A pistoleer is a mounted soldier trained to use a

pistol A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, a ...

, or more generally anyone armed with such a weapon. It is derived from pistolier, a French word for an expert marksman.

History

The earliest kind of pistoleer was the mounted German

Reiter ''Reiter'' or ''Schwarze Reiter'' ("black riders", anglicized ''swart reiters'') were a type of cavalry in 16th to 17th century Central Europe including Holy Roman Empire, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Tsardom of Russia, and others. ...

, who came to prominence in Europe after the Battle of St. Quentin in 1557. These soldiers were equipped with a number of single-shot, muzzle-loader wheel-lock or Snaphance horse pistols, amongst the most advanced weapons of the era. Although mounted Pistoleers were effective against heavy cavalry, they gradually fell out of use during the

Thirty Years War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battl ...

. After this time, cavalry in Western armies used swords or lances as their primary arm, although they still generally carried a pistol as a sidearm. During the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I (" Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of r ...

, the

Roundhead Roundheads were the supporters of the Parliament of England during the English Civil War (1642–1651). Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I of England and his supporters, known as the Cavaliers or Royalists, who ...

Ironside cavalry The Ironsides were troopers in the Parliamentarian cavalry formed by English political leader Oliver Cromwell in the 17th century, during the English Civil War. The name came from "Old Ironsides", one of Cromwell's nicknames. The model regimen ...

were issued with a pair of

flintlock Flintlock is a general term for any firearm that uses a flint-striking ignition mechanism, the first of which appeared in Western Europe in the early 16th century. The term may also apply to a particular form of the mechanism itself, also know ...

pistols.

Cavalier The term Cavalier () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of King Charles I and his son Charles II of England during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration (1642 – ). ...

s used similar weapons, often ornately decorated, including an early

breechloader A breechloader is a firearm in which the user loads the ammunition ( cartridge or shell) via the rear (breech) end of its barrel, as opposed to a muzzleloader, which loads ammunition via the front ( muzzle). Modern firearms are generally br ...

with a barrel that could be unscrewed. Before 1700, cavalrymen were recruited from the wealthy gentry, and generally purchased their own nonstandard pistols. The

industrial revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

enabled armies to mass-produce firearms with interchangeable parts, and cheaply issue large quantities of standardised firearms to enlisted personnel. However, officers in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

and

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

continued to privately commission pistols from London

gunsmith A gunsmith is a person who repairs, modifies, designs, or builds guns. The occupation differs from an armorer, who usually replaces only worn parts in standard firearms. Gunsmiths do modifications and changes to a firearm that may require a very ...

s such as

Joseph Manton Joseph Manton (6 April 1766 – 29 June 1835) was a British gunsmith. He innovated sport shooting, improved weapon quality and paved the way for the modern artillery shell. Manton was a sport shooter and a friend of Colonel Peter Hawker. ...

Robert Wogdon Wogdon & Barton (founded by Robert Wogdon) was an 18th-century firm of gunsmiths based in London, England. Robert Wogdon produced flintlock firearms from the 1760s, and was particularly well known for his high quality duelling pistols. The na ...

Henry Nock Henry Nock (1741–1804) was a British inventor and engineer of the Napoleonic period, best known as a gunsmith. Nock produced many innovative weapons including the screwless lock and the seven-barrelled volley gun, although he did not invent ...

and Durs Egg until the mid 19th century.

Equipment

Light cavalry Light cavalry comprised lightly armed and armored cavalry troops mounted on fast horses, as opposed to heavy cavalry, where the mounted riders (and sometimes the warhorses) were heavily armored. The purpose of light cavalry was primarily ...

of the early modern period were equipped with a

sabre A sabre (French: �sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as t ...

and specialised

horse pistol A pistoleer is a mounted soldier trained to use a pistol, or more generally anyone armed with such a weapon. It is derived from pistolier, a French word for an expert marksman. History The earliest kind of pistoleer was the mounted German Reite ...

s, carried in

saddle The saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other animals. It is not kno ...

holster A handgun holster is a device used to hold or restrict the undesired movement of a handgun, most commonly in a location where it can be easily withdrawn for immediate use. Holsters are often attached to a belt or waistband, but they may be at ...

s. These large calibre single shot handguns, also known as holster pistols, horsemen's pistols, cavalry pistols or

musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually di ...

calibre pistols, saw extensive use among the British and French armies during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...

. These were deadliest at close range, but massed pistol fire from horseback proved moderately effective at medium range. Many were made in .71, .65 and .58 calibre, to enable the use of standard infantry musket balls. During the early

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwa ...

