Were these pocket pistols used in the American War of 1812? With firearms expert Jonathan Ferguson
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- Опубліковано 27 вер 2024
- Two pistols. Eight shots. It's an awful lot of firepower for just one individual, but that's what Thomas B van Horn, high ranking officer of the US militia and later Army ordered from British gunmaker, Robert Wheeler. There's a lot to unpack from these so strap yourselves in and let Jonathan guide you through these fascinating artefacts.
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A very small point, but the letters "USA" after an officer's name are more likely to stand for "United States Army" than for "United States of America."
Likely to the point of certainty, given the chance the letters after the name could be 'USN' or 'USMC' instead.
Very safety conscious, I've always been surprised that more flintlocks didn't have some way of securing the frizzen, it takes away the frisson of fear that you'll have no powder in the pan due to it opening accidentally. I know most frizzens are usually stiff enough, but they can't be too stiff or you'll get a misfire. We were always careful when firing flintlocks but I imagine if they're an everyday object, stuffing them into belts & pockets then drawing them could result in a "dead mans snap".
Honestly, UA-cam censorship is ridiculous. I always have CC on because I'm deaf and everytime Jonathon says "Cock" it's censored. LOL
Oh dear, sorry about that! I'd better not do a collaboration with the Cock, Ball, Nipple and Touch-hole Club then (yes UA-cam, that's a real thing).
Lol, that's kind of hilarious and sad.
And what if you wanted to talk about chicken husbandry as well?
@@Safetytrousers indeed, "the cock will always be ready" 😁
@@chemistryofquestionablequa6252 so weirdly prudish
A rare exception to Betteridge''s Law. :)
Re usage the thought occurs that muzzle loaders took a long time to reload, so in any situation with several attackers - melee, breech, civilian mugging etc - it would be preferable to try and hit as many enemies in one shot as possible. (In the Sharpe books Harper's seven barrel Nock gun is described as killing / injuring two or three at once). Also re accuracy you're more likely to hit /something/ with four shots and if you hit one enemy four shots at once will do much more damage.
Thanks Jonathan and team. It was really interesting to see those two and to learn of their history.
I shall look for one of these for this coming winter when I get my cloak out again
Would LOVE to visit!
Love you Johnathan
Simply fascinating . Thanks Jonathan & all at the RAL .
Is it usually referred to as the “War of 1812” in England? My understanding is that it was just another campaign as part of the much larger war against Napoleon, and only in the US do we call it such.
It's rarely spoken of, but when it is, we call it the War of 1812 too. So far as I know.
@@jonathanferguson1211 thanks! I just find it amusing that it was a big deal to us, but just a skirmish in the hinterlands when compared to events in Europe.
It wasn't part of the Napoleonic Wars, it was a separate opportunistic backstab under cover of the more important conflict.
Never mind that,he referred to them them as a pair of pistol’s “sniff,snort,cough,cough” a brace of pistols Shirley,Leslie Nielsen would agree.
@@M60E3MG it's cause the European nations view themselves as big brothers culturally to the world. And so when america became a superpower that's when the European nations started hating on America aka a younger siblings came into the scene Europe got mad cause it hadn't received the attention from the world it usually got before.
These stories are amazing
NGL, I check the channel each week despite being subscribed. Really enjoy this series and the work you all do. Thank you.
This is the kind of 'discovery' I love to see! The connection to the owner and history is easy to break and loose.
Your audio changed for most of the program. The two ends were fine but the middle section was very hard to hear even with headphones.
Please work on the video camera. Most of the frame should be filled with the item in question all the time with appropriate closer shots as needed. It is hard to 'see' what you are describing with the camera so far away. You couldn't really show too much detail!!
Royal Armories is my go to site for historical collections reference.
Keep it up!
I wonder if these where purchased or commissioned in advanced of a ceremony for his promotion.
It's funny to hear Jonathan apologize for the war of 1812. AFAICT, it was the most confusing war the US has fought. However, it did give us our national anthem.
What the old English drinking song? Yes.
@@handlesarefeckinstupid Yeah, a very high class drinking song. The repeated line is "The Myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's Vine," which I think refers to sex and wine. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Anacreontic_Song#Lyrics
BTW, there are quite a few well-known songs with repurposed melodies. A number of Christian hymns use melodies from drinking songs as well.
