Musket Demonstration at Fort Niagara
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- čas přidán 26. 09. 2011
- Excellent portrayal of history, this video focuses on the basics of battle of the late 18th and early 19th century. Fort Niagara, New York, Unitied States of America.
We stumbled on the Fort as a quick stop to see lake Ontario before begining a one night getaway at Niagara Fall on the Canadian side. Turned out being the best part of the trip, we spent 3 hours touring the facility, learning the history, and climbing through every bit of the original structures. Highly suggest anyone heading to Niagara stop at this historic site.
This guy is a great presenter.
he is now at Fort George in Niagara-On-The-Lake and is even better in person
True
Yup
Yeah
I was gonna say the same thing. He was definitely the kid you probably wanted to be paired with in history class
"Somebody is going to hit something". Musket warfare in a nutshell.
"We will hit something... Eventually." - 101st BRoF Motto.
Its hard to believe they can do all this shit but Connor in assassins creed 3 kills them easily
X Infinity Yeah, in most games (such as assassins creed), either the main character is overpowered as heck or musketmen are weak as heck. Mount and Blade: Warband: Napoleonic Wars is the only game I've seen to do it where it's close to reality, but even then the speed at which muskets are loaded is above standard.
I imagine that depicting the intricacies of loading a musket accurately in a game would be very unpopular, save for the small percentage of people who are in the know.
It's similar to criticisms I make of movie sword duels. Yes, what's often shown on screen is horribly inaccurate, but it is more entertaining to most people. Flashy clashing of swords for two minutes is more showy than two people standing about shifting their swords minutely, and then one person suddenly putting his sword in the other person's face.
crueldarknight123 pretty much
Anyone else want this guy as a history teacher?
+Im Peekachew YES YES YES!!!!!! :D
+Im Peekachew who dosen't
If my history class took a field trip and learned to shoot muskets, I would take that class twice
Omg yes please
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"If the musket woke up in a weird mood" Come on, people, that was funny.
Yeah, how the hell did that get so few laughs?
No it wasn’t actually
@@angelochoa6572 I feel sorry for you.
@@angelochoa6572 Imagine NEEDING to say this
@@k.s.333 How many wedgies did you get in high school?
That was a good history lesson at the beginning and finally explained why they chose to fight in lines.
1 thing he missed...the reason ALSO is because back then, THAT was MANLY...to fight like that, to hide, use cover, or fight NOT on a open field while fighting was deemed COWARDLY, weak, and UN-CHIVALROUS.
madeline koster I think I get what you are trying to tell me but to be blunt, what was your point to this info? Are you criticizing me?
I am sorry I came out harsh but it is because you represent a very common highly debunked myth that annoys me as it is frequently used against me.
madeline koster I see...sorry about that and I accept your apology. :)
Jesse C There was no reason to do it unless you was about to do a ambush, if it was a front line battle you would have your muskets guys and arty cannon set in line and the swords guys at the front... There was no reason to hide behind buches in a front line combat cause there only muskets and melee weapons.
I thought I would just skip ahead to when he actually shoots, but the guy was so good he made me watch the whole video
Bang on.
Me too :-)
Great presentation. Give this man a raise!
I know, right! Great guy, really charismatic and made something usually boring to the average person fun and informative! Need more people like him!
@@nobutternotes I AGREE
And you a thumbs up!
These guys don’t get paid
@@Bountyhopper they should
I have had the privilege of watching to this guy in person, you can tell that he loves his job. He is really fun to listen to. Such a rare trait nowadays.
It’s not a job, he’s a re-enactor, we don’t get paid for doing this, but it’s still fun
@@Bountyhopper He is paid, he works for Parks Canada at Fort George NHS, they were visiting Fort Niagara for the day.
@@PatrolingEden I was assuming he was a reenactor hobbyists
Been there too in 2009, brilliant guy!
this guy speaks really well
Yeah I thought he was funny
He's enthusiastic and good for the kids. Unfortunately his understanding of 19th century war fighting tactics is woefully inadequate.
