Fun First French Find

Hi Fort Followers,

On the second day of digging on the site, I happened to be searching for some cool rocks while my unit partner, Kieran, shovel skimmed. As I dug through the dirt Kieran lifted, I found three interesting rocks. I rinse them off and notice something intriguing about one of them. It appeared to have marks on it that resemble it being chipped away at. The marks seemed more human-influenced rather than a natural occurrence, so I asked my professor about it. Sure enough - it was an 18th-century gun flint! 

The flint is a honey-brown color, with a circular shape and a flat, smooth surface. One end of the flint has been chipped away at, creating a slightly flat edge. After doing some research, I discovered that this type of gunflint is called a spall-type gunflint, which is made from a large flake (or “spall”) knocked off a module of flint. Spalls refer to the shape being as wide as it is long. While it is the easiest to make, it is not as efficient.

Another detail to take note of is the color. As I mentioned earlier, the gunflint is a beautiful honey-brown color. Flint/chert of this color typically comes from France, while dark grey flint is produced in Britain. This shows the influence the French had at Fort St. Joseph during the 18th century.

After hearing all of this information, you may be wondering - what does a gunflint do? In a flintlock (a firearm with a flint-striking mechanism), a gunflint is typically held by the flintlock jaws and cushioned by a piece of cloth or leather. The flintlock jaws are a piece of the gun that holds the flint behind the frizzen, which is an L-shaped piece of steel hinged at the front. When you pull the trigger, the flint hits the frizzen and scrapes off the iron to produce sparks. The frizzen is also struck back by the hammer to uncover the gunpowder in the pan. The gunpowder ignites, and it travels through a small hole in the barrel’s side to set fire to the gunpowder in the barrel. While this sounds like a long, confusing process, this all happens in a matter of seconds. Usually, a flint is good for around 20-30 firings before it deteriorates, so soldiers were expected to carry several spare flints with them. 

Finding this gunflint in our unit was an awesome feeling. Being able to uncover a piece of the past and rewrite its fate of being buried underground forever is a big accomplishment for me. Not only was I proud, but also very shocked to find it. I got very lucky and happened to stumble upon an artifact while looking for cool rocks. If you decide to participate in excavating someday, I have one tip for you - make sure you check every stone you find! You never know what you could discover.

- Alivia

Sources:

Brain, M. (2000, April). How Flintlock Guns Work. HowStuffWorks; HowStuffWorks. https://science.howstuffworks.com/flintlock2.htm#:~:text=When%20you%20fire%20the%20gun,the%20gunpowder%20inside%20the%20barrel

Samson Historical. (2023). Original Gun Flints. Samson Historical. https://www.samsonhistorical.com/en-ca/products/orginal-gun-flints