Amusette
Various cannon foundries · Rifle · Out Of Production · 1740
Also known as: Wall gun, Rampart gun, Boat gun, Marshal Saxe's amusette
Overview
The amusette was a large-caliber, swivel- or wall-mounted heavy musket-rifle, semi-portable and bridging the shoulder musket and field artillery. Credited to the French Marshal Maurice de Saxe around the 1740s, his version was a roughly five-foot brass gun firing a half-pound leaden ball that he described as light artillery. Deployed forward of the infantry alongside skirmishers, the amusette has been called an 18th-century light machine gun for the way it laid down heavy long-range fire from a single gunner.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 22680 g (800.0 oz) |
| Overall Length | 2134 mm (84.02") |
| Barrel Length | 1524 mm (60.00") |
| Action Type | Muzzleloader |
| Firing Mechanism | Hammer Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Stage |
| Magazine Capacity | 1 rounds |
| Effective Range | 457 m (500 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 914 m (1000 yd) |
| Barrel Rifling | Smoothbore |
| Frame Material | Wood |
| Barrel Material | Brass |
| Stock Material | Wood |
Calibers
- Half-pound lead ball (~25-30mm) · primary — also known as half-pound ball, wall gun ball
Features
- Firing modes: Manual
- Feed systems: Single Shot Muzzle Loaded
- Features: Flintlock Ignition, Swivel Mounted, Wall Or Rampart Mount, Skirmisher Support, Muzzle Loaded
Service history
Operators
- Royal French Army
- Continental Army
- Hessian Jager
Conflicts
- American Revolutionary War (1775-1783)
Production
Production years: c.1740-1820
Built in small numbers; American Revolutionary War examples were manufactured at Stafford, Virginia. Phased out of Western militaries in the early 19th century.
Origin
Country of origin: France
Designer: Maurice de Saxe
Discontinued: 1820
Notes
Sources disagree on key details: de Saxe's original amusette was breech-loaded brass, while many later field amusettes were muzzle-loaded; both smoothbore and rifled versions existed. Total length reached up to 7 feet (~213cm); the half-pound ball gives a bore near 25-30mm, far larger than a standard musket's .69-.75. Weight was around 50+ lb (~23kg), needing two or more men or a single horse to move. Distinct from the heavier, purely defensive fixed wall or rampart gun, of which the amusette is a lighter, field-deployable subset.
Background
General Charles Lee championed the amusette during the American Revolution, claiming his gunners could strike paper targets at up to 500 yards, and the weapon was prized for hilly, wooded American terrain where field artillery could not follow.