800lb Gorilla He was more of a entertaniment guy and a historian, he did make me happy tought
His understanding of the tactics is just fine. He does a fine job of explaining things, his only inaccuracy that I can think of is a fairly common one; that muskets were unreliable and inaccurate.
YeaH This gUy Spells rEally goOd
i like this guy! hes got crazy Charisma! he'd make a good politician but instead he chose to use his gifts for good
69 likes... nice
I think his is Charisma level 30
call me an idealist or something. But last time i checked beeing a politician means to use your gifts for the (common) good.
Being a politician is soul destroying and generally pretty boring though.
@@Norwagen I made it 659
He kept it simple and entertaining, and thus he might have driven some of the spectators to get interested into history a little more. My compliments to him.
Btw, I can´t figure out if the shortest of the 4 is a guy or a girl...
Richardsen I thought it might have been a teenage boy. Maybe a girl.
Richardsen The hips suggest girl
***** Nice eye, General. I think you may be right.
+Richardsen It is a girl, you can see her face at the end
TheBloblom nani
That guy is hilarious :P
And very informative.
And terribly inaccurate regarding 19th century battlefield tactics.
800lb Gorilla What's so inaccurate?
He's being very generic, so he's not even going into battlefield tactics really.
And perhaps he's saying one or two things, like "the reason they fought in lines was because of inaccuracy" and leave out some other things that mattered.
Klomster no for one the main reason to wear the uniforms of that color was so the generals could see you
James Kurk And you could argue that the general/commander in charge of the battle is a soldier.
So "for other soldiers to see you."
Still makes sense.
And he's talking to tourists, so going into details on everything would instantly get boring for them.
Better keep it fun, and sorta correct so the tourists get the general feel of it.
If they get interested, they'll research it later.
Klomster You are the smarter person in this conversation.
Did I just discover the historic beginnings of the Bloods Vs Crips debacle? :P
lol
I'd prefer 1700s bloods vs crips
@@shadowyyCFH with blunderbusses and drive-bys on horseback
@@abunchofiguanaswithinterne2186 with sideways cannon shooting
RED TEEAM
BLUE TEEAM
haha, it could be boring for the average person, but this guy makes it funny and easy to understand. Well, not that a history buff like me would need that, but its certainly refreshing.
Totally agree
Simmerson: What makes a good soldier, Mr. Sharpe?
Sharpe: The ability to fire three rounds a minute in any weather, sir
Now that’s good soldiering
"Three a minute?! The South Essex can manage two on a good day!"
@@jesusisherelookbusy The South Essex. Now there's a sight to make you shiver.
@@billwithers7457 “his words”
Fun fact: By the time of the American civil war, the muskets were actually pretty damn accurate. It was so accurate, that more people would die in one battle during the civil war than in the entire war of 1812 or revolutionary war.
+John Marston
They were more accurate, but the reasons for more deaths were a little different.
In the war, both sides didn't charge, and close with the enemy. Result? Both sides shot each other until one side cut and ran. Huge numbers of casualties.
In most other battles of the time? Volleys, then the winning side closed with the enemy... with bayonets. Generally speaking, people don't sit (or stand, reloading, as the case was) to get bayoneted. So, they run, ending the battle, with a ton of lives not lost. Happened a lot.
+Mark Lush RIFLED BARRELS, AND A REAR SIGHT
+John Marston that is because they were rifles by that point
+John Marston That's because in the civil war they didn't use muskets, they used rifles. Ever heard of the Minie Ball?
***** Amputations and open wounds are not all due to being shot, but the large majority of them in this case are directly related to being shot and therefore is counted toward the "death by bullet wound" category.
This is entertaining and educational! We need more people like him! :D
Question, are the flag holders trained in muskets as well, I know it sounds stupid but someone told me they werenQ
thanks
Love how respectful he is to both sides of the conflict he is representing. Hard to tell if in real life he is American or Canadian.
