Rain--Wind--How Did They Fight

[Rokon]

I'm out there in the field today trying to prime my pan with 25-35 mph gusts that blow the priming charge right out of the pan before I can close the fizzen.

Then it begins raining. The flint is wet, the pan is wet, the frizzen is wet-- nothing
is working.

How did flinters deal with the rain in particular if they were expected to conduct a continuous armed assault or stop a grizzly?

 

[biliff]

"Give them the cold steel boys!"

~ General Lewis Armistead - Gettysburg, 1863


Of course that didn't work out so well for him, either.

 

[tenngun]

If your careful you can stay pretty weather resitant. In a running fight or a battle the other side also had flintlocks. As for bear, it was wounded animal against hawk and knife. A company of 100 men with a 40% failure still sent 60 ball down range.

 

[Rokon]

Good responses all!

What I'm curious about is that after that first "protected" first shot with a flintlock in the rain, was the fight Over?

 

[Zonie]

You have discovered the primary reason the percussion cap won the flintlock vs percussion battle.

Not so much the rain, but the wind was the problem.

During the time of the Flintlock (and to a lesser degree the percussion), whole battles between army's could be called off or stopped by a sudden change in the weather.

Yes, as Bakeoven mentioned, there were small skirumishes from time to time but often a good wind and some rain would come and the battlefield would become silent.

 

[BrownBear]

Pretend the pan is a cigarette and the charger/horn a match: Turn your back to the wind, cup your hand around the cigarette (pan), reach in with the match (charge spout) and fill the pan, then close the cover.

Guys light cigs in the wind all the time. Kinda standard procedure on the windy rock I hunt.

Rainy? Lean forward so your body shields the pan. Then dry the flint and cover the lock with something. I prefer a cows knee.

Sure it takes a little practice and learning the details. But that's why I go to the range on nasty days while everyone else is home playing with their keyboard.

 

[Artificer]

Great point about it being similar to lighting a cigarette in the wind. Never thought about it, but it is indeed almost exactly the same.

I saw the title and my first thought was "Use a Cow's Knee" as well. Painted canvas or leather ones do a good job in all but torrential downpours.

Gus

 

[thecapgunkid]

Probably the biggest threat to Americans in battle has been other Americans.

Check out the book Bloody Mohawk about Oriskany and you'll get an idea of how resorting to hand-to-hand makes out.

Some sources say the rain stopped most of the battle and some say that they just went at it manually.

In either case, I'm glad I was not there or at events of The Civil War.

I guess your answer is not so much dependent on the gun itself, but the motivation behind it.

 

[nchawkeye]

Actually, they often didn't... :wink:

Study many of the battles of the American Revolution and you find that when the weather was terrible they didn't fight...They waited until it was better...

 

[Rifleman1776]

They didn't. My readings about the Rev. War indicate battles were somewhat seasonal. Sounds crazy but for the English glory is what was important. That is hard to achieve in bad weather.

 

[mooman76]

Actually, they often didn't... :wink:

Study many of the battles of the American Revolution and you find that when the weather was terrible they didn't fight...They waited until it was better...

I was kind of thinking that also but it was just a educated or logical thought.

 

[brubincam]

NATIVE AMERICANS bow and arrows were water proof

 

[eaglesnester]

I should think that U did what Jeremiah Johnson did. Carry a brace of 69 caliber pistols for last resort self defense along with a hawk and big knife. Old Hugh Glass had to do that although I don't remember if he had a back up side arm. The native Americans were very effective with bows against the white man armed with muzzle loaders. They could get off twice 3 to four times the number of rounds that a foe with a muzzle loader could deploy.
For those of U that do not know the legend of Hugh Glass I would suggest that you go to the library and read up on him. His saga is fascinating story of survival and tenacity. It is however very difficult to get all the factual events as his story has been told, re-told and written about many times and like all stories it gets embellished and the facts get lost in the dusty corridors of history.

 

[M. De Land]

Actually I have read bow and arrows with sinew strings did not work very well when soaking wet as the bow string stretched and the bow limbs often warped.
Wet feather fletching on arrows was not the best scenario either.
Also, hoof glue often used on both is water soluble.

 

[M. De Land]

I remember a movie called "Man in the Wilderness" that I think was supposed to follow the Hugh Glass adventure of being bear mauled,left for dead and surviving.
Some English actor Richard Harris , I think.

 

[larryp]

Yep, I have that movie. Got it in the $5 dollar bin at Wally World.

 

[thecapgunkid]

Didn't say EVERYBODY went at it...if it was me I'd have gone home when the clouds got black.
The participants didn't do that at Oriskany, though...

 

[Grenadier1758]

They didn't. My readings about the Rev. War indicate battles were somewhat seasonal. Sounds crazy but for the English glory is what was important. That is hard to achieve in bad weather.

Back to just at the start of the French and Indian War, Washington's forces were trapped at Fort Necessity and the rain during the battle put many of their guns out of commission. The French forces, protected under the trees, kept up their fire until Washington surrendered.

Generally, the start of rain meant the end of fighting.

 

[Vaino]

Humans have fought many wars early in our history and they're still occurring and they used whatever weapons were available...after all, we humans just have to fight wars.

Rain and wind I think caused welcome respites from the battlefield when flintlocks were the weapons of choice. Don't think the common soldiers complained at all about the foul weather and some "time off"....only the generals were disgruntled....so they resorted to other weapons

When the wind is howling and the rain is making flintlocks inoperable on the battlefield, there's always bayonets....the generals are resourceful and happy much to the chagrin of the common soldier.

Bad weather even deferred battles in times when flintlocks weren't even being used.....June 6, 1944 .....D Day.....the beginning of many battles in Europe in one of very few "necessary wars"....Fred

 

[Rifleman1776]

They didn't. My readings about the Rev. War indicate battles were somewhat seasonal. Sounds crazy but for the English glory is what was important. That is hard to achieve in bad weather.

Back to just at the start of the French and Indian War, Washington's forces were trapped at Fort Necessity and the rain during the battle put many of their guns out of commission. The French forces, protected under the trees, kept up their fire until Washington surrendered.

Generally, the start of rain meant the end of fighting.

Fort N. was strategically poorly located. Trees and rain protection had little to do with George's defeat. re: 'Ascent of George Washington' by George Fehling.