In the crucible of conflict
While Britain is famous the world over for its prestige gunmakers, there is one manufacturer that remains unsung. It was almost singularly responsible for maintaining the liberty of this country for nearly 200 years. That maker is Enfield, or more correctly the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield in north London.
It was here, from 1804, that the British government produced various patterns of muskets from components manufactured elsewhere. Prior to this, the majority of arms had been set up at the Tower Armoury. The demands made by the Napoleonic wars meant the Enfield site was quickly enlarged but was still only used for assembly.
The first weapon produced in whole to a set pattern at Enfield was the last model of Baker rifle. The Baker was a specialist weapon produced for the rifle brigades of the British Army. It was far superior to the musket of the day, the flintlock ‘Brown Bess’, which had an effective accurate range of about 50yd. It is said that at the Battle of Cacabelos in Spain in 1809, Rifleman Tom Plunkett, of the 95th Rifle Regiment, shot the French general Auguste-Marie-Francois Colbert de Chabanais at a range of 400yd.
The Baker flintlock rifle remained in service in the British Army until replaced by the percussion Brunswick rifle in the mid-1830s. Some Pattern 1839 and 1842 muskets were set
