At Westfield Village, Hubbardton, and Fort George I have been increasingly alarmed at the poor rate of fire that the Marksmen have been able to sustain; and with the huge percentage of misfires that we have been experiencing.

Here are some thoughts on how we should remedy this challenge to our fighting abilities. No matter how fast we move, how good our drill is, and how effective our tactics are, if our guns don’t fire, we’re combat ineffective:

GENERAL ORDERS

1. Every man should carry a rag (made from natural materials such as linen, wool or cotton) with him to the field. At every firing break, or rest break or period of inactivity, he should wipe off the flint, pan and frizzen of his musket.

2. Every man should carry a musket brush and pick, and at every firing break, or rest break or similar period of inactivity, he should pick the touchhole clear.

3. Every man should carry a musket tool, and either leather or lead cut to hold the flint in the jaws of the hammer. NCOs should inspect every weapon before the battle to insure that flints are tight. Each man should tighten his flint at every firing break, rest break or period of inactivity. If the leather or lead is worn out so that the flint is no longer capable of being tightly held in the hammer, replace it. Going onto parade with a loose flint is inexcusable.

Selecting and Maintaining a Gun Flint

1. The flints that are available now from the typical event sutlers are absolute garbage. When you purchase a flint, you should look for the following:
   • Flint should be square (not oblong or irregular) with four parallel sides.
   • Flint should be flat (not curved or distorted), on both top AND bottom.
   • Flint should be uniform gray or brown. It should not contain any white, cloudy, or chalky intrusions (these are NOT flint, and will not spark).
   • Edge should be cut uniform, square and straight, and should be uniformly sharp. It should not have any breaks, distortions, or any missing pieces or variances. It should not be cut crooked or at a slant. The bottom edge should be flat (not curved or bent upwards). The edge should NOT be cut unevenly. The edge should NOT look like a saw blade or key.
   • Flints should not be particularly thin. They should be thick and solid enough to stand repeated firing.
   • There should be no obvious faults, cracks, or weak spots that will cause the flint to fracture.
   • Flints should be appropriately sized to your specific weapon (you should know what works in your own weapon, and size the flint appropriately). Too large or small flints in a weapon will not work properly, no matter how high quality the flint and lock are).

   Most of the sutler-sold English flints fail these criteria. I have seen an alarming deterioration in the quality of available flints in the past couple of years. I have converted to using French flints sold by Dixie Gun Works (Large French flints, product number FA0160). They are a bit pricey (about 300% the price of the cheap English flints), but THEY WORK!!!!

2. Many of us are putting paper at the top of the barrel after we empty the cartridge. In some cases, the paper is sliding down the barrel and fouling the weapon. In any event, this causes additional fouling of the bore of the barrel. Discarding the paper should be the Marksmen standard.

3. If the flint fails during firing, do not try to chip it back into sharpness. Quite frankly, unless you are a trained flint knapper with a proper flint knapping tool kit, you’re wasting your time. Discard the flint and replace it with a new one.

4. After every engagement check your flint for signs of wear. If the edge is no longer sharp, large chunks or pieces are broken out of the edge of the flint, or the flint is shattered, broken or cracked, discard the flint and replace it with a new flint. A flint is only going to last for 20-40 firings, and 1-2 engagements is about all that you should expect to get out of a flint. Some of us are trying to pinch pennies by using the same flint for far too long.

5. After firing the weapon, and every morning, the exterior and particularly the LOCK of the weapon should be wiped dry, cleaned, and oiled. If your weapon is filthy, it will not work. We almost always have time during mornings at events to perform this, and there is no absolutely NO excuse for falling in on parade with a dirty, corroded musket.

6. If boiling hot water is available, clean out the barrel with it. However, do NOT clean out the barrel unless boiling hot water is available. Anything else will result in a fouled, dirty barrel that is almost certain NOT to fire Sunday.

7. Our website contains procedures for field cleaning of the muskets that should be scrupulously adhered to (under Equipment, Period Firelock Cleaning Techniques). These are simple and historically correct procedures using materials that do not take up much space in a knapsack, cost a lot of money, or require a lot of extra effort to obtain. These procedures can be done in front of the public as an interpretive event.

Special Safety Note:

In conjunction with this, I have also noted one particularly unsafe act. When a weapon “flashes in the pan” the musket should be maintained in a firing position for ten seconds. The reason is that there is a danger of a “hang-fire” or delayed firing of the musket. And, yes, this HAS happened to me on more than one occasion. Immediately dropping down the musket could be extremely dangerous to everybody around you if the musket experiences a delayed firing, and it has come off your shoulder and then discharges in an unsafe position or uncontrolled manner.

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