Musket in Spain.
The inconsiderable execution done by pieces of small calibre probably caused the introduction of the muskets or mosquet, which originated in Spain about the time of Francis I. At Pavia, 1525.They are said to have been first employed extensively at the battle of Pavia, 1525; but, if we believe Brantome, it was the Duke d’Alva who first brought them into use in the armies, when during the reign of Philip II., Low Countries, 1567.he went to take upon him the government of the Low Countries in the year 1567; but that only means, he brought them more into fashion than they were till that time, and that till then they were rarely used, at least in the field, on account of their cumbrous nature. A Spanish army of 10,000 men sailed from Carthagena, 27th April, 1567, en route for the Netherlands, to do which they had to cross the Alps. It was a picked body of troops, of whom about 1,300 were cavalry. The Duke d’Alva formed them into three divisions, and dispensed with artillery, not wishing to embarrass his movements. Each company of foot was flanked by a body of soldiers, carrying heavy muskets with rests attached to them.
Lephanto, 1571.
At the battle of Lephanto 1571, fought between the Venetians and Turks, it is stated by the historian, that one chief reason why so few Christians were killed in comparison, was because the Turks used for the most part bows and arrows, whereas the former were supplied with muskets.
Caliver.
A lighter kind of musket was called a caliver or calliver, which was only a corruption of calibre, denoting that they were all of one guage, as the original harquebuses were not of any particular length or bore; the caliver was fired without a rest.
Dimensions, 1621.
Sir Thomas Kellie in his “Art Militaire,” published in 1621, says, “The barrel of a musket should be four feet in length, the bore capable of receiving bullets twelve whereof weigh a pound, previous to this some had carried ten to the pound.”
Hand-mortar, 1594.
The hand-mortar for throwing grenades are said to have been first used in 1594, and gave origin at a later date to the troops thence denominated, grenadiers. They appear to have been fired from the shoulder. ([Plate 19], fig. 3.) In the reign of James II., From butt of musket.a flint-lock-musket was adapted to fire grenades from the butt, the small of which was made to resemble a chambered mortar; the heel of the butt formed a cover, which opened with a spring on a hinge; the priming was put into the usual pan, and a small piece of metal moved so as to open a communication with the powder in the chamber. A rest was formed by a slender iron rod, about three feet long, and when not required let into the stock, in the place usually occupied by the ramrod, and turning upon a pivot placed a few inches in front of the guard-brass. The scouring rod is run through metal loops on one side of the stock. By hand.Afterwards grenades were thrown by hand, the musket being slung over the soldier’s back, and more recently experiments were made with an iron tube about four inches long, From muzzle.placed on the muzzle in the same manner as the bayonets.