The pike was replaced in France about 1670 by the _bayonet_, named after the city of Bayonne, and probably suggested by the habit of the Basques of fixing the wooden handles of their long knives into the muzzles of their guns when smuggling in the Pyrenees. As the musket could not be fired with the bayonet fixed, its use was inconvenient, till the idea occurred about 1700 of attaching it by a ring clasping the muzzle. The British Army adopted the bayonet by 1688. The musketeer had become virtually a pikeman too. The pike, now unnecessary, was abolished in all armies about 1700, but in England it survived for a century in the _spontoon_, a short pike carried by junior Officers, just as the halberd had survived for Sergeants. In the French Army, under Louis XIV., we find the _Brigade_ an important unit in the organization of Infantry. Colonels were selected for this Command, which gave an opportunity for promoting the best men, without infringing the vested right of the Colonel to his own Regiment. One of the early Brigadiers so selected was the famous Martinet, whose discipline has become proverbial. He was Colonel of the Model Regiment formed in 1668, and afterwards Inspector-General of Infantry. FUSILIERS After the middle of the seventeenth century an important change in the firearm was invented, by which the charge was ignited by flint and steel instead of match, giving more certainty to the fire. The new flintlock was called a _fusil_ (from _fucile_, _flint_); it was at first given to picked shots, called _Fusiliers_, for skirmishing work, but about 1700 all Infantry were armed with flintlocks. It was introduced in Great Britain in the shape of “Brown Bess,” the musket used until rendered obsolete by the introduction of the percussion cap in 1840. The individual Fusiliers carried out what were later termed the duties of Light Infantry (see p. 188). By their superior shooting and activity they were better fitted to move rapidly in front of the heavier Infantry, so as to annoy the enemy by their fire, and clear the way for the main body. These Fusiliers were before long grouped into separate Battalions of Fusiliers, which were created in France in 1671, and later in England and Prussia, where they survive to this day. GRENADIERS During the Thirty Years’ War _grenades_ (_grenada_, the _pomegranate_) or hand-thrown bombs were introduced. This brought in another variety of Infantry. _Grenadiers_ were powerful, tall men, picked from the Battalion to throw the grenades. They were soon collected into one “Grenadier Company,” which was added to those of each Battalion, and took its place on their right. This was done in France in 1667, and in England in 1678. Grenadiers then gave up their special duty, and were armed with the _fusil_ for Light Infantry duties, for which, however, they were eventually found too heavy and slow.