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

A Survey of Louisbourg Gunflints

by T. M. Hamilton and Bruce W. Fry

The Louisbourg Gunflints

Classification of Gunflints

Our discussion of the ratios of one type of gunflint to another will adopt the classifications of John Witthoft as set forth in his paper entitled "A History of Gunflints" (1966), with certain reservations concerning his thesis that all of the so-called Dutch gunflints had their origin exclusively in The Netherlands. The reasons for these reservations will be explained under the section entitled "Some General Comments on Specific Problems."

Briefly, Witthoft has found that gunflints of European origin fall into four distinct types: Nordic, Dutch, French and English. Nordic gunflints were made from Baltic flint and were in use from the late 16th century to about 1675. Dutch types were made from flint which Witthoft has traced to the Riss outwash in The Netherlands. These flints dominated the trade from about 1650 to 1750. According to Witthoft, the third type, French flints, first made their appearance in very limited quantities about 1700, were not widely distributed until after 1740, and were, for all practical purposes, the only kind used, by the English as well as the French, by 1775 (Witthoft 1966:28). Witthoft is also of the opinion that before 1760 most French flints were intended for fire-making, whereas the Dutch flints were primarily for use in firearms (Witthoft 1966: 29). Neither the Nordic nor the fourth type, the English gunflints, will concern us here since not a single example of either has been found so far at Louisbourg. This fits Witthoft's thesis that Nordic flints would have been out of use for perhaps 50 years when Louisbourg was founded, and English gunflints would not have entered North America until some 20 or more years after the fall of the fortress.

Dutch gunflints are basically spalls struck individually from the surface of the nodule of flint. A typical spall gunflint bears a bulb of percussion on the upper conchoidal surface in the area of the heel, with the face sloping down to the edge. As shown in Figure 4, a, the heel and sides are shaped by secondary chipping. The bottom face or bed of the Dutch flint often shows the negative impressions of portions of other spalls previously removed.

4 a, b, c, basic gunflint types found at Louisbourg; d—i, gunflints from Battery Island showing peculiarities; d, bulb of percussion with conchoidal surface on back bevel; e, roughly flaked front bevel; d—f, are roughly flaked; g—i, are chalk-heels. (click on image for a PDF version)

Both the English and French made their gunflints from a long blade struck from a core with a prepared striking platform, but once the blade had been struck off all similarities ceased. The French broke their blades into more or less uniform lengths which were then dressed on the sides and heel, usually in the same manner as the Dutch gunflints, giving the product a sort of gnawed appearance on those three sides. Ideally, the best quality French gunflint is trapeziform in outline when viewed from the side; the flat upper face, parallel to the bottom face or bed, furnished a firm gripping surface for the lead or leather cap which cushioned it between the jaws of the cock. This high-grade French gunflint is shown in Figure 4, c, and will be described in this paper as "fine." Gunflints with a triangular cross-section in side view (Fig. 4, b) were less desirable. The term "ordinary" will be used when speaking of flints of this quality. Good gunflints of fine or ordinary quality should be of uniform thickness from one side to the other, so the jaws of the cock can get a firm grip on the flint.

French Specifications on Gunflints

The only published specifications on gunflints of which the authors are aware date from the 19th century. Those appearing in the United States Army Ordnance Manuals for 1841 (Fuller 1936: 68) and 1848 (Lewis 1956: 159-60) are direct translations from the French Aide-Mémoire of 1831 or 1844 (Huntington: 1968 personal communication) for the use of artillery officers, the only change being that the dimensions were converted from millimetres to inches and the comment interjected that gunflints "are generally obtained from England or France." This last statement can cause considerable confusion if taken too literally.

The United States Army may have used both French and English gunflints during the first half of the 19th century, but the English flints did not conform to the specifications listed in the ordnance manuals. Both the French and English flints tend to be rectangular rather than square, but, whereas the English gunflints generally have their longer axis parallel to the lockplate and the barrel of the gun, the French are just the opposite. When speaking of dimensions or trying to apply the French specifications, the length is always the distance from one side to the other, while the width is the distance from the heel to the edge.

