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Canadian Historic Sites: Occasional Papers in Archaeology and History No. 12



A Survey of Louisbourg Gunflints

by T. M. Hamilton and Bruce W. Fry

Contents

Abstract

Acknowledgements

The Historical and Archaeological Background

     Introduction
     King's Bastion
     The King's Bastion Barracks
     Magazin du Roi
     Hangard d'Artillerie
     De Couagne Property
     Villejouin/Fizel and Richard Properties
     De Pensens-De Lavalliere Property
     Lartigue Property
     King's-Dauphin Curtain Wall

The Louisbourg Gunflints

     Classification of Gunflints
     French Specifications on Gunflints
     The French Gunflint Contract of 1740
     The Louisbourg Garrison and Its Supply
     Method of Study
     The Gunflints Cache from Battery Island
     Gunflints from the Town of Louisbourg
     King's Bastion
     Barracks
     Magazin du Roi
     Hangard d'Artillerie
     De Couagne Property
     Villejouin/Fizel and Richard Properties
     De Pensens-De Lavallière Property
     Lartigue Property
     King's-Dauphin Curtain Wall

Some General Comments on Specific Problems

     On Dutch Gunflints
     On Fireflints and Firemaking
     On the Width of Early French Gunflints
     On the Pseudo-Dutch Gunflints

Conclusions

     The Battery Island Gunflints
     The Gunflints from Within Louisbourg

Appendix A: Dimensions of French Gunflints

References Cited

Tables

1 Battery Island Flints

2 Dimensions of Typical Battery Island Gunflints

3 Jaw and Frizzen Widths of Various French Arms

4 Frequency of French and Dutch Gunflints in Different Size Groupings.

Illustrations

1 Louisbourg Harbour.

2 Battery Island, plan and elevation, approximately 1740.

3 The town of Louisbourg, indicating sites from which flints were studied.

4 Basic gunflint types found at Louisbourg, and flints from Battery Island.

5 Gunflints from the Battery Island cache.

6 Chalk-heel gunflints from the Battery Island cache.

7 Gunflints from the town of Louisbourg.

B Flints from Fort Frederica, Saint Simons Island, Georgia.

9 Flints from the town of Louisbourg.

10 Flints from the Lartigue property.



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