Muskets, Rifles and Guns

Muskets
Most infantry were issued with muskets which resembled modern day rifles in looks only. These were muzzle loading weapons which meant the shot and powder were poured down the barrel. The shot and powder came in small greased paper pouches which the infantry man would tear open with his teeth often holding the shot in his mouth while pouring the powder down the barrel. Apparently this process caused an insatiable thirst and blackened lips amogst the infantry - the composition varied among the various armies but its basic recipe was charcoal, saltpetre and sulphur. The powder and ball was rammed into place with the ramrod and the greased paper provided wadding to keep it there. A small amount of the powder was poured into a priming pan - when the trigger was pulled a flint would spark this through a small hole into the barrel setting off the gun powder and sending off the shot.

You can imagine with gunpowder made up of that kind of mixture, when the discharged there was a huge puff of smoke which obscured vision for a while. After a long battle the air was thick with smoke that not only obscured vision but stung the eyes too.

To load the musket was loaded vertically, which meant the soldier was usually standing. We get the term "going off half cocked" loading muskets as to load the musket it had to be on 'half-cock' - the cock or 'hammer' drawn back so if the trigger was pulled accidentally it would not set the gun off. Considering that the soldier was spending his time looking down the top of the barrel it was a relatively important safety device. It took at least 30 seconds to load a musket, although this could vary depending on each soldier. There were short cuts that could be taken such as skipping the ramming stage.

At close range you were both in danger from the shot but also from the sparks that flew out of them which could set fired to anything nearby.

Misfires were common and the barrels had to been cleaned of the build up of residue from the powder. Soldiers carried wire brushes with them to do this. They were also inaccurate and the most effective way of firing was en masse at an en masse target.

British muskets were generally known as 'brown bess'. It was a much heavier and longer weapon than the rifle, throwing a spherical ball of 14 to the pound, and the uncertainty of its fire is well evidenced by the expression "as random as a common musket," which is to be met with in treatises on rifle-shooting at the beginning of the century. It would not carry straight for 100 yards, and its effective range was barely double that distance. Such was "the musket, that queen of weapons" as it has been styled, with which the British infantry won all its great victories from the time of Marlborough until the conquest of the Punjaub in 1849.

This weapon was in use up to the year 1853.

Rifles
Rifled muskets were rare and generally only given to the best marksmen or regiments in the army, the principle being that these were people that could do the most damage - so the 95th, later the Rifle Brigade, were issued them. Rifling basically means the inside of the barrel wasn't smooth, but scored in a way to give the ball spin and increasing the accuracy.

These early 'rifles' were still a musket and so muzzle loaded. The disadvantages to them being they were slower to load as the ball was a tighter fit into the barrel. However its shorter barrel means you could load it while lying down.

The 'Baker' was the most popular rifle of the period and commonly used by the 95th, or Rifle Brigade its accuracy owed to the seven grooves which made a quarter turn down the barrel.

It weighed 91/2 lbs., the barrel was 30 inches in length, had 7 grooves rifling one quarter turn in barrel. the bullet used was spherical and there were 20 to the pound (men generally carried 80 rounds with them). A charge of powder of 84 grains was needed for the flintlock.

To load, the ball was placed in the centre of a greased leather patch and rammed home, considerable force being necessary to effect this, At first, wooden mallets were issued to the Riflemen to facilitate the process of ramming home, but these were very shortly discontinued (circa; 1803). A supply of greased patches was carried in a small box with spring brass lid in the side of the bun of the rifle. The maximum rate at which perfect steady shots could be taken was reckoned to be one per minute.

In 1838 it was supplanted by the percussion-lock Brunswick rifle, having thus been in use in the service for a longer period than has any rifled firearm.

Artillery
There were two different types of artillery.
1 - First the artillery were either cannon (usually called 'guns') which were generally 12 calibre or more and were usually known by the weight of shot they fired - ie, six-pounders. While they went from 3pounders up to 32 pounds and more, in the field the most mobile and often used were the 12 pounders. The heaviness of 18 and 24 pounders meant these tended to used only for seiges where speed of movement in advance or retreat was not so great an issue. Guns were mounted on 'limber's, two wheeled carriages for transportation, and the shot was transported on the 'caisson.' Guns were generally used for direct shot at the enemy and the most favoured shot was the round shot - a round iron ball that was devastatingly effective when used, cutting a swathe through anything it was aimed at. The ball was usually fired on a straight and direct trajectory, that way the ball would cut through and continue bouncing for some distance. Even at the end of its bouncing the round shot could still sever a limb. At close range canister or 'case shot' was favoured - (called bomb in the Spanish Bride. It exploded sending musket balls flying in all directions but is was only effective up to 250 yards.
2 - The second type were Howitzers which were used for high angle fire and were differentiated by their bore diameter rather than the weight of shot.

The best placement for guns was on the slight reverse of a ridge where it was difficult for the enemy to get a direct hit on the guns, balls would skip over the top rather than into the crews. Soft soggy ground also helped to absorb the shock of bombs and balls falling.

Being on a gun crew was hard, noisy work. The guns recoiled with each shot and needed to be pushed back into position and reaimed after each shot. To avoid shooting their own troops, the artillery crew would wait for the smoke and haze to clear so they could see what they were aiming at. In the heat of an intense battle they might have to rely on the wafts of air to show them clear places.

All weapons were smooth bored and muzzle loaded. They were usually made of iron (prone to corrosion) brass or gun metal. The gunners had to take particular care in loading them too. After each firing the gun barrel would have to be swabbed out with the a wet sponge to put out any sparks that might light the gun powder or charges. Working too fast could be quite literally, lethal.

Towing the artillery was a slow heavy business, as roads were often narrow, muddy or just plain rough, especially around the peninsula. Gunners used picks and tools to manually widen the rock walls and roads. Once under way again, gunners took turns walking ahead of the column with a limber axle as a "gauge" to make sure the artillery could pass through. The following is the introduction to the excellent article on artillery which I thoroughly recommend if you are interested in reading up on this subject in more detail. The following is the introduction from that article which I would highly recommend:

"During the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars which swept Europe between 1792 and 1815, the small professional armies of the eighteenth century quickly gave way to large national armies composed of draftees. This same period saw artillery transformed from a specialized profession overseen by "mechanics" to a major service branch capable of dominating battlefields. In 1796, the French Army of Italy had 60 artillery pieces to its credit. Sixteen years later, at the battle of Borodino, the artillery for both sides totaled nearly 1,200 guns, which fired an average of 15,000 rounds per HOUR during the course of the day's battle, and that was on a mere two mile front! These wars saw the rise of artillery to a preeminent battlefield position. But how was it employed? How did artillery batteries behave on the field of battle and how were they able to function during the confusion of combat?"