I like that guy; The guy speaking.
Clear description. I learnt a lot from this. This man could be a teacher and his pupils would remember him forever. Thank you.
Managed to catch this guy doing a demo a couple years ago, really good presenter knows his stuff and is able to simplify everything in a fun way that everybody can understand
This guy is hilarious, and educating at the same time. I want him to be my teacher at everything!
Damn didn't expect to see you here too
And I'd love to work there...being British I can bring my nice Welsh accent to be a bit more genuine.
Kudos to the guide though...knows his stuff and good with tourists/people.....that's all you need.
Damn I'd love to go on some sort of camp like that and throw on a red coat and learn to shoot 4 rounds a minute.. That looks so fun
Im american, but dang it, i would love to do it as well.
I'd love to use a musket like damn those weapons are amazing I wish people still use these in wars instead of the modern crap
@@gewoony2972 remember this comment yeah it’s gonna be a year now
@@gewoony2972 The modern crap kills a lot more people in a lot shorter time, that's why we use it. War isn't a game, it's a to-the-death struggle, and if you are to prevail, you want every advantage. In the Napoleonic Wars, Napoleon once bragged that he's unstoppable, as he loses 30,000 lives a month with little consequence to the overall condition of the Grand Armie. In World War One, on August 22nd, 1914, the French lost that same number in an afternoon. Because repeating rifles, machine guns, and heavy artillery are a lot more effective at mulching men than muskets were. Which is the whole point of war. Cut the enemy to pieces until he cries uncle.
The best and simplest demonstration of 19th century military tactics, many thanks to sergeant!
What a great guy! He is extremely charismatic and made something usually boring, to the average person, fun and informative! As a Revolutionary War re-enactor, it is really nice to see someone so upbeat when presenting the subject! Most of the guys I work with are practically asleep when doing something like this! We definitely need more people like him in the subject! Bravo!
Dude knows what he's talking about, presents it very well and keeps it simple. Couldn't ask for a better teacher then this.
I know I'm not the first to say it but this guy is a great presenter! He had me immersed in the demonstration the whole time! Give him a raise!
I already know about the weapons, uniforms and tactics of the 18th and 19th century but this guy is so good at what he does and adds some humor into it that watching the entire video was fun!
I’ve always enjoyed the sound of the musket crack very relaxing and deadly
the ghosts of the men who died during the British victory here in 1813: "Bloody amateurs, the technique! the discipline! my God!!!"
The short one on the right is pretty quick. When allowed to load as fast as he could he had a new shot loaded and the ramrod stowed back in his musket in under 15 seconds. He deserves commendation, not ridicule.
Hat's off to this guy!!!
9:54 you can hear the flint striking...schweet!!! 11:27 THERE is a perfect volley, 1 single discharge. :)
the second discharge is awesome indeed
In reality, what the Dutch invented was that one group of musketeers opened fire, another group was reloading. That reduced the time between shots from the same firing area.
very nice presentation
Those damn British had some good looking uniforms back in those days,
I like the British and Prussian uniforms.
Indeed, they were murdering assholes but dang if they didn't have style
@@johnmccrossan9376 No, we were never murdering assholes. You lot were murdering cowards for using guerrilla warfare
@@johnmccrossan9376 do you're research before talking. When everyone else realised a British soldier could see his best friend's die and and carry on like nothing happened they decided to be wimps and hide and every once and a while kill an officer marching through a forest.
@@JJaqn05 American guerrilla warfare in the revolution is highly overplayed, 90% of American combatants fought and died in the continental army in formation. In 1776-1777 it was common because we barely even had an army but rather a collection of militias.
But no I also DO NOT believe the British were murdering assholes.
@@johnmccrossan9376 It is because of people like you who paint Americans as idiots
a fascinating demonstration. He definitely knows his stuff, only a few minor/easy mistakes to make, and is good at presenting
As a historian myself, that is the reason they fight in long lines. Amazing guy!