I remember playing a computer game "Pirates of the Carribean" after the first movie. There you could acquire one of these pistols. Was fun times. Fighting skeletons and trading and boarding other ships :D
In case of ships, i think the Entenfuß/ duckfoot (?) versions had to be more common. In a german weapons magazine i read, those Entenfuß pistols had also used to frighten sailors in a mutiny (?) /Meuterei. The ordinary sailors had usually no acces to the firearms stored in locked boxes., only to cutlasses, boarding axes and - pikes, stored in open racks.
Does anyone know when the Royal Armouries obtained these pistols?
As I'm surprised given the provence that a U.S. museum didn't somehow try to obtain them, I'm curious on that story, if there is one other than luck/dedicated R.A. staff
Surely not before 17th century :-))
@@brittakriep2938 if that was the case then I'd 1000% *HAVE* to hear that story
Though I guess I'd then know the R.A. got them from the tower collection lol
@@JaykPuten : Please, my comment was intended as a joke!
@@brittakriep2938 as all good stories should start or end, with a good joke 👍
I believe he mentioned the family had provided them.
13:04 😂
Interesting
traditionally are they not known as a brace of pistols?
Yes, but in the arms and armour world we tend to use "pair".
@@jonathanferguson1211 : Also in german language this is a ,Paar', lesser common is ,Garnitur' , when in former centuries nobles ordered a rifle, a shotgun, a pair of pistols and a ,Hirschfänger' knife as a set.
@@brittakriep2938 We use 'garniture' in English too, but it refers to the full set as you suggest. We have a beautiful one from Tula.
If you got the room a bit darker, you could pass for a pod-caster.
I'm curious. Would Wheeler being in Birmingham have been the genesis of the Birmingham Small Arms [BSA] company?
That was a joint enterprise by a number of Birmingham gunsmiths, both to obtain military contracts, by my understanding and to avoid being driven out of business. The machinery in the original manufactory was set up by Pratt and Whitney, who also set up the original Steyr manufactory; and in the 20th century the Lithgow Small Arms Factory in New South Wales, Australia. I suggest that you enter ‘BSA history’ in your browser and see what book titles come up.
Just a question for you. Was there ever a match lock pistol ?🤔
Yes, particularly in Japan.
Since those pistols fire more than one round with a single trigger pull , would ATF Consider that a machine gun?
Not at all. A machine is a firearm that fires more than one shot per pull.
That thing-- is not considered a 'firearm'. The federal definition of a firearm includes the use of self-contained ammunition, which is why flintlocks and caplocks don't meet the definition.
I believe that counts as a volley gun and is separate legally. It's been a while since I've looked this up so grain of salt.
Jonathan do you have similar musketpistol? that was shown in the end of Predator 2 that the protagonist Lieutenant Mike Harrigan is given by the predator. so my question is if there is something similar and if you know any cool stories about said firearms :)
Why are the outros always so awkward? "Thanks for watching"--and suddenly it's 2x as loud and feels like stock footage. Would be better off without it
To dark can't see the guns. Please check your lighting
They would've called them Indians at the time actually
I like the 1812 in combat idea. British and Canadian troops put a torch to the White House ! This would make them the envy of some nations, maybe even some modern Americans as well ? *They say the American troops fled , so 4 shots as cover is great for back then.
👍
:)
"The safety blocks the cock."
Got me like Pilate's guards in the Monty Python skit
Then wait till you hear about cap'n ball pistols.
I was fucking creasing it the whole way through this video, I saw jonathan break a smirk a couple of times
I love how the automatic subtitles censor out the word "cock" even though it's not talking about THAT one. :)
Looking really well made, i may suggest a review on the most "expensive/historical" in the royal arms museum? Here we have the Saber that San Martin xD
A really good episode. I’ll go and read about the war of 1812. 😀
UA-cam thinks I should watch your videos more than once so I will oblige
As an American I felt a tad uncomfortable listening to him say "cock" so many times
Jonathan could you do an episode on artillery please?
what amazing stories!! Thanks Jonathan and team!