N.B. In the 3 per Cent. Confol, the highest and loweft Price of each Day is given; in the other Stock the higheft Price only.

16 3

16 2

6

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21

16

16

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Mr. URBAN,

Lichfield, Aug. 12. XXXHE following extract is taken from the introduction to the late Lieut. Col. Windham's Plan of

T

Difcipline, compofed for XXX the ufe of the militia of the county of Norfolk, and published in the year 1759. As it ferves to shew the gradual progreffion of fire-arms, I hope it may obtain a place in your useful and entertaining Magazine, especially as the work itself is in few hands: I fhall only obferve, that every kind of weapon, fince the invention of gunpowder, mentioned in the following extract, may be feen in my Museum at this time.

RICHARD GREENE.

THE hatchet, used by the Franks, or ancient French, which they used as a miffile weapon, throwing it in the fame manner as the North American Indians do theirs, which they call a tomahawk.

The Gafcens and Genoefe were excellent cross-bow-inen. The Swifs owed their victories to their strength and skill in the ufe of the pike, halberd, and efpadon, or two-handed fword; and the victories of Creffy, Poitiers, and Agincourt, will occafion the valour and skill of the English archers to be tranfmitted down to latest pofterity..

After the invention of powder, the Spaniards were the first who armed part

of their foot with mufkets and barque

buffes, and mixed them with the pikes. In this they were foon imitated by moft other nations; though the English had not entirely laid afide their favourite weapon the long-bow, and generally taken to the ufe of fire-arms, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth.

The first mufkets were very heavy, and could not be fired without a rest: they had matchlocks, and barrels of a wide bore, that carried a large ball and charge of powder, and did execution at a great diftance. The musketeers on a march carried only their refts and ammufkets after them, for which they were munition, and had boys to bear their allowed great additional pay. They were very flow in loading, not only by reason of the unwieldinefs of the pieces, and becaufe they carried the powder and balls feparate, but from the time.it took to prepare and adjuft the match; fo that their fire was not near fo brifk as ours is now, Afterwards a lighter kind of matchlock musket came into ufe; and they carried their ammunition in bandeliers, which were broad belts that came over the fhoulder, to which were hung feverel little cafes of wood covered with leather, each containing a charge of powder; the balls they carried loose in a pouch, and they had alfo a priming. horn hanging by their fide. Ma:chlocks were, about the beginning of this

cent

century, niverfally difused in Europe, and the troops were armed with fire locks, to which, much about the fame time, the bayonet being added, pikes alf were laid afide; which latter change, whether it was for the better or not, is a point that still admits of difpute a mong the best military writers, who are divided in their opinions about it, tho' mot of them difapprove of it.

The old English writers call thofe large muskets Calivers; the harquebuze avas a lighter picce, that could be fired without a reft. The matchlock was fired by a match, fixed by a kind of tongs in the ferpentine or cock, which, by pulling the trigger, was brought down with great quick nefs upon the priming in the pan, over which there was a fliding cover, which was drawn back by hand, juft at the time of firing, There was a great deal of nicety and care required to fit the march properly to the cock, fo as to come down exactly true on the priming, to blow the adhes from the coal, and to guard the pan from the fparks that fell from it: a great deal of time was alfo loft in tak ing it out of the cock, and returning it between the fingers of the left-hand, every time that the piece was fired; and wet weather often rendered the matches ufelefs. However, moft writers allow that they were very fure, and lefs apt to mifs fire than the firelock.

The firelock is to called, from producing fire of itself, by the action of the flint and feel.

The most ancient invention of this fort is the wheel-lock, which we find mentioned in Luigi Collado's treatife of Artillery printed at Venice, 1586, as then lately invented in Germany. This fort of lock was ufed till within thefe hundred years, especially for piftols and carbines. It was compofed of a folid fteel wheel, with an axis, to which was fastened a chain, which, by being round it, drew up a very strong fpring: on pulling the trigger, the fpring acting whirled the wheel about with great ve locity, and the friction of the edge of it (which was a little notched) against the fione produced the fire: the cock was made fo as to bring the ftone upon the edge of the wheel, part of which was in the pan, and touched the priming they ufed.acy common hard pebble for that purpois, which ferved as well as flint.

Thefe locks were inconvenient, took time to win up (or fpan, as they

termed it). and sometimes would not go off; an inftance of which may be seen in Ludlow's Memoirs, London edition, fol 1751, p. 35.

When the firelock, fuch as we now ufe, was invented, we cannot afcer tain: it is called, by writers of about the middle of the laft century, a fnaphane, or fnaphance; which being the Dutch word for a fireločk, seems to indicate that it is a Dutch invention, and that we took it from them. But Ward, in his Animadverfions of War, printed in 1639, p. 501, after defcribing the exer cite of the firelock, pistol, and carbine (by which he means the wheelock), fays, that as most of our pieces go with English locks, which differ from fire focks, he fhall add the method of handling them; and then gives the exercife of the fnaphine carbine, by which it appears, that there was little or no difference between that and the pieces now in ufe. The more modern writers call it a fufee, from the French word ful; whence the name of fufileers is ftill continued to feveral of our regiments, which were the first that were armed with them, on the difufe of matchlocks.

They used the mufket and reft in England fo late as the beginning of the civil wars, as may be feen in Lieut. Col. Bariffe's Young Artillary Man, a book compofed for the inftruction of the militia of the city of London, and addreffed to the Serjeant-Major-General Philip Skippon, and the rest of the offi cers of the Trained Bands; printed at London, 1643.

"BY chance lately cafting my eye over your additions to Mr. Walpole's Anecdotes of Roubilliac, in p. 54 of your volume for 1783, it is faid, that the model of a monument for General Wolfe, in the poffeffion ing in the arms of Victory, and Fame of Mr. Bridgen, that "the General is fallcrowning him with laurels.” Your infor mant refpecting the latter is mistaken; for Victory is fupporting the dying General with her right arm, while in her left hand he holds a wreath, as going to crown him