The 18th century was the era of slow muzzle-loading rifles… until Patrick Ferguson came along with his revolutionary (pun intended) breech-loading mechanism. Even though it never really caught on, it paved the way for future developments. In this episode, we take a look at his amazing rifle.

Show notes and links:

* The History Files episode 83: Andrew Jackson (csicon.fm)

* Forgotten Weapons: Ferguson Breechloading Flintlock (youtube.com)

* Ferguson rifle

* Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben

* Durs Egg