Musket

a smooth-bore hand-gun, with which soldiers were formerly armed. The musket dates from the earliest part of the sixteenth century, having been contrived soon after the introduction of gunpowder. Companies of infantry were at that time divided into pikemen and musketeers. The first musket was a heavy affair. The soldier laid it at rest in a crotched stick and fired it off by means of a burning brand or punk. At a later date the musket was supplied with a steel hammer worked by a spring and a piece of flint held in a clip in such a position that the descending hammer struck off sparks into a pan of exposed powder or priming. The percussion cap with an inner lining of fulminate is a still later invention. By degrees the musket was made lighter, so that it could be carried with some sort of comfort by a single soldier; although pictures of Miles Standish represent him as still requiring a rest for his matchlock. Smooth-bore muskets were obtained by our Revolutionary soldiers from France. In 1895 the government established the manufacture of muskets at Springfield, Massachusetts. The old smooth bore was used in many regiments until the close of the Civil War. This weapon has now been universally displaced by the rifle. See Firearms; Rifle