Constable Heartless

Commodore Swab I agree that there were devices either attached or in some cases forged on the flash pans of some of the Spanish military flintlock's. But if you check your documentation or actually translate the manual of arms in print at the time on those particular weapons you'll see that the intent of the device was to assist in priming and/or to block the wind from the flash during firing. The flash guard commonly used by reenactors today was derived from trial and error starting in the 1950s. There has been a lot of publications and other documents written over the years but very few actually cite the documents from the actual time period. Another example would be rifling in modern weapons. The first rifled bore weapons actually date back to the late 1500s. The original intent was not for accuracy but due to fouling from repeated firing. The rifling simply gave the fouling someplace to go making it easier to reload the weapon. It took several centuries before anyone realized that the rifling caused the projectile to spend giving it more accuracy and further range. Fortunately for us when it comes to the wide range of safety rules at different events, the basic safety rules are essentially the same wherever we go. But one set of safety rules for all living history interpreters or reenactors like the National Park Service uses simply don't work. The differences in the weapons from each period of time dictate deviation in the rules. I've been to events where the event organizer insisted that the World War II reenactors and the Revolutionary war reenactors operate their weapons in the same manner. Fortunately some event organizers and even some National Park Service locations are starting to recognize that safety rules need to be specific to the time period for the event. So we are making progress we just need to remember that every single person on the field of combat is a safety officer and has the responsibility to exercise common sense and ensure that they receive proper instruction and/or training prior to their participation.

I guess it's time for the old Constable to finally post something so people know that I'm still alive and kicking. The subject of flash guards is not one of my favorites for discussion since they are comparatively speaking a relatively modern creation that was not utilized by anyone that I know of in the 17th and 18th century. They started to become popular at some events during the bicentennial celebrations of 1976. Of course they were around many years before that. The Park Service adopted them primarily as a safety precaution for the military units that fired their weapons in formation. And I'm sure that those reenactors that were shoulder to shoulder with their fellow reenactors certainly appreciated the invention. They are absolutely essential if you're a member of the military unit in places like Colonial Williamsburg and Yorktown doing Revolutionary War Danny boy type stuff. But on the other hand, we are Pirates by golly and we shoot those land lovers that are in formation shoulder to shoulder. They make pretty targets just standing there all lined up. Beginning with the very first Blackbeard Festival in Hampton in the year of our Lord 2000 I dismissed the requirement and addressed the issue in the rules and regulations for black powder being used in Hampton. To compensate for the lack of use of flash guards since they are not even a period correct item there is a mandated safe distance that must be observed to the right of the shooter when firing in the line. In other words you don't shoot the weapon if anyone is within 7 to 10 feet to the right of you. That provides an ample distance for the hot gases and flame coming from the vent hole to dissipate. I have found that it is difficult enough to keep a good flintlock firearm working correctly without adding a piece of metal to the flash pan. Flash guards will cause many malfunctions. We need to convince event organizers up and down the eastern seaboard to simply adopt the standardized safety rules utilized by the Blackbeard's Crew and the Colonial Seaport Foundation. They are posted on the Blackbeard's Crew website under visiting Crews. If we all used a single set of safety rules and regulations life would be much simpler. Well I believe I have rambled on long enough to convince most people that I'm still alive.