The French Gunflint Contract of 1740

As convenient as it might be to compare the Louisbourg flints, which fall within the period from 1713 to 1760, with the specifications derived from the French Aide-Mémoire of 1831 or 1844, any conclusions would be meaningless for there is no assurance that the French requirements, and hence their specifications, remained the same during that interval of 100 years or more. In our search for some authoritative information on French gunflint specifications in effect during the time when the Fortress of Louisbourg was in being, we have been most fortunate in enlisting the help of M. Jean Emy, Director of the Musée de la Pierre à Fusil at Meusnes (Loiret-Cher), France. He has searched the French archives for us, and the results of his research will be found in Appendix A. M. Emy has been able to locate the only known gunflint contract which was awarded during the period of the French occupation of Louisbourg and in which specifications on size are included, but its date of 1740 places it exactly in the middle of that period. There can be no question that this contract of 1740 dealt specifically with flints classified by Witthoft as French, because the length of the bevel, a feature lacking in his Dutch type, is included. This is therefore an important piece of evidence in establishing that gunflints of Witthoft's French type were in fact being bought at this early date for use by the French army and that the French were not relying solely upon gunflints manufactured in the style of Witthoft's Dutch type.

Even a casual reading of the data (Appendix A) reveals a constant relaxing of specifications through the years as the authorities attempted to accommodate to the realities of gunflint manufacture and delivery. They seem never to have comprehended that the knappers struck off the flints free hand and measured by eye. Therefore, precise measurements which today result in dimensions with a variation of less than one millimetre, have no significance in this study.

The true value of the 1740 contract lies not in telling us what really was delivered, but in serving as an indicator of what the authorities of that time considered the ideal gunflint for a specific weapon. In short, we can say with confidence that the French, during the period the Fortress of Louisbourg was in being, considered 34 mm. to 36 mm. the ideal length for a gunflint for use in their service muskets and rampart guns. As will be seen, it is impossible to reconcile this ideal with what they actually took into stores.

In working with gunflints recovered from archaeological sites, the length (in the case of French gunflints) and the thickness are usually the only dimensions which can still be measured, since the normal use to which a flint was subjected destroyed the edge and reduced the width of the bevel. Analysis must necessarily centre upon the dimension of length since only it is of significance in the majority of instances.

Thickness is of secondary importance, and to attempt to include it too would cause unnecessary complications. The only practical requirement was that the gunflint be thin enough to fit conveniently between the jaws of the cock after being cushioned in leather or lead.

Unfortunately, the French gunflint specifications of 1740 apply only to musket flints; the rampart or wall guns of that period, however, had frizzens and cocks of approximately the same size as those of the musket (Boudriot 1963: Cr. 10, pl. 3, p. 8). Pistol locks were only slightly smaller, especially for the cavalry and dragoon models (Boudriot 1963: Cr. 10, p. 11).

The Louisbourg Garrison and Its Supply

The Louisbourg garrison during the over-all occupation period was relatively small. In the 1720s there was a maximum of 360 men; in 1739, there were 480 French and 100 Swiss and in 1745, there were approximately 600 men. From June of 1745 to June of 1746, there were 2,500 to 3,000 New Englanders, and from 1746 to 1748 there were over 2,600 British troops including 1,080 New Englanders. The French returned in 1749 with 1,200 men plus an artillery company: by 1758 this number had been increased to approximately 3,500 men including four battalions of regular troops (McLennan 1957: 95, 165, 173, 188, 263). In 1758, there were four British regiments stationed in Louisbourg, but this number was rapidly reduced. From 1760 to 1768 there were no more than 300 men in the garrison (Foster 1965: 1-3).

The problems of supplying Louisbourg from France were often difficult and the results were sometimes undependable. Each year the governor and commissaire-ordonnateur of the colony sent an annual request for supplies to the Minister of the Marine in France. When this list had been approved, the minister contacted those concerned with supplying the colonies, for example, the intendants of the French ports and the munitionnaires, and informed the governor and ordonnateur that this had been done. On 17 May 1741, he wrote:

Tous ce que j'ay pû faire cette année pour mettre la Colonie de plus en plus en etat de Deffense en cas d'Evênement, a ete d'ordonner l'Envoy de 15 m^ers de poudre au dela des 49 Q^x 38^L 10 onces [i.e. 49 quinteaux 38 livres 10 onces] que M. Bigot a demandes pour parfaire les 40 m^ers qui doivent rester en provision, de vous faire pareillement envoyer 20 Q^x de balles de 18. 20. et de 48. a la L., 30 m^ers de pierres a fusils et 800 fusils grenadiers avec leurs Bayonnettes, Parceque j'ay remarqué que ce sont là les articles les plus necessaires. [All I have been able to do this year to put the Colony more and more in a state of defence in case of emergency has been to order the shipment of 15 thousandweight of powder above and beyond the 49 quintals 38 pounds 10 ounces that M. Bigot requested in order to complete the 40 thousandweight that should be kept in store, likewise to have you sent 20 quintals (hundredweight) of balls of 18, 20 and 48 to the pound, 30 thousand gunflints and 800 grenadier fusils with bayonets, because I noted that those are the most necessary articles.] (France, Archives Nationales, [hereafter cited as AN], Col. B, Vol. 72, ff. 358-65. Minister of the Marine to Du Quesnel and Bigot, 17 May 1741.)