“They shoot at the same time”
Storm trooper: WRITE THAT DOWN WRITE THAT DOWN
I didn’t expect to enjoy this as much as I did. What a brilliant showman/educator!
Thank you for a humorous and accurate display with none of that spitting the ball nonsense.
this guys very entertaining!
The camera angle makes it look like they're blasting the hell out of the gift shop or something ;-)
thought this aswell lol, I was thinking "shouldn't they get those people away from there?" lol
Love any video about Fort Niagara. I visited the fort at least once and I was “The Lighthouse Lady” one summer - a dream come true. Wonderful, funny, informative video by the enactor.
This guy is an amazing presenter and teacher. I love it
Born speaker. Well done!!!
I'm getting the impression, by the way he talks in detail about the musket, he wanted this job...that's one happy guy right there
i remember attending this as a child. great fun. learned a lot. still remember it idk how long later.
They were preparing for the presentation and the CO asked “Who’s gonna give the talk?” and everyone, without hesitation, looked straight at this guy.
love the guy, and he clearly loves what he does, what a legend
This guy should have his own series on History Channel or Netflix-
11:54 nobody talking about how smooth that looked?
This is good reenacting. Keeping it simple while keeping people engaged with charisma and knowledge.
loving this guy hes cracking me up
Love this dude. Hilarious yet educational. Just the way you want a good presentation.
Extremely entertaining and informative. I always wondered why the brightly-colored uniforms. Thank you for shooting and posting this.
Ever since I had my first history lesson I've been thankful for two things: that I've never had to experience war, and for the millions who fight or are fighting for peace in my stead. No matter how far back or how recent, war is terrifying and I hope to never see it.
This gentleman is very well informed on his subject, and very interesting. I didn't notice how little time was left until he was finished.
I live right near fort Niagara, they have very strict standards. It takes more than owning a uniform to become a presenter.
I work with this guy
Engaging, informative, entertaining, funny, concise and comprehensive.
Originally from Niagara Falls NY but live in the Florida panhandle (Pensacola first now Panama City) since retiring from the Navy in 1988. While growing up was frequently at Old Fort Niagara and Old Fort George across the river. Very happy to see this video brings back memories. Flags that you see in the background are at the Coast Guard Station which is right next to the Fort.
SO AWESOME! funny & informative :p thanks for sharing this!
I always re-watch this guy I love the comedy of this guy
Hello past Isaak I’m here again
@@mannamedisaak3316 Welcome back
@@Makofueled thank I’m back again
Welcome back, again.
@@kinggeorgeiii7515 back again
This guy is awesome, glad i stumbled on this video
I found this video in my recommended, and im glad.
The presenter was quite good and entertaining. Im actualy looking to get brown bess kit.
Great video! : )
***** ha ha!
Quiver..
***** Are you sure they are Americans? There were two forts with the name. I could've missed minor details.
Well they are near Canada geographically, at the least.
I have found a comprehensive book on British soldiers and religion a preview is here
books.google.com/books?id=ygPtKUZvn3gC&pg=PP6&dq=The+Redcoat+and+Religion:+The+Forgotten+History+of+the+British+Soldier+from+the+Age+of+Marlborough+to+the+Eve+of+the+First+World+War+(Christianity+and+Society+in+the+Modern+World)&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAGoVChMI56vP5fONxgIVt2eMCh18fwhi#v=onepage&q=The%20Redcoat%20and%20Religion%3A%20The%20Forgotten%20History%20of%20the%20British%20Soldier%20from%20the%20Age%20of%20Marlborough%20to%20the%20Eve%20of%20the%20First%20World%20War%20(Christianity%20and%20Society%20in%20the%20Modern%20World)&f=false
on Google Books.
In addition, during the Ogdensburg battle a British chaplain urged forward the men with a crucifix (most were Canadian militia... so Catholics) with the help of another. This was a major British victory. Just want to add this.
Question, are the flag holders trained in muskets as well, I know it sounds stupid but someone told me they werenQ
6:40 I shit my pants laughing. That is all.
