2.5 The World of the Marksman and Firearms in the Seventeenth Century
Hello and welcome back to the La Garde Ecossaise podcast. Today we are going to explore the world of the marksman and firearms during the seventeenth century. I have avoided the term ‘musketeer’ in the title of the podcast for an obvious reason – any time the term musketeer is used in relation to seventeenth century France many people will visualise the musketeers made famous by Alexandre Dumas, Athos, Porthos, Aramis and D’artagnan. I think the term marksman is much more appropriate. The character in the novel La Garde Ecossaise which represents this skillset is Alasdair MacDonald, is a mischievous and wayward Highlander with a good heart. Many may assume that a Scottish Highlander is an odd choice as a character that would represent marksmanship within the guard, but as I will explain in later podcasts, marksmanship has a long history within Irish and Highlander warfare. For the moment, this episode will explore, through the characters of Meldrum and MacDonald, the operation and use of muskets. It will then explore the operation of both the matchlock and flintlock musket and finally, it will explore the use of firearms in the armies of King Louis XIV.
Exploring Firearms with Alasdair MacDonald: the experience of Robert Meldrum
We are introduced to muskets when Robert Meldrum, the young recruit to the group, has one thrust into his hands by the gruff and abrupt highlander Alasdair MacDonald. Alasdair demonstrates the use of the flintlock musket and proudly notes that it is Scottish because it has no trigger guard. This was a common difference between English and Scottish muskets. Yet, interestingly, it was a Frenchman that is thought to have developed the best version of the flintlock musket in the early seventeenth century. Alasdair demonstrates his musket by firing a musket ball at a beer tankard placed upon a set of barrels in the grounds of a landed estate belonging to a local French nobleman. It is inferred by the passage that the Garde Ecossaise use the estate for training. Indeed, using landed estates to train men was, of course, nothing new. Before Louis XIVs armies became state contracted, the monarch was reliant upon nobleman to raise private armies of men at their own expense and means.[1]
Alasdair sets the beer tankard on the barrels, shoots with clear accuracy and the bullet or musket ball goes through the tankard from 100 yards. To modern ears this feat might seem impossible as there seems to be a popular misconception that the musket, generally speaking, was inaccurate and its range was short. However, Alasdair MacDonald was within an effective range at 100 yards (300 feet) much helped by the fact that he was a skilled marksman of many years experience and he was disciplined and shooting a stationary target.[2] Of course, Meldrum’s experience with the musket, was very different indeed. He states that he has never handled a musket before so Alasdair shows him how his flintlock works, and how the gunpowder was kept in small containers which were usually worn across the body. In La Garde Ecossaise these charges are hidden. As we will discover, the Garde worked in civilian areas, on secret operations and as such, they would keep these charges concealed from view. This is a bit of dramatic licence on my part because it was normal practice for infantry carrying muskets on the battlefield to wear their bandoliers on the outside of their uniforms, in full view, to assist with the efficient loading of the musket.[3]
Now the astute readers amongst you may have noticed that Alasdair gives Meldurm the instructions for firing a matchlock musket. This was deliberate and, as we will discuss later, the matchlock musket was still being used by Louis XIVs armies during the seventeenth century. Meldrum clearly feels uncomfortable, which is not a surprise, as firing muskets was completely new to him. It is clear that Alasdair has given Meldrum a matchlock musket to start with and, unsurprisingly Meldrum misses his target. In fact, Meldrum is taken aback by the power of the musket, almost being blown off his feet. Meldrum misses his target, the tankard, not just due to inexperience, but also due to the fact that although the matchlock musket could hit a target at 100 yards, it was often woefully inaccurate, particularly if fired by a single individual. On the battlefield matchlock muskets were often fired in lines and rows, with the front row firing first and then the solider would go to the back of the lines for reloading. Therefore, as a group the soldiers produced a continuous volley of fire which was more accurate and effective.[4] Indeed, Meldrum alludes to this when he refers to the drills that Alasdair puts him through as part of his training and that Alasdair makes Meldrum practise again and again so that the process of loading and firing the musket becomes faster and as instinctive as walking or eating. Indeed, looking after a musket, handling and learning how to fire a musket were all skills that had to be learned and proficiency had to meet high standards as accidents were common. Hence why Alasdair gives Meldrum a scathing look when Meldrum does not ram his ball down the barrel hard enough. Meldrum looks upon MacDonald as a harsh drill sergeant, as Meldrum states MacDonald gives him a flintlock pistol to practise on which was known for its inaccuracy. Another common way that people used to practise marksmanship especially on landed estates was through gamekeeping, and being keen to introduce Meldrum to live and moving targets, MacDonald suggests they should shoot some rabbits. [5]
The Anatomy of Muskets
There were broadly two kinds of muskets in the seventeenth century – the matchlock musket and the flintlock musket also called a fusil in some of the literature. The fusil gradually replaced the matchlock musket in the seventeenth century although, as we will see, Louis XIVs army was one of the last to make this transition. We will now explore the equipment needed to fire a musket at an enemy, as well as the technical differences between a matchlock musket and a flintlock or fusil. I will post links to videos within the podcast script blog. Please head over to www.lagardeecossaise.net to take a look.