On 22 February 1745, the minister wrote again concerning gunflints.

J'ecris au S^r abbé de Lacombe de pourvoir a cette ile 460 fusils Grenadiers... Je vous recommande pareillement de veiller a ce que les pierres a fusil qu'on demande par cet etat soient bien choisies car on se plaint que celles qui ont depuis quelques années esté envoyés dans la Colonie se sont trouvés de mauvaise qualité. [lam writing to Sr. Abbé de Lacombe to attend to [the supplying] of 450 grenadier fusils... I charge you similarly to see to it that the gunflints that are requisitioned on this account are of good quality and well selected, because complaint is made that those sent to the Colony in the last several years were found to be of poor quality.] (AN, Col., B, Vol. 81, pp. 395-7. Bigot to Ricouart, 22 February 1745.)

5 Gunflints from the Battery Island cache, a, roughly made gunflint, diminishing in thickness from left to right; b, double-edged form resembling a 19th-century fireflint; c, f, conventional French gunflints; d, g, pseudo-Dutch flints; h, i, roughly made flints.

6 Chalk-heel gunflints from the Battery Island cache.

But the most revealing comment came from Governor DuQuesnel and the ordonnateur Bigot in Louisbourg, complaining to the minister in 1740. "Nous manquons aussi de boone pierre a fusil; il y en a quantité de milliers en magasin qui sont de rebut." [We also lack good gunflints; in store there is a quantity of some thousands which are condemned.] (AN, Col., C¹¹B, Vol. 22, ff, 82-3v, Bigot and Du Quesnel to Minister of Marine, 5 December 1740.)

Method of Study

All groups of gunflints, both French and Dutch, were divided into three sizes: those less than 34 mm. long; those falling between 34 mm. and 36 mm. (which approximates the sizes called for in the contract of 1740), and those over 36 mm. long. To provide definite information on actual sizes of the gunflints in use we have shown the measurements of every specimen which was in original or near-original condition. These measurements are in millimetres, given as a series of four numbers separated by dashes which represent length, width, length of bevel and thickness, in that order. Where a Dutch flint measurement is given, the third position is shown as a zero since Dutch gunflints do not have a bevel in the same sense as the French.

Gunflints have not been found in an archaeological context which can be identified as of exclusively French or British affiliation. However, since not a single English gunflint has been found at Louisbourg, their very absence confirms Witthoft's contention that the English flints were not introduced into America until the latter half of the 18th century (Hamilton 1960: 74). [Since this paper was written, one English flint was found but its context was late 18th century; it was found in a house in Block 2 used by a British settler well after the fall of the fortress.] The obvious conclusion is that during the two occupations of Louisbourg, the New Englanders, both military and civilian, used either Dutch or French flints and the flints cannot be relied upon to determine the nationality of the occupying force at any given time.

The Gunflint Cache from Battery Island

A test excavation to determine the limits and state of preservation of the barracks revealed a cache of gunflints in the northeast corner of the end room of the barracks. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about this cache is the number of broken bits and pieces. It may represent policing of the grounds, for many of the fragments are so broken that their original length cannot be estimated and still others are mere slivers. Fragments were excluded from the study if there was any question about the original length. These pieces were then weighed and found to be 4-12 pounds, or approximately one-quarter of the total weight of the cache. In the course of the study, four Dutch gunflints and two more probably of that type were observed and set aside.

Once the fragmentary pieces had been removed and the French gunflints spread out, it became evident that the whole pieces were, in general, of remarkably low quality. The flint tended toward either a greyish or reddish cast. Grey French flint can be of excellent quality, but the majority of these were marked with an excessive amount of white inclusions as well as flaws, while the flint with the reddish cast was obviously of poor grade, since its flaking was erratic in the extreme. Furthermore, there were many gunflints which, though made from blades, had been chipped out individually to make the face; others somewhat resembled Dutch flints but lacked the conchoidal face and the bulb of percussion. These will be referred to as rough and pseudo-Dutch respectively. The pseudo-Dutch flints should not be confused with the pseudo-Clactonian gunflints described by Witthoft (1967: 37), which the senior author has so far been unable to identify.

