Oh yeah, in the 18th century it was already turning into a honorary title more than a job, but it was still used. Grenades have historically been a “siege weapon” until the 20th century used when storming forts (and one could argue storming trenches is a form of siege warfare too). So yeah, pretty niche, this is exactly that kind of niche.
There’s even the famous song about throwing grenades from the glacis (meaning the exterior slope of a (star)fort) at the enemy, and it’s from the early 1700’s.
Oh yeah, in the 18th century it was already turning into a honorary title more than a job, but it was still used. Grenades have historically been a “siege weapon” until the 20th century used when storming forts (and one could argue storming trenches is a form of siege warfare too). So yeah, pretty niche, this is exactly that kind of niche.
There’s even the famous song about throwing grenades from the glacis (meaning the exterior slope of a (star)fort) at the enemy, and it’s from the early 1700’s.
Some talk of Alexander, and some of Hercules…