Chillianwala

Posts : 2872 Join date : 2010-06-02

Been doing a little research for someone on a Sergeant of the 24th in the Sikh Wars. Turns out he was wounded at Chillianwala by a matchlock ball. Don't think I have come across that before!

Steve Reinstadtler

Posts : 1191 Join date : 2015-11-24

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The image from Battle's of the Nineteenth Century.

Subject: Re: Chillianwala Thu Jan 25, 2018 11:23 am

Steve,

Come across what before the battle or the weapon?

JY

Subject: Re: Chillianwala Thu Jan 25, 2018 11:43 am

Hi

I've excavated a number of 'matchlock' balls from Lichfield and Tutbury castle (from the ECW sieges).

Just out of interest, what is the difference between an matchlock ball or a smoothbore musket ball?

Cheers

Sime

Posts : 2872 Join date : 2010-06-02

John
They made a point in his discharge papers of saying he was wounded in the thigh by a matchlock ball. This was of course in 1849 and we are talking about the Sikh army, but it still struck me as a throwback to much earlier times - pre flintlock. He went on to complete 21 years service

Sime
No idea about how a matchlock ball differs from a flintlock or percussion. Just bloody slow to fire I imagine.

Steve

Subject: Re: Chillianwala Thu Jan 25, 2018 2:10 pm

Steve,

Matchlocks were in use well in early part of the 20th Century. The Tibetans opposing Younghusband’s forces used them. The Boxers used them in 1900, and they were certainly in use in India during the Indian Mutiny. Many of them are commonly referred as jinjals, although the actual janjal (sic) was a wall-mounted or bipod/tripod-mounted weapon.

JY

Posts : 2872 Join date : 2010-06-02

Thanks John. Not a lot of people know that. Given that they had been obsolete in European warfare for what - 200 years by then, it is quite surprising that such technology still persisted in the east. In the scheme of things it must, of course, have been quite rare to have been hit by a round from one as a British soldier by then, let alone have it recorded in your papers. As I say, I have never seen another example.

Steve