Another peculiarity was the high percentage of "chalk-heels." These are gunflints made from blades still retaining part of the chalk cortex of the original nodule. In preparing the core before striking off the blades, this outer chalk rind was normally removed. Chalk-heels were always considered a low grade in the trade and, before examining this cache, the senior author had seen perhaps only three or four out of a total of many hundreds of gunflints. However, chalk-heels here represented 26 per cent of the entire number of measurable gunflints.

All 541 gunflints were divided into the three categories by length and further subdivided into regular gunflints and chalk-heels. The latter were surprisingly uniform in size, but the regular gunflints fell into the following groupings:

1) Low grade; poor quality flint with excessive inclusions or faulty flaking tendencies, or gunflints showing inexpert knapping with sloping faces or ridges.

2) Rough. At first appearance these seemed to be made from individual chunks of flint with much chipping and flaking on the face: however, they are all unifacial and had originally been sectioned from blades as had all the other French flints in the cache.

3) Pseudo-Dutch gunflints, which have been described above.

4) Standard grade, which were subdivided into fine and ordinary.

None of the Battery Island gunflints was in unused condition, but the examples in Table 2 may be considered representative. Dimensions are given in millimetres representing length, width, bevel and thickness respectively. Where a question mark is shown for the bevel it indicates that the width is also questionable. Taken as a whole, the gunflints from the Battery Island cache are characterized by a squarish, chunky appearance. Though some of them have rounded heels, particularly among the two standard grades, a surprising number appear to be two-edged but actually have the heel backed, or blunted, square across with secondary chipping. This peculiarity is especially noticeable with the chalk-heels; the back bevel on many of them is simply the chalk cortex. Often there is no back bevel as such; the front bevel takes the place of the entire face of the gunflint and the back, covered with the chalk rind, runs almost straight down to the bed. In this respect they are similar to the pseudo-Dutch flints. There is a definite tendency for the chalk to be confined to the back of the gunflint; however, on one (1B77E1-112), the chalk is on the edge itself. The chalk on this specimen covers only a small area and the rest of the edge looks as if it has had some service; we believe however that the flint was knapped in this fashion and had never been used.

All in all, this group of 541 gun flints from Battery Island reflects no credit upon the French procurement officers of that period.

7 Gunflints from the town of Louisbourg, a—d, two French and two Dutch flints from the De Couagne property, used as fireflints; e, f, two large new Dutch flints from the Curtain Wall; g, an unusually thin French gunflint from the Hangard d'Artilleie. (click on image for a PDF version)

8 Flints from Fort Frederica, Saint Simons Island, Georgia, a, b, an English flint nodule from which Dutch style gunflints have been struck; c—r, examples of Dutch style gunflints made from English flint.

Gunflints from the Town of Louisbourg

King's Bastion (14 French, 45 Dutch)

All of the 14 French flints are made from an excellent quality of beeswax-coloured flint, except for two which resemble the Battery Island gunflints. Twelve are classified as fine, two as ordinary. The following three could be measured:

Of the 45 Dutch flints, 16 are less than 34 mm. in length, 14 are between 34 mm. and 36 mm., 7 are over 36 mm., and 8 are broken. Eight of these 45 examples are in new condition:

Barracks (14 French, 25 Dutch)

The French gunflints recovered total 14, of which 3 are less than 34 mm. in length, 5 are between 34 mm. and 36 mm., and 5 are over 36 mm. One is broken. Of these 14 gunflints, 5 are made from a good quality beeswax-coloured material, but one has a corner in white flint; it is not a chalk-heel. The remaining nine are badly burnt, but appear from the knapping to have been made from a superior quality of material, probably the standard French beeswax-coloured flint. All nine are of fine grade, and one of the smaller gunflints is in unused condition:

Of the 25 Dutch gunflints from this site, 12 are less than 34 mm. long, 3 are from 34 mm. to 36 mm., 5 are over 36 mm. and 5 are broken. Two of these are in new condition:

Magazin du Roi (3 French, 1 Dutch)

One of the three French gunflints is less than 34 mm. long, the remaining two being between 34 mm. and 36 mm. All are the colour of beeswax; two are fine and one ordinary. The smallest flint is wafer thin, 4 mm.

