[Peter Libra]

On your piece of grenade of about that time, I often wonder about the mechanics of tossing such a device. Modern grenades, as you will know had a convenient pin attached to a ring. I know that the British Army used the tallest and strongest men to throw the primitive grenade. Regiments called the Grenadiers. Another regiment was called the Fusiliers. I understand the fusilier had to fire the fuse and hand it to the grenadier.

Actor Michael Caine was in the London Fusiliers, saw action, but no fusing grenades (chuckle).

[marktwain]

My unserstanding is that the early grenades were basically sandcast hollow cast iron spheres. They were filled with black powder, and had a fuse that was lit before they were thrown.

The reputation of causing casualties on their own side became so bad that the grenade were given up by most militaries for about a century, from about 1800 to 1900.

[Little Ray]

Y’know those round, black cartoon bombs with fuses sticking out? Those were grenades. They were smaller, palm sized.