Hahaha me too :)
@@jma3165 aww...did you have a bad day?
Are you being serious or...
This was truly funny. I loved it!
@@jma3165 Yes, I’ve had a very difficult life. You’re name’s a little short though, not very creative.
I’m so glad I took the time to watch this video 10 years later this holds up
humor-wise
I remember when I was a recruit in the Danish army. My company was on our 3rd day of a week field exercise, and we got into a long firefight with the Danish homeguard who acted as our enemy. After 20 minutes of intense fighting, I heard their platoon leader scream
" FIX BAYONETS " . Now I was a recruit and I didn't knew better so I screamed to my seargent they were going yo BAYONET charge us. Side note, we don't use bayonets anymore sadly. The only response from the seargent was. " sit your ass down and prepare to club them to death with your shovel " all that happened was the " the fight" was called to a halt and we spent 1 hour going through all that happened and what not to do. Apparently " fix bayonets " is a slogan for " we don't have more ammo and we need a break to rearm and etc ".
True story
Amazing! Never too late to witness what history was like! hah
The speaker was funny
I actually watched this whole video, what a a way too keep someone interested
Very informative, thanks for the upload!
only if he was my history teacher in school.
British riflemen wore dark green. Major Sharpe!
+Lord MacGuffin This could be the Light Infantry regiments.
They also were trying to hide, regular infantrymen weren't.
Oberkommandant MacGuffin not till much later than the American Revolution.
6:32 explains the problem with Sharpe's uniform.
Thanks for sharing this. I finally know why they line up in a row!
the presenter is an absolute chad and knows his stuff. Well done sir
if only education in my country is like this, I'd happily go to school all day
There's a vid showing a guy firing 3 shots of a British Brown Bess in 45 seconds on CZcams...really special.
Admit it, the way he explains everything is really good. Much better than normal teachers do.
Years back at the grand encampment at Ft. George the humidity and lack of wind kept the smoke right where it was generated. All we could see of the British across the field were a hint of cross belts and plumes above the bank of smoke. IT WAS GLORIOUS!
The british uniforms are beautiful. Not seen any good american ones yet.
Apparently you haven't seen the US Marines.
We British do have some pretty nice uniforms though.
Meh, I prefer the french uniforms
jack lind They are actually quite flashy as well to be quite honest.
No, I like the uniforms of the french from the 7 years war. Simple white with blue or red pants and collors
One can tell when somebody is really pasionate about his job!!
It’s a hobby not a job, we don’t get paid
I was just here in 2019. Good times! Heck of a lot of history in that fort.
I loved this place! I visited there around 10 years ago when we hit Niagara and then hung out in Toronto.
Originally, good red dye was difficult to find. The Spanish found a source while exploring the Americas. They used it for clerical dress--Cardinals, etc, and it was very expensive. When the British discovered this source they used it for the uniforms of the regular army because it presented the army in a opulent, professional light. "spankin' in red, they are, sir!" Of course, the source of the dye discovered and widely exploited eventually drove down the value. The green that some regiments wore was not specifically camouflage. The first units to wear actual camouflage (disrupted pattern) were army units of the SS during the later part of WWII.
I thought the first introduction of the red coats was by Cromwell's army because it was far cheaper and the Parliamentary army had less funds initially than the royalists. I didn't know about the SS though
MAAAAAKE READY
PREEEEEEEEEEESENT
FIRE!!!
this guy is incredible at explaining things! :D like seriously joking a bit here and there and explaining things so simple *every* child can understand him is a ability i wish my teachers would've had . _.
Brilliant talk, I use this in my history class. Shakos off to you
I didn't know Frank Caliendo did demonstrations like this.
+delryn256 directed by? Quentin Tarantino.
haha this guy is awesome
This guy has some great energy. Love it.
this man is a great story teller
12:19 that bayonnet is a TRI-EDGE?!?!
Holy FVCK!!! That's a Geneva Conventions breaker in today's world! Haha
I never knew that about them! Always thought they were a typical two-edge, like any knife or some swords!