The lone Dutch gunflint has seen very little use and is made from a grey flint with white inclusions identified as coming from the Riss outwash:

Hangard d'Artillerie (15 French, 40 Dutch)

Of the 15 French flints, one is less than 34 mm. long, 7 are from 34 mm. to 36 mm. in length, and 7 are over 36 mm. Thirteen of these are standard French while two resemble the Battery Island gunflints. These two are in good enough condition to be measured, as are four of the standard French:

Of the 40 Dutch gunflints, 29 are less than 34 mm. long, 6 are between 34 mm. and 36 mm., and 5 are over 36 mm. Six of the flints under 34 mm. in length are in new condition and their dimensions are given below. None of the larger sizes are in good enough condition to be measured.

De Couagne Property (13 French, 41 Dutch)

Five of the 13 French flints are less than 34 mm. long, one is between 34 mm. and 36 mm., 2 are over 36 mm. and 5 are broken. All of these are fine grade and made from standard quality beeswax-coloured flint except one specimen (17L2A2), which is ordinary but has a sloping ridge. It is similar to those found on Battery Island.

Two of these gunflints, though not new, had been used very little; one is the smallest yet found at Louisbourg and probably was used in a pistol:

Of the 41 Dutch flints, 25 are less than 34 mm. in length, 4 are between 34 mm. and 36 mm., 3 are over 36 mm., and 9 are broken. Eight of these 41 examples are in new condition:

Villejouin/Fizel and Richard Properties (12 French, 13 Dutch)

Of the 12 French flints, 6 are less than 34 mm. in length, 3 are between 34 mm. and 36 mm., and 3 are over 36 mm. Two of the French flints are in new condition and one is in good condition:

The French gunflints are made from flint which ranged from grey to beeswax in colour. The grey had white inclusions similar to the Battery Island gunflints, but of a better quality which resulted in better knapping.

9 Flints from the town of Louisbourg (cf. Fig. 7). a—d, two French flints and two unshaped flakes used as fireflints, from the De Couagne property; e—f, Dutch specimens used as fireflints from the De Couagne property; g—i, three large Dutch gunflints from the Curtain Wall.

Nine of the 13 Dutch flints are less than 34 mm. long, one is between 34 mm. and 36 mm., 2 are over 36 mm., and one is broken. Two could be measured:

De Pensens-De Lavallière Property (3 French, 14 Dutch)

Of the three French flints one is less than 34 mm. long, none occur in the 34 mm. to 36 mm. range, one is over 36 mm., and one is broken. All are fine and all are made from a good quality flint, None are complete enough to record their measurements.

The Dutch gunflints total 14. Eleven of these are less than 34 mm. long: there are none between 34 mm. and 36 mm., one is over 36 mm., and two are broken. Two of the 14 are in new condition:

Lartigue Property (8 French, 17 Dutch)

Five of the French flints are less than 34 mm. in length, and three are between 34 mm. and 36 mm. Six of these are fine and two are ordinary. Two have been burnt, but were probably made from beeswax-coloured flint, as are the remaining four fine flints. One of the ordinary gunflints is also made from beeswax-coloured flint. The other ordinary example (46L5A2) is made from a waxy grey flint with white inclusions, somewhat like the grey Battery Island gunflints except that it had good knapping qualities. The back bevel on this gunflint is quite long and the heel is rounded forward to the ridge, giving it a semicircular appearance. The front bevel has been worn back until it is now within about 10 mm. of the ridge. This is the only French gunflint in the entire collection which was noticeably wider than it was long when new.

One of the burnt flints has some retouching along the edge, but it was still in new condition before it was burnt:

Of the 17 Dutch gunflints, 10 are less than 34 mm. long, 3 are between 34 mm. and 36 mm., 2 are over 36 mm. and 2 are broken. A large flint 38 mm. long (46L4W3), is made from chert. One side shows the water-worn surface of the pebble from which it was made, indicating that it came from a stream bed or glacial drift. Another specimen (46L5BB2A), is made from a glossy black flint, (almost a chalcedony), which is similar to flint samples from the mines at Vitray, France. Most of the Dutch gunflints are made from flints similar to samples identified for us by Witthoft as coming from the Riss outwash. Three of these are in new or practically new condition:

King's-Dauphin Curtain Wall (No French, 3 Dutch)

Only three gunflints have been recovered from the curtain, all of which are huge Dutch flints. One has seen considerable use, but the remaining two are in new condition. They range from (1) a grey flint to (2) a darker grey to (3) a black flint with a grey band at the edge. It is difficult to imagine these huge gunflints being used in the lock of a musket. All three gunflints are expertly knapped: