Buck Conner1
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You read about the firearms found in the Americas, I did a little research on this a few years ago after finding different ideas and no documented sources for proof. After then spending some time with Jim Supica, owner of "Arm Chair Guns" who I had dealt with buying, selling and trading a over a period of years, the subject came up again. Jim sold that company when he became the director of the NRA's Firearms Museum, now here is a good resource.
SUBJECT: Firearms in the Americas.
In China, the earliest firearm was the fire lance, a black-powder–filled tube attached to the end of a spear and used as a flame thrower (not to be confused with the Byzantine Flame Thrower); shrapnel was sometimes placed in the barrel so that it would fly out together with the flames. The earliest known depiction of a gunpowder weapon is the illustration of a fire lance on a mid-10th century silk banner from Dunhuang. The De'an Shoucheng Lu, an account of the siege of De'an in 1132 during the JinSong Wars, records that Song forces used fire lances against the Jurchen.
The proportion of saltpeter in the propellant was increased to maximize its explosive power. To better withstand that explosive power, the paper and bamboo of which fire-lance barrels were originally made came to be replaced with metal. And to take full advantage of that power, the shrapnel came to be replaced by projectiles whose size and shape filled the barrel more closely. With this, the three basic features of the gun emerged: a barrel made of metal, high-nitrate gunpowder, and a projectile which totally occludes the muzzle so that the powder charge exerts its full potential in propellant effect.
The earliest depiction of a gun is a sculpture from a cave in Sichuan dating to the 12th century of a Chinese figure carrying a vase shaped bombard with flames and a cannonball coming out of it. The oldest surviving firearm is the Heilongjiang hand cannon dated to 1288, which was discovered at a site in modern-day Acheng District where the "History of Yuan" records that battles were fought at that time; Li Ting, a military commander of Jurchen descent, led foot soldiers armed with guns in battle to suppress the rebellion of the Christian Mongol Prince Navan.
Tracing the relationship back to the very first gun on the North American shores is an inexact genealogical pursuit, but historians have some ideas. The first firearms in the world, according to the National Rifle Association were probably cannons. By the mid-14th century, personal "hand cannons" or "hand gonnes" were being carried by soldiers in Europe. Over the next couple of centuries, matchlocks, wheel locks and flintlocks were introduced. Explorers brought guns to America for protection, for hunting and to demonstrate techno-superiority.
The first gun in America probably came here in 1607, “when the colonists first landed”. The Spanish were most likely the first Europeans to bring guns to the Americas. The 15th century sailors under the command of Christopher Columbus — whose voyages nibbled at the edges of what became the United States — carried guns, according to Jim Supica, director of the NRA's Firearms Museum. When one of the shipwrecks associated with Columbus and his colonization-discovery of Hispaniola was discovered a while back, matchlocks and a hand cannon were recovered from the wreckage.
A member of Columbus' crew "was designated as an artilleryman "When Columbus sailed away from Haiti he ordered a shot to be fired through the shipwrecked hulk of Santa Maria to impress on the Native Americans the power of European firearms. The weapon he used would have been a breech-loading wrought-iron cannon. If they had such a weapon he would also have had smaller shoulder arms, such as "arquebuses."
The ”arquebus” (a Dutch word meaning "hook gun") was a long-barreled, musket-like firearm, shot from the chest or the shoulder. The muzzle-loaded weapon with a fierce recoil was ignited by a matchlock, a device that connected a smoldering wick to the gunpowder with the pull of a trigger.
It was these prototypical rifles of Plimoth Plantation that Spanish explorers most likely carried onto the peninsula that would become Florida. The soldiers who shouldered the firearms were called arquebusiers. Believe Juan Ponce de Leon — who sailed to the Americas with Columbus, then led his own expeditions to the Florida peninsula in 1513 and 1521 — was accompanied by explorers who carried firearms.
Firsthand accounts of Hernando DeSoto's 1539 voyage to Florida by the Gentleman of Elvas and Rodrigo Rangel refer to arquebusiers. "Captain Juan Ruiz Lobillo set out with as many as forty soldiers, on foot, for the interior," Rangel observes, "and he attacked some settlements [ranchos] though could not take but two Indian women; and in order to rescue them, nine Indians followed him for three leagues shooting arrows at him, and they killed one Christian and wounded three or four without his men being able to do the Indians any damage, although he had arquebusiers and crossbowmen." The arquebus was easier to reload and fire and was somewhat more reliable than the hand cannon. The arquebus was most likely the first personal firearm on the mainland In North America. And when the trigger of that first gun was first pulled, it not only sent a shot into the pristine air of the New World, it ignited a long and complex future of expansion and protection that helped unite and divide a most promising nation.
During the early ages, these hand held cannons evolved into the flintlock weapons. As ignition devices, matchlocks, wheel-locks, snaplock, to flintlock were introduced sometime before 1586, and the bayonet came to use in 16th century France. Hand grenades , thrown by genadiers, appeared around the same time.
Guys we have come a long ways from these early years with our firearms of today. Not sure if that's good or bad when you look at the vast numbers of lives lost - good and bad?
Thanks for your time. :study:
You read about the firearms found in the Americas, I did a little research on this a few years ago after finding different ideas and no documented sources for proof. After then spending some time with Jim Supica, owner of "Arm Chair Guns" who I had dealt with buying, selling and trading a over a period of years, the subject came up again. Jim sold that company when he became the director of the NRA's Firearms Museum, now here is a good resource.
SUBJECT: Firearms in the Americas.
In China, the earliest firearm was the fire lance, a black-powder–filled tube attached to the end of a spear and used as a flame thrower (not to be confused with the Byzantine Flame Thrower); shrapnel was sometimes placed in the barrel so that it would fly out together with the flames. The earliest known depiction of a gunpowder weapon is the illustration of a fire lance on a mid-10th century silk banner from Dunhuang. The De'an Shoucheng Lu, an account of the siege of De'an in 1132 during the JinSong Wars, records that Song forces used fire lances against the Jurchen.
The proportion of saltpeter in the propellant was increased to maximize its explosive power. To better withstand that explosive power, the paper and bamboo of which fire-lance barrels were originally made came to be replaced with metal. And to take full advantage of that power, the shrapnel came to be replaced by projectiles whose size and shape filled the barrel more closely. With this, the three basic features of the gun emerged: a barrel made of metal, high-nitrate gunpowder, and a projectile which totally occludes the muzzle so that the powder charge exerts its full potential in propellant effect.
The earliest depiction of a gun is a sculpture from a cave in Sichuan dating to the 12th century of a Chinese figure carrying a vase shaped bombard with flames and a cannonball coming out of it. The oldest surviving firearm is the Heilongjiang hand cannon dated to 1288, which was discovered at a site in modern-day Acheng District where the "History of Yuan" records that battles were fought at that time; Li Ting, a military commander of Jurchen descent, led foot soldiers armed with guns in battle to suppress the rebellion of the Christian Mongol Prince Navan.
Tracing the relationship back to the very first gun on the North American shores is an inexact genealogical pursuit, but historians have some ideas. The first firearms in the world, according to the National Rifle Association were probably cannons. By the mid-14th century, personal "hand cannons" or "hand gonnes" were being carried by soldiers in Europe. Over the next couple of centuries, matchlocks, wheel locks and flintlocks were introduced. Explorers brought guns to America for protection, for hunting and to demonstrate techno-superiority.
The first gun in America probably came here in 1607, “when the colonists first landed”. The Spanish were most likely the first Europeans to bring guns to the Americas. The 15th century sailors under the command of Christopher Columbus — whose voyages nibbled at the edges of what became the United States — carried guns, according to Jim Supica, director of the NRA's Firearms Museum. When one of the shipwrecks associated with Columbus and his colonization-discovery of Hispaniola was discovered a while back, matchlocks and a hand cannon were recovered from the wreckage.
- A hand cannon recovered from ruins of a European castle that fell, circa 1350. This is the oldest gun in the NRA museum and it is perhaps the oldest gun on display in North America today.
- A Spanish Matchlock musket, circa 1530. This is the general type of personal firearm probably used by some Spanish explorers.
- A wheel lock carbine, generally attributed to the settlers' ship Mayflower and specifically to pilgrim John Alden.
- A diorama of matchlock use in Jamestown settlement, circa early 1600s
A member of Columbus' crew "was designated as an artilleryman "When Columbus sailed away from Haiti he ordered a shot to be fired through the shipwrecked hulk of Santa Maria to impress on the Native Americans the power of European firearms. The weapon he used would have been a breech-loading wrought-iron cannon. If they had such a weapon he would also have had smaller shoulder arms, such as "arquebuses."
The ”arquebus” (a Dutch word meaning "hook gun") was a long-barreled, musket-like firearm, shot from the chest or the shoulder. The muzzle-loaded weapon with a fierce recoil was ignited by a matchlock, a device that connected a smoldering wick to the gunpowder with the pull of a trigger.
It was these prototypical rifles of Plimoth Plantation that Spanish explorers most likely carried onto the peninsula that would become Florida. The soldiers who shouldered the firearms were called arquebusiers. Believe Juan Ponce de Leon — who sailed to the Americas with Columbus, then led his own expeditions to the Florida peninsula in 1513 and 1521 — was accompanied by explorers who carried firearms.
Firsthand accounts of Hernando DeSoto's 1539 voyage to Florida by the Gentleman of Elvas and Rodrigo Rangel refer to arquebusiers. "Captain Juan Ruiz Lobillo set out with as many as forty soldiers, on foot, for the interior," Rangel observes, "and he attacked some settlements [ranchos] though could not take but two Indian women; and in order to rescue them, nine Indians followed him for three leagues shooting arrows at him, and they killed one Christian and wounded three or four without his men being able to do the Indians any damage, although he had arquebusiers and crossbowmen." The arquebus was easier to reload and fire and was somewhat more reliable than the hand cannon. The arquebus was most likely the first personal firearm on the mainland In North America. And when the trigger of that first gun was first pulled, it not only sent a shot into the pristine air of the New World, it ignited a long and complex future of expansion and protection that helped unite and divide a most promising nation.
During the early ages, these hand held cannons evolved into the flintlock weapons. As ignition devices, matchlocks, wheel-locks, snaplock, to flintlock were introduced sometime before 1586, and the bayonet came to use in 16th century France. Hand grenades , thrown by genadiers, appeared around the same time.
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Guys we have come a long ways from these early years with our firearms of today. Not sure if that's good or bad when you look at the vast numbers of lives lost - good and bad?
Thanks for your time. :study:
