loading flintlocks

[rice 123]

I am reading this book Empire on the Edge on one page it says that( general Gage had his troops practicing quickly loading they're muskets with the hammers hardened to prevent misfires) Does anyone have any idea what hardened hammers means? I have never heard of that tem before

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[Doco overboard]

Hardened frizzens yes ,but if a hammer is overly hardened it may be prone to crack, but gives more reliable ignition. If to soft, more vibration less of a shower of sparks then you need to wrap lead around flint to add weight and dampen vibration. Troopers always carried spare hammers. Broken hammers have littered a lot of battlefields. Spare hammers I think may have been carried soft, field blacksmith-ed and hardened one off in camp to be able to fit different tumblers. I think I read that awhile back when I home crafted my first muzzle loader, a flintlock. I bet most guys were reasonably familiar with case hardening technique when it was a long walk back to town in the day. Wasn't Gage the fellow who ran into trouble in S.C? hope this helps! Brian

[Richardwv]

In Brit speak (not to be confused with our version of English), the hammer is the frizzen and what we call a hammer is called the cock. Just another case of a people with a common history separated by a common language.

[Doco overboard]

Gage, a viscount aristocrat who more or less was a tragic figure but not a quitter. King Georges Mild General and the propagator of a successful family after his death in 1787. Thanks for jarring my memory I had completely forgot about the British terminology in regard to the cock and the frizzen, which has been the subject of discussion in the past.

[Richard Hare]

I believe that hammer (mening the steel or frizzen) was the common name both sides of the pond. Even in percussion arms, the "hammer" was still called the cock.
It's just us with out modern terms that hav ealtered it.

All hammers (frizzens) must have a very hard face to work, and the muskets were fitted with these as standard. Not sure why in the OP Gage sounds innovative, when they were always that way.
I'm a bit non-plussed on that one!

Best,
Richard.

[Seaspriter]

Even in percussion arms, the "hammer" was still called the cock.

Fascinating discussion. I come from a family that actually fought in the American Revolution and my father was an avid collector of flintlocks, several of which I still possess. He taught me about flintlocks well before I learned about more modern weaponry. He always referred to "cocking the hammer" which held the flint which struck the "frizzen" which was held in position by the "frizzen spring." Examining some of his old books on antique guns, sometimes the "frizzen was referred to as the "battery," ( a word he never used for the frizzen ).

No wonder people can get could get confused. What must it be like to be a Canadian caught in the cross fire of English and American terminology?

[Richardwv]

All hammers (frizzens) must have a very hard face to work, and the muskets were fitted with these as standard. Not sure why in the OP Gage sounds innovative, when they were always that way.
I'm a bit non-plussed on that one!

While it is true that the hammer face was harden, it is also true that properly done this was only the surface so as to avoid it being too brittle and subject to breakage. Over time the surface wore down, leaving softer metal exposed and thus giving less spark and more misfires. In that era a commanding general stooping so low as to worry about musket maintenance was unusual to say the least. By ordering the rehardening of all hammers of arms under his command set him apart and thus worthy of note. Given the length of time it takes for the military chain of command to address weapon system deficiencies even in modern times (was in logistics for the Marine Corps for 27 years), I must say that a senior commander that worries about detailed maintenance issues today remains fairly rare.

[Jim]

Curious. I thought to look up the etymology of the word "frizzen." "Frizzle" also comes along as an alternate. But, a quick search found the earliest citation as being 1892. That may lend credence to it's being a modern term. Of course, like I said, it was only a quick search, hardly exhaustive.

By the same token, couldn't find an etymology for "hammer" as in part of a firearm.

Might be interesting to find out more on that.

[Doco overboard]

I was taught that whenever the hammer ( frizzen) was drawn the weapon would be in "Battery". I only refer to "Battery" now when I refer to a muzzle loading weapon and I really cannot say why. I bet when the German influence introduced the Jaeger in colonial America is when the terminology began to be interpreted differently. To this day, in Northern Berks county PA the old Germanic language is still spoken and handed down to the younger generations. Having lived and worked in the vicinity of the local historic gun-builders of the region I can say the that the language has become modern speak and has transgressed even with the "English". If you have an opportunity to visit the gun-makers fair in Kempton PA. or visit Mr. Dixon's shop you can experience the local culture. Some of the early settlers were massacred by the Indians and began to spread out, some expanding to take advantage of the frontier taking their weapon making skills with them and surely when introducing their wares to the other non english speaking peoples near them the term "rifle" broke the language barrier as well.

[Seaspriter]

began to spread out, some expanding to take advantage of the frontier taking their weapon making skills with them and surely when introducing their wares to the other non english speaking peoples near them

I'll bet you can shed some light on how the "Pennsylvania" rifle became the "Kentucky" rifle (I'm sure much to the chagrin of Pennsylvanians).