Early Pistols

Part One

European handguns played a major role in the settling of America.  From the early 1400’s through the early 1800’s, the mechanism for firing muzzle-loading guns was limited to two major types: the first depended upon a lighted wick or “match”; the second upon the Stone Aged principle that one could create fire by striking a piece of iron with a piece of flint.

                       

The matchlock musket was the earliest firearm brought to the New World in the 1520’s by Spanish soldiers who waded ashore on the Atlantic coast.  This was a bulky weapon which was used on European battle fields. It required a forked brace to support it.  When a “musketeer” pulled the trigger, it brought a lighted wick into contact with a pan of priming powder which in turn ignited the powder in the barrel.  In 1540, Francisco Vazquez de Coronado and his men used this weapon as he searched the American southwest for the Seven Cities of Cibola.

Henry Hudson in 1609 suffered one of his worst encounters with Native Americans as he explored the banks of the river which was to bear his name.  Confronted with hostiles, he ordered his troops to set up their matchlock muskets in order to frighten the Indians with the noise and smoke that they made when fired and to then wait for the assault.  The natives looked skyward at the approaching rain clouds and they also waited.  Once the downpour of rain began they attacked.  Because the English muskets failed to fire in the rain, Hudson suffered heavy casualties. 

                          

Due to the ineffectiveness of the matchlock musket on the battlefield, European gunsmiths were encouraged to make better weapons.  In the 16^th Century, gunsmiths developed the wheel-lock ignition mechanism.  This resembled a modern day cigarette lighter in that it incorporated  a spring which was set in motion by the gun’s trigger to turn a rough metal wheel against a piece of flint.  This action created a series of sparks that ignited the priming powder and fired the gun. 

Wheel-lock technology made the first functional pistol possible.  It is believed that the word pistol was derived from the 16^th Century French word ”pistole” meaning “pipe.”  A large  number of early wheel-lock handguns made their way to the early English settlements because their ignition mechanism was far superior to the matchlock.  In 1586, Governor Ralph Lane of Roanoke Island, in a journal entry, cited several wheel-lock pistols in the Roanoke garrison.

Jamestown colonists possessed what historians have considered to be an ample supply of wheel locks, based upon the number of rusty parts archaeologists have discovered there.  Several accounts note that Captain John Smith wielded pistols against the Powhatans.  Martial laws in Virginia in 1611 required that all targeteers [shield bearing foot soldiers] carry pistols in addition to swords. A 1625 military census in Virginia tallied fifty-five pistols among the colony’s armament.

It has been debated as to whether many such guns made their way to the colonies because they were expensive weapons and the colonists were poor in comparison to their European counterparts.  One thing should be recognized and thoughtfully considered; people tend to acquire the best weapons they possibly can afford when their very lives depend upon them.  This fact has always been true for all peoples in all times.  A quality weapon is an important item to have in one’s possession when one’s very life may depend upon its dependability.  Without life, other commodities are useless and most colonial settlers understood this fact.

Dutch gunsmiths in the 1550’s introduced flintlock technology by attaching a piece of flint to a spring loaded cock that struck a metal plate over the pan and ignited the priming powder. This weapon was originally called a snaphaunce meaning snapping cock.  This technology was more efficient in its simplicity than the wheel lock and it was also cheaper to manufacture. German gunsmiths continued to produce the wheel-lock pistol for about another hundred years refusing to change. 

Other European gunsmiths developed enhancements to the new flintlock technology which shortened the reign of the snaphaunce resulting in fewer of them being produced and finding their way to what was to become known as the American colonies. 

About 1610, English gunsmiths streamlined the firing mechanism by the priming pan and the steel striking surface to develop the English lock.  This weapon was named “fizzen” meaning into a single piece. This gun did not need a separate mechanism to slide the cover from the pan. The powder was exposed instantly when the hammer struck the frizzen. This gun could no longer be carried in the cocked position without the danger of accidental discharge.  Gunsmiths added a small latch called a “dog lock” to secure the hammer in either a cocked or half-cocked position. John Thompson, a Pilgrim, arrived in Massachusetts in 1622 with one of these dog-locked weapons which is in the collection at Plymouth.  Within twenty-five years, this weapon was the most common firearm in the colonies. 

In France, about 1615, the last stage of flintlock development occurred resulting in the “true flintlock.” This form improved the way the dog lock’s internal latch, or “sear,” interfaced with the tumbler which controlled the hammer’s mainspring. By the 1660’s this weapon had been introduced to all of the American colonies.  Because the firing mechanism was refined, the gun operated by loading the flintlock by half-cocking the hammer and pouring a measure of gunpowder down the barrel. Then a lead ball was wrapped in a small piece of cloth or paper and rammed down the barrel until it reached the gunpowder.  Then a small amount of gunpowder was put into the priming pan.  The frizzen was snapped into place covering the pan.  Finally the hammer was cocked, aimed and fired when one pulled the trigger. 

