Posted on 01/03/2017 12:27:14 PM PST by w1n1
It all started with the Baker Rifle and the British 95th Rifle Regiment
The defining moment for rifles in the western world was when Rifleman Thomas Plunkett serving with the British 95th Rifle regiment took a shot with his Baker rifle towards the end of the Battle of Cacabelos in 1809.
Rifleman Plunket laid flat on his back in the snow took a shot at the French General Auguste-Marie-François Colbert.
While he lay on the ground, Plunket inserted his foot into the sling of his Baker .705-caliber rifle to stabilize the weapon, the butt of his rifle flushed into his shoulder and took aim using only his marksmanship skills and iron sights.
Plunkett squeezed the trigger, and a moment later the general fell dead at 600 yards away. Then Plunkett reloaded and ran back to cover and took another shot that killed a second French officer who rode to Colberts aid.
This feat catapulted the capability of the basic firearm used by a soldier, led by the Baker rifle. The Baker rifle was not the first rifle invented, as there were other muskets used in the previous century with less accuracy. The Americans and Germans learned ways to use it with deadly effectiveness. Read the rest of the story here.
My great-etc grand uncle took a couple bullets at Spotsylvania as well.
The British Brown Bess, a generic term, was .69 caliber at the time, whereas the colonialists typically used a .63 caliber.
Ergo, the analysis of the battlefield remains turned up piles of shot from rotted bags left by fallen, and weighing the rounds gave a pretty good picture of the layout of the sides.
The British Brown Bess musket was 75 caliber. The Charlesville pattern musket, used by the Colonials and their French allies, was 69 caliber. After the war, the United States Army adopted the Charlesville patter musket in 69 caliber as the standard for U.S. manufactured military shoulder arms.
Wow. A response to a 2 year old post.
Yeah the British used the Brown Bess. The Americans used Brown Bess that were left over from before the war and the French Charleville. The Bess was close to 12 gauge. Charleville a little smaller.
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