A linstock (also called a lintstock) is a staff with a fork at one end to hold a lighted

slow match Slow match, also called match cord, is the slow-burning cord or twine fuse used by early gunpowder musketeers, artillerymen, and soldiers to ignite matchlock muskets, cannons, shells, and petards. Slow matches were most suitable for use ar ...

. The name was adapted from the Dutch ''lontstok'', "match stick". Linstocks were used for discharging cannons in the early days of

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

; the linstock allowed the gunner to stand further from the cannon as it was dangerous applying the lighted match to the touch hole at the breech of the gun. Not only could the charge flash back, but the recoil of the cannon might send the carriage toward the gunner.

Design

Linstocks had curving arms called a serpentine that ended with a pinching metal jaw to grip the slow match, and a sharp point at the base to stick in the ground. In emergencies, gunners could use the spear blade as a weapon to defend the cannon. Like much early modern military equipment, the linstock could have an additional function; 16th century examples had measurements in inches and a protractor engraved on the blade to allow the gun captain to check the angle.

Obsolescence

By the mid-18th century, artillery pieces were being fitted with flintlock firing devices (known as gunlocks), rendering the linstock obsolete though the linstock remained in service in many places where the older form of ignition was used, including the United States during the

War of Independence Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) ...

and parts of Europe during 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 ...

. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

and

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

, gun crews were issued linstocks, which were used when the

flintlock Flintlock is a general term for any firearm that uses a flint-striking lock (firearm), 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 its ...

and

percussion cap The percussion cap, percussion primer, or caplock, 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. Its invention gave ...

-ignited primers failed.

References

{{reflist, 2 Artillery ammunition Artillery components 18th-century weapons American Civil War artillery Articles containing video clips