Queen Elizabeth's ''Pocket Pistols''

By Crusader1307

The "Pocket Pistol" were actually constructed before Queen Elizabeth I reign. Given as a gift to her (but presented to her father, King Henry VIII), in 1544, by The Count of Buren (Netherlands). The cannon was of the Basilick design, the barrel length has a 24 foot length. It's barrel diameter is 4.75 inches and could fire a projectile (10-pound ball), some 2,000 yards! The cannon barrel is engraved with The Tudor Crest with a Dutch saying, "Break, Tear every wall and rampart. I am Called, Across every mountain and valley, Pierces my ball, By me Stricken". During The English Civil War, The cannon was placed on the Cliffs of Dover by Parliamentarian forces (as a propaganda tool). Their legend stated that "The Pistol" could fire a 12-pound shell some 7 miles. In 1644, Royalist forces recaptured the cannon. It was used at The Siege of Sheffield. The "Pistol" is still on dusplay today at Dover Castle.