PERIOD V. 



FROM THE INTRODUCTION OF RIFLED FIREARMS 

 TO THE PRESENT TIME. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 



Influence of the Introduction of Rifled Fire- 

 arms. — The Crimean War. — The War in Italy, 1859. 



As far back as the 17tli century the principle of the 

 rifled barrel, and the increased precision of fire so to be 

 obtained, was well known, but as the weapons were 

 loaded from the muzzle, the bullets had to be forced 

 with difficulty into the barrel, in order to cause them to 

 fit into the grooves and so acquire the rotary motion. 

 This rendered the process of loading troublesome and 

 tedious, and quite unsuited for troops intended to fight 

 in line of battle at close ranges. 



Although the principle of the breech-loading weapon 

 had been known long before (in fact it can be traced as 

 far back as the year 1540) ' the mechanical skill of the 

 age was so defective that every attempt to utilise the 

 idea failed, and so the only rifles were those loaded 

 from the muzzle. 



The American Revolutionary War, as we have seen, 

 gave an increased use to these weapons, particularly in 

 the hands of skirmishers, so that most armies had special 

 corps of light infantry, armed with rifles and intended to 

 act as tirailleurs. , 



' Humbert, 320. 



