Ezekiel Baker
Ezekiel Baker was a master gunsmith from Whitechapel, London, who became known for his design of the Baker rifle in 1800.
The British Army had been experimenting with rifles since the American Revolutionary War but had found all available rifle designs either too fragile, cumbersome or slow firing to be able to use in a generalized war. On the 4th February 1800, a number of leading gun makers were invited to Woolwich to trial their rifle designs by the Board of Ordnance, who were responsible for the procurement of weaponry for the army. Bakers design was chosen and he was given an initial order for 800 rifles. In the same year, an "Experimental Corps of Riflemen", was raised by Colonel Coote Manningham and Lieutenant-Colonel the Hon. William Stewart. The corps was manned by volunteer officers and soldiers from a variety of British regiments and militias, and would soon be renamed and normalized into the army under the name the 95th Rifles Regiment of Foot.
By 1810, four British battalions, two each of the 95th and 60th Regiments, and several companies of the King's German Legion were equipped with the Baker rifle.
The rifle was renowned for it's accuracy and range and was used throughout the Napoleonic Wars and continued in service until the 1830s.
Baker would also later write a book on his experiences making and using rifles.
[edit] References
- Baker, Ezekial (1804, Re-published 2010). Twenty-three years practice and observations with rifle guns. Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 1166270602.
- Henderson, Robert. Loading and Firing the British Army Baker Rifle, 1799 - 1815.
