Answer:
A flintlock firearm uses a springloaded hammer with a flint attached to strike against a hinged steel plate in order to shower sparks into a shallow pan filled with a small amount of black powder in order to ignite (shoot) a weapon. They were originally invented in Germany in the middle 1600's and were the standard military weapon (musket) from that time until about 1830 when they were replaced by the percussion Cap system. The flintlock musket is the weapon prominent in the American Revolution and the Napoloenic Wars. Usually loaded through the muzzle with tha aid of a ramrod, a slow and cumbersome process.