Was the Puckle gun used during the American Revolution?

by JeanJauresJr
silveredbow

As cool as that would be, there's no record of the Puckle gun being used by either side. From the Long 18th Century Blog Series:

"Although John Montagu, 2nd Duke of Montagu (1690-1749) purchased several pro-type models of the gun in 1722, the British army and Royal Navy never placed a major production order. Consequently, no historical record of the Puckle Gun fired in combat exists."

James Puckle actually demonstrated the weapon to the English Board of Ordinance several times: in 1717, while the design was still being developed, several times between 1719 and 1721, and, famously, at a public trial in 1722. The gun impressed the audience by firing 63 shots in seven minutes in a heavy rain. However, it seems to have been treated as a hyper-specialized novelty by both its audience and its inventor. Puckle advertised its speed and rapid-fire ability, and added in the same breath that it could shoot square bullets at the Turks (while round bullets would be reserved for Christians) (Willbanks 2004).

Sources:

Michael Burgan, Weapons, Gear, and Uniforms of the American Revolution. Capstone Press, 2012. George D. Moller, American Military Shoulder Arms, Vol. 1: Colonial and Revolutionary War Arms. University of New Mexico Press, 2011.

George C. Neumann, Battle Weapons of the American Revolution. Andrew Mowbray Inc, 2011.

James H. Willbanks. Machine Guns: An Illustrated History of Their Impact. ABC-CLIO, Weapons & Warfare Series, 2004.