capt. Dunn one ramrod & frizen broke.
Likewise, Jim located the following citation in Dictionary of Americanisms, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL, 1951: frizen, frizin, n. [Cf. EDD frizzens, "plow irons."] The frizzle of a flintlock gun; the pan cover or plate struck by the flint. Colloq.--1850 Lewis - La. Swamp Doctor 173, I primed old 'bar death' fresh, and rubbed the frizin, for it war no time for rifle to get to snappin'. 1853 P. Paxton - Yankee in Texas 175 Down I sat, shook out my priming, wiped the frizen, then up again, and taking a long, deliberate aim, touched the hair trigger.
Other investigators have cited military manuals from the 1840s-50s that seem to indicate the use of the word. Indeed, the citation from the Disctionary of Americans (a reprint of a book purportedly published in 1848) has examples of the word "frizin" dated from 1850 and later. However, the lone citation from Whitney's book appears to indicate the existance of the word in 1832.
CONCLUSION: While the evidence suggests that the term "frizzle" of "frizen" or "frizzen" did exist in 1832-3, the use of the term or its citation is so rare in period texts, journals, and accounts as to discount its widespread use in historical recreation circles today. Clearly the military manuals, etc. of the period used the expression "hammer." The words "steel" or "battery" also appear to be correct.
Source:[url] http://www.geocities.com/old_lead/oops.htm[/i[/url]]
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