When did flint replace matchlocks in English military?

[SimonKenton]

I just saw the New World and noticed a lot of matchlocks although there might have been a pistol with either a snaphaunce or "conventional" flint ignition system. When did they "officially" transition to the flintlocks we came to know as "Brown Bess" (or some flint predecessor)?

-Ray

 

[benvenuto]

(note: the standing army was only established in the 1680's, and so there were no "offical" patterns of firearm until then)

Cavalry regiments were the first to use self igniting guns (wheel locks and snaphaunces), followed by the artillery guards (powder barrels plus lit match = big boom).

Dragoons in the ECW (1640's) were armed with matchlocks at the start, but by the restoration (1660's) had started to switch over.

Starting in the reign of James II (late 1680's)infantry started to get English locks and flintlocks but the changeover was not complete until the end of Queen Annes reign (1714).

Because they purchased their own weapons, officers of all ranks had flintlocks and english locks, but junior officers were still expected to carry only sword and partisan or pike.

 

Several years ago I read an order requiring the conversion of all matchlocks to flint. This was conversion and not new purchases. It was dated in the mid-1670s. I can't remember what the source was.

Possibly Flintlocks and Tomahawks

 

[Light Dragoon]

My understanding is that it was pretty well a done deal by 1703, though as Benvenuto says, it wasn't totally complete until the end of the War of Spanish Succession (1714). The Royal Navy kept some of the older matchlocks in service until the 1720's, I understand.

France too was pretty well completely equipped with flintlock muskets and carbines by 1701, though I am sure a few here and there continued on their merry way. And yes, lots of the service weapons were simply converted from match to flint and then reissued. The basic ballistics of the smoothbore barrels remained constant, so no need for a "new" gun when the old one with a new lock was virtually identical.

Cheers!

Gordon

 

I wonder whether the military was rather ahead or behind the normal folks? There was a big ragtag revolt in my area in the years 1705/1706 and from some sources I remember that from the thousands of rebels, rarely more than a quarter had guns. Would it be normal for simple folks to have matchlocks at all? What gun would a farmer carry in that timeframe to toss out an occupying imperator?

 

[musketmart]

In England an offical order in 1699 stated that matchlocks were no longer to be used for regular military[url] service.In[/url] France it was 1700 . In Virginia it was befour 1630 . JB

 

[spitfire]

Virginia it was before 1630 . JB

Was that in response to Indian hostilities and tactics possiably? :hmm:

 

[benvenuto]

In this period, the Military wanted to save as much money as possible (unlike today!), so I think they would have been behind civilians. Bear in mind of course that very few civilians went armed in Europe, and the ones that did, either because it was their livelihood or because they were wealthy enough to afford it would have had the latest technology.

There were exceptions where military arms got out into the community. I was researching french laws recently and I came across a mention of Louis XIV's disarming law. Apparently a lot of people were deserting the military and taking home their muskets and bayonets so he passed a law to ban ownership of military guns. I think that was 1660?

 

[spitfire]

Correct in general.The Larger estates would have had arms and this could fall into the hands of tenets voluntary or otherwise.

 

[benvenuto]

It's hard to talk about europe in general because customs varied from one country to the next. And in this period there were THOUSANDS of countries in Europe. Theres also economic conditions to take into account. Some parts of Germany were still devastated from the thirty years war, and East Prussia I think had been almost depopulated because of the war and subsequent plague.

 

[spitfire]

You are correct.Such hardships led to the scarce laborforce to demand better wages(and politics) and in return fueled the search for labor saving technology. :winking:

 

[Henry]

For convenience , re-enactors of the French North America
divide matchlocks in 3 types

Type I is the early match lock : Fish tail butt stock , pan welded on the barrel ,rectangular lock plate lock plate .
This type is used to re-enact the Champlain period
( early 1600)

Type II : the stock is common with the early Louis XIV flint
also called " fusil des galères " because the best known
military gun still in museum today was used by naval guard
on galley ( spl?) boats of the Mediterranée .
The lock plate is still rectangular . This one is used in
Frontenac period ans was used by the Carignan Salière.

Use of this gun by the french army was limited by royal edict
first no more than 20% flint 40% match...... 40 % pikes !
then 50% (pikes no more in use ) . Carignan rgt was the first
100% flint French army rgt.

Type III is a late , économy thing , Flint type stock , flint type
lockplate , pan welded to lock plate . Some were mentioned
in a 1707 inventory in Québec city , valued at 7 livres
when a regular flint musket was more than 20 livres ( french pound ) I know of no battles where they would have been used .

So replacement by flint in the french army was a very progressive action started around 1650 finished around 1700.

Interesting fact is that the french army went directly from match to french flint lock , no recorded use of snaplock,
dog lock , miquelet or other type of lock.

There are many records of wheellock by guards , cavalry
etc. Many records of Italian or spanish flint by officers and
noblemen , but none by the soldiers .