Before we move on to the muskets themselves, we will explore the basic equipment that was common to both matchlock muskets and flintlock muskets.
The first piece of equipment common to both of these muskets was of course the musket balls. Musket balls were made of lead which had been melted down and poured into a mould, then when cooled, extracted from the mould and trimmed. If you would like to see how they were made please visit the YouTube link on my blog for this episode.[6]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snl5AcPi03Q
Both muskets required a bandolier which ran from the left shoulder to waist and carried twelve cartouches, or cartridges. French soldiers called these the ‘Twelve Apostles’. Each would be filled with enough gunpowder for a single shot. However, as Peter Edwards comments, ‘Bandoliers were cumbersome pieces of equipment to wear; the cartouches swung to and fro and rattled or jingled as the person moved. Apart from the danger that the noise might advertise one’s presence, there was always a possibility that a spark might explode the entire belt and blow up the solider with it’. In the armies of Louis XIV the wooden bandoliers were replaced by ammunition pouches.[7]
They also had a leather pouch in which they carried musket balls. They would also carry bits of cloth, paper or grass to use as wadding as well as a rod made of wood which was used to push the musket ball to the bottom of the barrel and into position for firing. When using a matchlock musket, the solider would have a powder flask pour powder into the ‘priming the pan’.[8]
When Alasdair MacDonald gives Meldrum the matchlock to use, MacDonald is giving him a weapon that takes longer to load and has a more complex drill than that of a flintlock musket.[9] MacDonald is putting Meldrum to work.
The steps in firing a matchlock musket are as follows:
- Open and clean your pan. This was important to make sure that any residue and embers from your previous shot were cleared or it could cause accidents, or the musket could misfire.
- Prime your pan with a small amount of gunpowder. So that later on, when the lit match hits the pan, it will trigger the firing mechanism.
- Close your pan and knock off any lose powder. Again, this was important to prevent accidents and miswirings.
- Take off one of cartouches or cartridges from your bandolier and pour the powder into the barrel of the gun. These cartouches contained about half an ounce of gunpowder.
- You then insert your wadding and musket ball and push both down the barrel of the musket with your wooden rod. You need to push it as far down the barrel as you can or the musket will not discharge the ball properly. (as Meldrum learns when training with Alasdair).
- Light your match and cock the musket so that when the trigger is pulled the lit match will go into the pan (which you primed with gunpowder earlier).
- Aim and pull the trigger. The match will instantly touch the pan creating the firing mechanism and propel the musket ball forward with momentum towards your enemy.[10]
If you would like to see this in action for yourself please watch the YouTube link to the video below in the footnotes of the blog.
The advantage of the Flintlock over the matchlock musket was that it had a faster loading and firing drill. There were fewer steps to take as well being a safer piece of equipment for the soldiers, because the naked lit match was removed.
The steps for firing a flintlock musket were as follows:
- Put the powder in the pan, priming the pan.
- Pour powder down the barrel.
- Put in the ball with wadding and ram it down to the bottom of the barrel.
- Prepare to shoot, and fire![11]
The flint which replaces the more dangerous lit match in the matchlock strikes the pan instantly and creates the spark which triggers the firing mechanism. Notice how there are far fewer steps in loading and firing a flintlock.
Firearms in the Army of Louis XIV.