Not an easy gun to use at all. There is another video here on youtube with a british soldier or reenactor firing three shots from the brown bess in 46 seconds. That's pretty close to the British army good soldier standard. But on the third shot the flint ignited but for some reason the shot delayed by half a second. I imagine that happened quite a bit in the war of 1812 and Napoleonic wars.
Brown Bess is one tough gun to use.
Thats normal for Muskets... If they don't misfire they would have a delay.
brunoraoni
I could imagine people used to get injured due to delayed musket fire. I mean if someone got in front of the musket during a delay the results might have been catastrophic.
Well, when you firing a musket you need to keep aiming until the gun fired, it was a bit difficult since the black powder was burning your face...
summer20105707 REALISTICALLY, according to Roberts rules of order. a soldier would get 2 maybe 3 WELL AIMED shots per minute. I have my Great Great Granddad's 1816 Springfield musket, and the BEST I could do was two. Also, they fought in teams of 3 on a battlefield; you had a loader; a passing man; and a shooter, (one man would load the musket, the passing man took it from him an gave it to the shooter, who would fire it. And while this was going on, the loader was loading a second musket and when he passed this second musket to the passing man, the shooter was handing the first musket back to the passing man; and the army could keep up a fairly withering amount of firing at he enemy. Confusing, but very effective!
Nils Skudaarkaat I don't know what army that is, but in the British it was 2 ranks - you didn't work in pairs, you worked as a block. And you loaded your own gun.
Excellent demonstration sarge. Someone give this man a field commission.
Great demo. Really interesting.
2:45 "makes the ball spin"
Oh I see... so thats what they were and are using... Spin
Jojo fans will be happy to learn this
I wonder why soldiers didn't get back to use bows and arrows. Nobody was using plate armour anymore and shooting arrows would have been faster, works in bad weather, no smoke, no need for bright uniforms and no line formations.
Took years of training (many learning since childhood) to be good with a longbow. The draw weight on some of those things can be over 150 pounds. Crossbows were easier to learn, but fire almost just as slow as a musket and is heavily affected by weather. A lot easier to train people with a crossbow. Even then, muskets would out range both crossbows and longbows.
Not to mention how frightening the sounds of muskets were in line formations.
The old long bow was beaten by the crossbow since the Hundred year war, just because of the training time for the longbow man to be effective. And then the musket beat the crossbow in term of power and penetration, and replaced pike, sword, shields, armor as an equipment for common soldier.
Yes, musketeer should be considered footman infantry, unlike longbow man or crossbow man who were the support force. Musketeer engages enemies directly, n form the back bone of the army. Even if they were to use longbow instead of musket, they d still have to fight in big formation n charge into the enemy sooner or later.
So leaving the power of the musket, the speed of the bow, the training time aside, musketeer and bowman each has a different role to begin with. If you use an army of bowman as the back bone, one successful cavalry charge and your battle is lost. If you use crossbow man as back bone, you just d better use the musket cuz it straight up beats the crossbow.
BTW, another point: longbow n crossbow have decent armor penetrating power at medium range, but they didn't make people give up armor; it was the musket's popularity that made people drop the armor for the gun.
If you stop relying on the musket, then people ll just use armor again.
Another point is that musket only out range longbow in term of penetrating range, not accurate range, so if it is used against an unarmored army, longbow is actually more useful. Early on, British army didnt use musketeer when other countries already developed musketeer use; they used mainly Longbow man instead (in that time, musketeer was just support soldier, supporting pike formation), and the longbow man wasn't totally out of date. But then the Queen wanted her army to be "fashionable", and converted to musketeer use.
plate armor can withstand muskets
X Infinity It can, but whether or not the person wearing it can withstand the musket hitting their plate/cuirass, they will most likely be combat ineffective anyway.
what a great presentation! I don't know how the hell I got to this part of CZcams, but that was really good!
this guy is the most entertaining guide ive seen