Quote Originally Posted by The Tyler View Post
fusilier's username reminded me of something I've wondered for a while.

What's the difference between a fusil and a musket? And was the dragon firearm just an early version of a carbine?
Hehe, that's a big "depends upon who you ask" kind of question. :-)

In English, one description I've heard given for "fusil" is, "a smoothbore rifle"! Despite this being a total non-sequitur, it's actually a good way to remember how the English think of a fusil. In the context of the 18th century, when these terms seem to have been established, a fusil, was much like a civilian rifle -- lighter and smaller caliber than a musket, it was usually more finely made than a military weapon. A fusil was usually a hunting weapon, but light infantry units were some times armed with it, and an officer might carry one.

The French applied the term fusil to weapons that the English would have called a musket. But if you look closely at a Charleville musket, and compare it to a Brown Bess, you might understand how that happened. The French Charleville is not quite so simple and basic of a weapon compared to the Brown Bess, but even more so when compared to earlier matchlock muskets.

These terms evolved in different ways in different nations. By the end of the 19th century, the Italian Carcano long rifle was called a "fucile", whereas the short carbine version of the weapon was, ironically, called a "moschetto" (i.e. musket)!

I'm not sure exactly what you mean by "Dragon" firearm (Dragoon?). They tended to be shorter weapons, with a variety of names applied to them, from Arquebus, to Petronel. Carabine, was a name established fairly early, although seems to have taken a while to become predominant. Strangely, some weapons that could be called carbines, were also called "musketoons" in the 19th century (and perhaps 18th?).