A vast number of the “true flintlocks” in the form of both pistols and muskets found their way to the American colonies as both France and Britain transported their well-equipped armies across the Atlantic to do battle for dominance of the North American continent in first King William’s War [1689-1697], then Queen Ann’s War [1702-1713], King George’s War [1640-1748] and finally in the French and Indian War [1755-1763].  Britain won control by the end of the French and Indian War and set into motion conditions which would lead to the eruption of the American Revolution twelve years later.

As manufacturing techniques progressed, standardization became a normal part of the process which resulted in the barrels of British military pistols usually being fourteen inches long, .66 caliber with wooden ramrods and brass mountings. By 1720 pistols had twelve-inch barrels and were .60 caliber with an ornamental raised band at the breech and brass-capped ramrods.  By 1760 the barrel was standardized at nine inches, the caliber increased to .69 while the grip grew shorter and thicker.  About this same time, the “box-lock” moved into prominence with the firing mechanism located more to the center of the pistol and the pan sitting directly on top of the barrel.

Due to the fact that England desired to keep its own firearms exports secure, there was a shortage of gunsmiths resulting in it being several years before these weapons were made in the colonies. 

At the height of the American Revolution, French pistols became dominant because large quantities were imported and used by the Continental Army and state militias.  Until 1763, the French Royal manufactories had no standard pistol.  It then began producing two versions, one with iron mountings for the cavalry and one with brass mountings for the navy.  Both models were .67 caliber with round nine inch barrels.  The walnut stocks had a slight swell at the butt.  The ramrod was iron.

In 1777, the French began manufacturing a second standardized pistol with a .67 caliber, with a seven and one half inch barrel which tapered toward the muzzle.  The butt dropped sharply and was covered with a brass butt cap.  It had no fore stock under the barrel which gave the pistol a sleeker profile.  This weapon became the prototype for the first pistols made under contract to the new United States government after the Revolution.

A few German flintlock pistols came to the colonies with officers of the Hessian regiments which supported British troops.  These weapons were normally brass mounted and had a larger .75 caliber round barrel. 

Some few Europeans gunsmiths did migrate to the colonies but when they found themselves restricted to cleaning and repairing, they frequently left the trade for more lucrative positions.  Early Virginia census records reveal that there were only eighteen gunsmiths in a one hundred fifty year period who served approximately one half million colonists. 

Pennsylvania was the exception.  A concentration of German and French gunsmiths had chosen to locate in Lancaster County. They played the leading role in developing the famed American “flintlock.”  These gunsmiths were European immigrants who had left their homeland for religious reasons. Many were guild-trained or descendants of guild-trained gunsmiths. They knew exactly what they were doing, but seldom is a name found on the barrels of these guns.  This is due to the fact that these gunsmiths faced retaliation as England did not look upon American made guns with favor.

The heyday of the American flintlock which is often called the Kentucky or Pennsylvania rifle is from 1781-1814.  This weapon has a distinctive curved stock usually made of curly maple or cherry. European designs such as a lion or dog's face on the butt cap lost favor and were replaced by a plain or engraved surface.  They frequently used rolled brass which had become available during this period for the pistol's side plates and fashioned fully octagonal, rifled barrels engraved with the maker's name.  This lighter, more graceful weapon was noted for its beauty and exceptional performance.

The American military pistol became standardized in appearance and manufacture from 1814-1825.  It became less expensive and more popular resulting in the Pennsylvania or Kentucky pistol becoming more obsolete. The few that were made during this period were for gentlemen and officers. Normally they are either very plain or highly inlaid and engraved.

With the need to arm its new military, Congress in 1798 contacted for the mass production of firearms by awarding the contract for U.S. military pistols to Simeon North of Middletown, Connecticut.  Eli Whitney received a similar contract to produce muskets at New Haven which was about twenty miles up the road from Simeon North who borrowed the use of interchangeable parts from European clockmakers. 

The adoption in 1805 of the percussion-cap ignition mechanism which had been invented by a Scottish clergyman named John Forsyth, ended the era of the flintlock.

At this time, the smooth-bore musket evolved into two very distinct firearms.

1. With the addition of rifling and a two piece sighting system for accurate shooting at long distances it evolved into a rifle.

2.  With a smooth-bore and choke-bore with the addition of a single front bead sight it evolved into a shotgun for short range point ability.

During the transition period between smooth bore Muskets and the addition of rifling to the bore of muskets, these firearms were  commonly referred to as "Rifled Muskets."  Standard military nomenclature of the 1820-1860 period referred to Springfields, Enfields, etc. as "Rifled Muskets."