So, what type of firearms did the soldiers of Louis XIV use? The bodyguards of the king were issued with pistols and carbines – long barrelled guns, otherwise known as muskets. The Gendarmerie de la Garde were armed with pistols and wore bandoliers with charges attached to the outside of their uniform on a cross body belt. In the 1660s the famous musketeers’ regiment were given flintlock muskets and pistols plus bandoliers attached to their belts. By the 1670s all troopers in the King’s guard had flintlock muskets. The Grenadiers a cheval de la Garde also carried muskets and pistols. So too did the Gendarmerie de la France who also carried muskets and pistols. Each regiment within the King’s bodyguard had their own distinctive colour of bandoliers. Silver bandoliers denoted that the solider had the power of arrest on the King’s authority. [12]
Within the ranks of the military on the battlefield it was a similar picture with half of the infantry in the 1640s consisting of men with muskets. Like their European counterparts at this time, they used matchlock muskets and stood in lines of eight ranks of 32 men deep. The musket came with a forked rest due to its heavy weight.[13] By the mid-1660s it had become evident that there were too many different muskets of different calibres in the army and the standard musket balls issued did not fit some muskets. Therefore, Louis XIV brought in an ordinance which declared that all muskets used in his forces should be the same calibre, even though it took another six years for this to be fully implemented. It was only until the early 1670s that the French army began to move away from the matchlock musket and towards the flintlock musket. Rene Chartrand explains that ‘Matchlocks had been getting lighter, needing no rests, while flintlocks were appearing in larger calibres – but flintlock’s often misfired’.[14] However, the matchlock did not disappear entirely but sat alongside the flintlock in battle. In 1692 it was reported that the king’s musket infantry consisted half of flintlocks and half of matchlocks. It was not until the end of that decade that the matchlock was to disappeared from the armies of Louis XIV. John Lynn states that it was likely an issue of cost which impeded the flintlock being the standard firearm in Louis XIVs armies. There was also a clear disagreement amongst the top command about the effectiveness of the flintlock. Vauban, the famous French military engineer who failed to persuade his colleagues of the advantages of the flintlock, designed a musket that was both a flintlock and a matchlock in 1671. The line cavalry on the battlefield carried a shorter musket, while the dragoons carried a longer musket and had a pistol in a holster. Notably, in the case of the Gendarmerie, rifled carbines were given to skilled marksmen.[15] In terms of recruitment, parishes were expected to recruit for the provincial forces and also pay for their equipment, including their muskets. While on campaign carrying a musket could guarantee subsistence, as proof as a solider or extracting it from a reluctant civilian population whilst on campaign.[16]
This concludes today’s podcast which is a short introduction to firearms in the seventeenth century. Next week we will be introduced to the world of the spymaster and intelligence gathering in the early modern period. Remember you can purchase the historical fiction novel form all good online bookstores. Until then, Au revoir and A Bientot!
[1] MacKenzie, La Garde Ecossaise 96=97; Lynn, Giant of the Grand Siècle 7-8; Jay Hemmings, Going off Half-Cocked: The Invention Of The Flintlock Musket (warhistoryonline.com)
[2] MacKenzie, La Garde Ecossaise 97. Ranges differ based on the make and age of the flintlock, the range estimate can be viewed here Flintlock – Wikipedia
[3] MacKenzie, La Garde Ecossaise 97-98.
[4] Newcastle University, Meet a Musketeer | British Civil Wars (ncl.ac.uk); MacKenzie, La Garde Ecossaise 99.
[5] MacKenzie, La Garde Ecossaise 99.
[6] James Rattray, ‘Making Lead Musket Balls on Killiecrankie Battlefield’ YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snl5AcPi03Q Accessed 09/03/2024.
[7] Peter Edwards, ‘Logistics and Supply’ in John Kenyon and Jane Ohlmeyer eds., The Civil Wars: A Military History of England, Scotland and Ireland 1638-1660 (Oxford, 1998) 235: Chartrand, The Armies and Wars of the Sun King 1643-1715: Volume 1 The Guard of Louis XIV 189; Chartrand, Louis XIVs Army 20.
[8] Edwards ‘Logistics and Supply’ 236; Earl of Manchester’s Regiment, ‘How to Fire a 17th Century Matchlock Musket’ How to fire a 17th Century matchlock musket (youtube.com) Accessed 9/3/24. I am very grateful to Daithi Ifan for the discussion on wadding and rod materials.
[9] Lynn, Giant of the Grand Siècle 458-460.
[10] Earl of Manchester’s Regiment, ‘How to Fire a 17th Century Matchlock Musket’ How to fire a 17th Century matchlock musket (youtube.com) Accessed 09/03/2024; Edwards ‘Logistics and Supply’ 235.
[11] Karen Henry, ‘How to fire an 18th century musket’ How to fire an 18th century musket (youtube.com) Accessed 09/03/24.
[12] Chartrand, Louis XIVs Army 14-17: Chartrand, The Armies and Wars of the Sun King: The Guard of Louis XIV 146-147, 151, 165, 167.
[13] Chartrand, Louis XIVs Army 17-18; Lynn, The Giant of the Grand Siècle 459.
[14] Chartrand, Louis XIVs Army 18; Lynn, The Giant of the Grand Siècle 459, 461, 463.
[15] Chartrand, Louis XIV Army 18; Chartrand, The Armies and Wars of the Sun King: The Guard of Louis XIV 165; Lynn, The Giant of the Grand Siècle 462-464.
[16] Lynn, The Giant of the Grand Siècle 190, 383,