The Baker rifle was the rifle used by the Rifle regiments of the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars.
Armed with a Baker rifle, Rifleman Thomas Plunkett of the 1st Battalion, 95th Rifles shot General Colbert at a range of between 200 and 600 metres during the Peninsula War. He then shot a second Frenchman who rode to the general's aid, so proving that it was not a lucky shot.
The Baker rifle could not be reloaded as fast as a musket, averaging two, maybe three reloads a minute in the hands of a skilled rifleman. But in terms of range it far outclassed the musket.
The riflemen in their green jackets were an elite fighting force. Well-trained from the best the army had to offer, the riflemen were the turning point, taking heavy toll on the enemy's officers and murderous devastation in soldier's ranks in many skirmishes and smaller battles.
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