, most horse pistols in the arsenals of Britain, France and America were converted to

caplock The percussion cap or percussion primer, introduced in the early 1820s, is a type of single-use percussion ignition device for muzzle loader firearm locks enabling them to fire reliably in any weather condition. This crucial invention gave rise ...

ignition. These remained in service until .44 calibre

revolver A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating firearm, repeating handgun that has at least one gun barrel, barrel and uses a revolving cylinder (firearms), cylinder containing multiple chamber (firearms), chambers (each holding a single ...

s such as the

Colt Dragoon The Colt Model 1848 Percussion Army Revolver is a .44 caliber revolver designed by Samuel Colt for the U.S. Army's Regiment of Mounted Rifles. The revolver was also issued to the Army's "Dragoon" Regiments. This revolver was designed as a solution ...

of 1847 or the Adams revolver of 1851 were introduced.

British horse pistol

Horse pistols made at the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...

used the same lock as the

Brown Bess "Brown Bess" is a nickname of uncertain origin for the British Army's muzzle-loading smoothbore flintlock Land Pattern Musket and its derivatives. The musket design remained in use for over a hundred years with many incremental changes in its ...

musket. Pistols made before 1790 had wood instead of steel ramrods. The lock was stamped with the crown of

George III of Great Britain George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

and the barrel received

arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers ...

proof mark A proof test is a form of stress test to demonstrate the fitness of a load-bearing structure. An individual proof test may apply only to the unit tested, or to its design in general for mass-produced items. Such a structure is often subjected t ...

s. Due to the high demand for arms during the wars against France, regulation .71 calibre horse pistols were also manufactured in Birmingham, and by private

s. Britain's German allies produced similar pistols in .71 and .65 calibre, including the Prussian Potzdam horse pistols of 1733, 1774 and 1789. British

light cavalry Light cavalry comprised lightly armed and armored cavalry troops mounted on fast horses, as opposed to heavy cavalry, where the mounted riders (and sometimes the warhorses) were heavily armored. The purpose of light cavalry was primarily ...

such as the

hussar A hussar ( , ; hu, huszár, pl, husarz, sh, husar / ) was a member of a class of light cavalry, originating in Central Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely ...

s fought as pistoliers during the

, being trained to draw and fire both pistols before closing in with the

Dragoon Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat w ...

s were issued with a pair, or brace, of pistols as secondary weapons to their

carbine A carbine ( or ) is a long gun that has a barrel shortened from its original length. Most modern carbines are rifles that are compact versions of a longer rifle or are rifles chambered for less powerful cartridges. The smaller size and lighte ...

s. Although designed for use by cavalry, horse pistols were also issued to mounted

staff officer A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military ...

s for personal defence, and it was a widespread if unauthorised practice for colour sergeants to carry a pistol in addition to the half-pike and spadroon. After the war, surplus horse pistols were issued to the

coast guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

, customs officers, and the Metropolitan

mounted police Mounted police are police who patrol on horseback or camelback. Their day-to-day function is typically picturesque or ceremonial, but they are also employed in crowd control because of their mobile mass and height advantage and increasingly in t ...

. Similar weapons, issued to the

as the Sea Service pistol, had brass rather than steel barrels to prevent corrosion, a belt hook, and a brass butt cap for close quarters fighting.

Blackbeard Edward Teach (alternatively spelled Edward Thatch, – 22 November 1718), better known as Blackbeard, was an English pirate who operated around the West Indies and the eastern coast of Britain's North American colonies. Little is known abou ...

the

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

was infamous for carrying seven pistols of this type in a

bandolier A bandolier or a bandoleer is a pocketed belt for holding either individual bullets, or belts of ammunition. It is usually slung sash-style over the shoulder and chest, with the ammunition pockets across the midriff and chest. Though functiona ...

India pattern pistol

An improved variant of the regulation .71 Tower horse pistol, known as the Indian pattern, was manufactured in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

from 1787 to 1832, for use by officers of the East India Trading Company and British

Indian Cavalry Indian cavalry is the name collectively given to the Midwest and Eastern American Indians who fought during the American Civil War, most of them on horseback and for the Confederate States of America. Indian units in the CS Armed forces Cheroke ...

. Indian or New Land Pattern pistols produced after 1802 had captive

ramrod A ramrod (or scouring stick) is a metal or wooden device used with muzzleloading firearms to push the projectile up against the propellant (mainly blackpowder). The ramrod was used with weapons such as muskets and cannons and was usually held i ...

s, raised waterproof frizzens for use in India's

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

s, and an attachment on the buttcap for a

lanyard A lanyard is a cord, length of webbing, or strap that may serve any of various functions, which include a means of attachment, restraint, retrieval, and activation and deactivation. A lanyard is also a piece of rigging used to secure or lo ...

