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Baker Rifle
The Baker Rifle (officially designated the "Infantry Rifle") was a flintlock rifle issued to the Rifle regiments of the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars. It was the first standard-issue rifle of the British Army.
The Baker was issued to the specialized Rifle brigades of the British Army, who were tasked to act as skirmishers and scouts rather than regular line infantry. The weapon was prized for its long-range accuracy but regarded as slow in reloading (since the lead balls rammed down the muzzle had to first be wrapped in leather patches to grip the grooves inside the barrel and make the rifling effective), so the smoothbore musket remained the standard-issue weapon for the majority of the Army. For the same reason, Napoleon Bonaparte refused to issue rifles to any units of the French Army.
British rifle units used the Baker in Europe during the Napoleonic Wars and in Canada during the War of 1812. Bakers were also, supposedly, carried by Mexican soldiers at the Battle of The Alamo, and the Nepalese government has recently released stores of Bakers that were previously supplied to its army.
Probably the most famous shot fired by a Baker was by Rifleman Thomas Plunkett during the retreat to La Coruna, which flew an unmeasured but incredibly long distance (estimated as much as 800 yards) to kill French General Auguste Colbert (a short while later, just to prove that it wasn't a fluke, Plunkett scored another hit on one of Colbert's aides).
The Baker has enjoyed a resurgence of historical and public interest thanks to its extensive use in the Sharpe miniseries, based on the books by Bernard Cornwell.
The Baker Rifle has been used in the following films and television series:
- Sean Bean as Richard Sharpe, Daragh O'Malley as Patrick Harper, and several other Riflemen in Sharpe's Rifles, et al.