"The honor of firing before His Majesty": Patrick Ferguson's will and the Royal Armouries’ Ferguson rifle

Gilchrist, M.M. (2008) "The honor of firing before His Majesty": Patrick Ferguson's will and the Royal Armouries’ Ferguson rifle. Arms and Armour, 5(1), pp. 69-77. (doi: 10.1179/174161208X281577)

Abstract

Patrick Ferguson (1744-80) designed the first breech-loading rifle to be used by the British Army. In November 2000, the Royal Armouries purchased an early example, formerly in the possession of the Fergusons of Pitfour, descendants of Patrick's younger brother, George. Patrick Ferguson's will has helped the author identify the Royal Armouries' Ferguson Rifle as the one which Patrick Ferguson used when he demonstrated it before George III and Queen Charlotte at Windsor in 1776.

• Item Type: Articles
• Keywords: Patrick Ferguson, Ferguson rifle, Durs Egg, George III, Queen Charlotte, William Johnstone Pulteney, General Sir William Howe, Sir Henry Clinton, American War of Independence, Scottish Enlightenment
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Gilchrist, Dr Marianne
• Authors: Gilchrist, M.M.
• Subjects: C Auxiliary Sciences of History > C Auxiliary sciences of history (General); D History General and Old World > D History (General) > D204 Modern History; D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain; E History America > E151 United States (General); U Military Science > U Military Science (General)
• College/School: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Critical Studies > English Literature
• Journal Name: Arms and Armour
• Publisher: Maney Publishing on behalf of The Trustees of the Armouries
• ISSN: 1741-6124
• ISSN (Online): 1749-6268
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2008 The Trustees of the Armouries
• First Published: First published in Arms & Armour 5(1):69-77
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher

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