. These features would later be retro-fitted to the Tower Model 1835 and Model 1840 pistols.Guns of Indian Mutiny
/ref> Indian horse pistols in .65 and later .577 calibre were produced at British-controlled arsenals such as

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and divis ...

from 1796 to 1856, and were favoured by

big game hunter Big-game hunting is the hunting of large game animals for meat, commercially valuable by-products (such as horns/antlers, furs, tusks, bones, body fat/oil, or special organs and contents), trophy/taxidermy, or simply just for recreation ("s ...

s before the invention of the double barreled

howdah pistol The howdah pistol was a large-calibre handgun, often with two or four barrels, used in Africa and India from the beginning of the nineteenth century and into the early twentieth century during the British Empire era. It was intended for defence ...

. Additionally, many were exported to England and saw use during the later years of the

. During the

Indian Mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the for ...

conversions of the India pattern pistol with

rifled barrels In firearms, rifling is machining helical grooves into the internal (bore) surface of a gun's barrel for the purpose of exerting torque and thus imparting a spin to a projectile around its longitudinal axis during shooting to stabilize the pr ...

were used by British forces and mutinous

sepoy ''Sepoy'' () was the Persian-derived designation originally given to a professional Indian infantryman, traditionally armed with a musket, in the armies of the Mughal Empire. In the 18th century, the French East India Company and its ot ...

s alike.

French and American horse pistols

The

French army History Early history The first permanent army, paid with regular wages, instead of feudal levies, was established under Charles VII of France, Charles VII in the 1420 to 1430s. The Kings of France needed reliable troops during and after the ...

first issued horse pistols to their cavalry in 1733, with an improved model introduced in 1764. French horse pistols were used primarily by

cuirassier Cuirassiers (; ) were cavalry equipped with a cuirass, sword, and pistols. Cuirassiers first appeared in mid-to-late 16th century Europe as a result of armoured cavalry, such as men-at-arms and demi-lancers, discarding their lances and adop ...

s, and as a secondary weapon by

lancer A lancer was a type of cavalryman who fought with a lance. Lances were used for mounted warfare in Assyria as early as and subsequently by Persia, India, Egypt, China, Greece, and Rome. The weapon was widely used throughout Eurasia during the ...

s. During the

, the most commonly issued pistols were the Pistolet Modele An. IX of 1798, and the Pistolet Modele An. XIII in service from 1806 to 1840. The latter was half-stocked, had a bird's head grip, and included an attachment for a lanyard. An improved model was introduced in 1822, and was converted to

ignition in 1842. Copies of the French An. XIII pistol were manufactured in Holland, Belgium, Switzerland and Prussia and were issued to the armies of those countries from the 1820s onwards. During the Revolutionary War the Americans manufactured copies of the British horse pistol, and its likely that the 1804-1806

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gr ...

procured horsemen's pistols of this type. British and American horse pistols were also acquired by indigenous American warriors either from dead white men, or through trade. The Americans manufactured their first standardised horse pistol at

Harpers Ferry Harpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia. It is located in the lower Shenandoah Valley. The population was 285 at the 2020 census. Situated at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, where the U.S. stat ...

in 1805, copied from the French An. IX pattern. Improved models of the Harpers Ferry pistol were produced in 1806, 1807, 1812, 1818, and 1835. These were issued to the US Army during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...

Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, were fought by European governments and colonists in North America, and later by the United States and Canadian governments and American and Canadian settle ...

and Mexican War, and were used by

gunfighter Gunfighters, also called gunslingers (), or in the 19th and early 20th centuries gunmen, were individuals in the American Old West who gained a reputation of being dangerous with a gun and participated in gunfights and shootouts. Today, the t ...

s and

mountain men A mountain man is an explorer who lives in the wilderness. Mountain men were most common in the North American Rocky Mountains from about 1810 through to the 1880s (with a peak population in the early 1840s). They were instrumental in opening up ...

in the early days of the

Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

, including

Kit Carson Christopher Houston Carson (December 24, 1809 – May 23, 1868) was an American frontiersman. He was a fur trapper, wilderness guide, Indian agent, and U.S. Army officer. He became a frontier legend in his own lifetime by biographies and ...

. The

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

used similar pistols from 1813 until after the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

, and the

Confederate army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighti ...

issued large quantities of Harpers Ferry horse pistols.

Russian horse pistols

The hussars of the Tsarist army filled a similar role to their British counterparts, being trained to fight with sword and pistol. Before the standardised Model 1808 horse pistol in 7 Line (.71-inch) caliber was introduced, the Tsarist cavalry were equipped with a mixture of weapons in different calibers, some made before 1700. The Model 1808 pistol was full-stocked, with a brass barrel band, belt hook and the initials of

Tsar Alexander I Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. The son of G ...

stamped on the buttplate. New pistols were manufactured at

Tula Tula may refer to: Geography Antarctica *Tula Mountains * Tula Point India * Tulā, a solar month in the traditional Indian calendar Iran * Tula, Iran, a village in Hormozgan Province Italy * Tula, Sardinia, municipality (''comune'') in the ...

