Class Book for the School of Musketry, Hythe: Prepared for the Use of OfficersWilford, Ernest Christian
History
Class Book for the School of Musketry, Hythe: Prepared for the Use of Officers
Wilford, Ernest Christian
Firearms; Gunpowder; Military education; Shooting, Military
A small brass cannon is said to have been found at the bottom of a deep
well of the Castle de Clucy, in France, with the date 1258 upon it.
~Cannon used against Cordova, A. D. 1280.~
~Iron shot, 14th century.~
In 1280 A. D., cannon were used against Cordova, after which period,
they are frequently mentioned in the records of Spain. Iron shot appear
to have been first used in that country in the beginning of the 14th
century.
~Cannon used by Arabians, 1312.~
Cannon are described by Arabian authors as early as 1312.
The first mention we have of the use of fire arms, after this period, is
in the life of Robert Bruce, by John Barbour, Archdeacon of Aberdeen, in
which certain engines termed, “crakeys of war,” are spoken of, as having
been used by Edward III., in his campaign against the Scots, in 1327.
~Cannon in France, 1338.~
It is generally believed that cannon were commonly employed in Europe
since 1338, as they were used by the French in that year to demolish
some castles.
~Siege of Algesiras, 1342 to 1344.~
Gunpowder is said to have been used at the siege of Algesiras by
Alphonse of Castile against the Moors, 1342 to 1344.
~Cannon at Cressy, 1346.~
Edward III. had four guns at the battle of Cressy, 1346. Froissart
mentions these guns in one of his manuscripts, now preserved in the
library of Amiens. A free translation of the passage referred to would
run as follows: “And the English caused to fire suddenly certain guns
which they had in the battle, to astonish (or confound) the Genoese.”
Vilani, a Florentine historian, also confirms this statement, as well as
a passage in the chronicles of St. Denis, which speaks of the use of
cannon by the English at Cressy. An ancient manuscript also mentions the
existence of gunners and artillerymen, whom Edward III. employed when he
landed before Calais in 1346, and the several stipends each soldier
received. The sentence runs thus: “Masons, carpenters, engineers,
gunners, and artillerymen, the sum of 12, 10, 6, and 3 pence per diem.”
~Cannon of two kinds.~
~Used by the Black Prince, 1356.~
~At St. Valery, 1358.~
The first fire-arms appear to have consisted of two kinds; a larger one
for discharging stones, called a bombard, (plate 18, fig. 3) and a
smaller for propelling darts and leaden balls, both of which were used
in 1356, by the Black Prince, to reduce the castle of Romozantin; and
two years later, the artillery of St. Valery did great execution among
its besiegers.
~Cannon made in England, 1377~
Cannon were made in England in the fourteenth century, and Richard II.
commissioned Sir Thomas Norwich to buy two great and two small cannon in
London, or in any other place; and also 600 balls of stone for cannon
and for other engines, to be sent to the Castle of Bristol.
~Cannon at St. Malo.~
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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