Historical Oddities- Quaker Guns

Quaker Gun in Port Hudson, 1863

Now I am all for spending the money that is necessary to have a strong military and give them all the weapons, tools, and equipment that they need.
But soldiers very rarely (and by that I mean never) have everything that they need.
So some imagination is needed.


This is a painted log called a "Quaker Gun" at a Fort in Centerville, VA in 1862. Sure it does not fire, but sometimes giving the impression that you are stronger than you really are can deter attackers. Or it might distract them while you bring your real strength up on his flank.
The Quaker Guns get their name from the Religious Society of Friends or Quakers, pacifist religious sect that abhors violence.

The first reported use of a Quaker gun was in the American Revolution by Colonel William Washington ( George's second cousin, once removed) in Camden, SC. The concept made its way to WWII, and the Doolittle raid B25 Bombers were given broomsticks painted black instead of machine guns to save weight and complete the mission.

Deception, misdirection and misinformation can be as effective on the enemy as bullets.

Quaker Gun in France made out of paper

*However, sometimes pretending to have weapons that you don't just gets your ass kicked.
(Saddam Hussein, for example)