Izhevsk Izhevsk (russian: Иже́вск, p=ɪˈʐɛfsk; udm, Ижкар, ''Ižkar'', or , ''Iž'') is the capital city of Udmurtia, Russia. It is situated along the Izh River, west of the Ural Mountains in Eastern Europe. It is the 21st-largest city ...

Sestroretsk Sestroretsk (russian: Сестроре́цк; fi, Siestarjoki; sv, Systerbäck) is a municipal town in Kurortny District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, Russia, located on the shores of the Gulf of Finland, the Sestra River ...

, Moscow,

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, and

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Ky ...

in 1818, 1824 and 1836, and most older weapons were converted to percussion from 1844 to 1848. Many were painted black as thermal insulation from the Russian winter, and leather wrapped grips were not uncommon.

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

Cossack The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

s were equipped with their own distinctive horse pistol, featuring a

miquelet lock Miquelet lock is a modern term used by collectors and curators for a type of firing mechanism used in muskets and pistols. It is a distinctive form of snaplock, originally as a flint-against-steel ignition form, once prevalent in the Spanish, ...

imported from Spain or Italy, a stock carved from an elm

root In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the su ...

, a bulbous

ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals i ...

or bone butt, and

niello Niello is a black mixture, usually of sulphur, copper, silver, and lead, used as an inlay on engraved or etched metal, especially silver. It is added as a powder or paste, then fired until it melts or at least softens, and flows or is pushed ...

silver decoration. These were in use among the Cossacks,

Chechens The Chechens (; ce, Нохчий, , Old Chechen: Нахчой, ''Naxçoy''), historically also known as ''Kisti'' and ''Durdzuks'', are a Northeast Caucasian ethnic group of the Nakh peoples native to the North Caucasus in Eastern Europe. "Eu ...

, Georgians, Abkhazians and other inhabitants of the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historica ...

from the Russo Turkish Wars of the 17th century until after the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

. Some Cossack tribes of the early 1800s scorned the pistol as the weapon of an inexperienced recruit or coward, but others celebrated skilled pistoliers and assigned the best marksmen to elite companies of dismounted skirmishers. By the 1840s, it had become mandatory for every Ukrainian youth to be as competent in the use of the pistol and carbine as he was with the sabre, lance,

wolf hunting Wolf hunting is the practice of hunting gray wolves ''(Canis lupus)'' or other species of wolves. Wolves are mainly hunted for sport, for their skins, to protect livestock and, in some rare cases, to protect humans. Wolves have been actively hun ...

, and horse-breaking. Unlike regular cavalry, Cossacks carried their pistols on the left side of their belt or around their neck rather than in a saddle holster so they would never be unarmed if attacked while away from their horses.

Revival

Horse-mounted pistoleers of a kind made a brief comeback in North America during the

(particularly by the Confederates) as well as in the

of the 1860s and 70s.Time Life The Old West: The Soldiers (1973) This was a consequence of the adoption of the multi-shot Colt revolver, which gave horsemen greater range and firepower.

Gallery

File:Pappenheim Curassiers.PNG,

Cuirassier Cuirassiers (; ) were cavalry equipped with a cuirass, sword, and pistols. Cuirassiers first appeared in mid-to-late 16th century Europe as a result of armoured cavalry, such as men-at-arms and demi-lancers, discarding their lances and adop ...

s of the early 1600s armed with flintlock horse pistols. File:Mounted horseman loading gun.jpg,

Turkish empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

pistolier from the early 19th century. File:Madras cavalry.jpg, Indian cavalry trooper armed with a sabre and two pistols. File:USCavalryFieldUniforms1876.gif, The

US Cavalry The United States Cavalry, or U.S. Cavalry, was the designation of the mounted force of the United States Army by an act of Congress on 3 August 1861.Price (1883) p. 103, 104 This act converted the U.S. Army's two regiments of dragoons, one r ...

of the

were equipped with a carbine for dismounted skirmishing and a pair of revolvers for use in the saddle. File:Pistolet période révolutionnaire Ateliers Nationaux IMG 3200.jpg, French cavalry pistol from the early 19th century. File:Birmingham Borough Police flint action gun issued 1840.jpg,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

pistol of 1840, based on the 1832 Indian Pattern. File:Miquelet Pistol MET DP158632.jpg, Cossack horse pistol with Italian

. File:Пистолет драгунский образца 1798.jpg, Russian dragoon pistol model 1798.

References

{{reflist Cavalry