Ezekiel Baker (17581836) was a master

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 ...

from

Whitechapel Whitechapel () is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is the location of Tower Hamlets Town Hall and therefore the borough tow ...

, London, who became known for his design of the Baker rifle in 1800. Baker was apprenticed to gunsmith

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

and opened a gunshop of his own at 24 Whitechapel Road, London in 1775. He later wrote a book on his experiences when making and using rifles.

The Baker rifle

The

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

had been experimenting with rifles since the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, but had found all available rifle designs either too fragile, cumbersome or slow firing to be able to use in a generalised war. On 4 February 1800, a number of leading gun makers were invited to

Woolwich Woolwich () is a town in South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was mainta ...

to trial their rifle designs by the

Board of Ordnance The Board of Ordnance was a British government body. Established in the Tudor period, it had its headquarters in the Tower of London. Its primary responsibilities were 'to act as custodian of the lands, depots and forts required for the defence ...

, who were responsible for the procurement of weaponry for the army. Baker's design was chosen, and he was given an initial order for 800 rifles. In the same year, an "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" was raised by Colonel Coote Manningham and Lieutenant-Colonel the Hon. William Stewart. The corps was manned by volunteer officers and soldiers from a variety of British regiments and militias, and would soon be renamed and normalised into the army under the name the 95th Rifles Regiment of Foot. By 1810, five British

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

s, three of the 95th and two of the 60th Regiments, as well as several light companies of the

King's German Legion The King's German Legion (KGL; ) was a formation of the British Army during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Consisting primarily of expatriate Germans, it existed from 1803 to 1816 and achieved the distinction of being the on ...

were equipped with the Baker rifle. The rifle was renowned for its accuracy and range. It was used throughout the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

and continued in service until the 1830s.

Sources

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Ezekiel 1758 births 1836 deaths People from Whitechapel Firearm designers British inventors Gunsmiths 19th-century history of the British Army