Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Quick-and-dirty digital model of the swivel gun recovered from the wreck of La Belle (1684), excavated in Matagorda Bay, Texas, 1995-97. Based on a drawing by Donny L. Hamilton, found in "Modeling La Belle: A Reconstruction of a Seventeenth Century Light Frigate," Master's Thesis by Glenn P. Grieco, Texas A&M University, 2003.

 

post-15786-0-24640500-1423289179_thumb.jpg

 

post-15786-0-41244800-1423289197_thumb.jpg

 

post-15786-0-34630700-1423289211_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, they were certainly obsolete by La Salle's day. Similar (breech block, but not banded) guns were found in the 1554 Wrecks on Padre Island, but those are the only others I know of found in Texas. This (La Belle's) gun was found attached to its mounting post. It has a relatively large bore (3.42 inches, 9.3 cm, close to that of a four-pounder carriage gun. Although obsolete, it may have been seen as still useful against local Native Americans, who would have been relatively few in number and lacking firearms at all.

Edited by AndyHall
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...