a stick about a meter long with a point on one end (to stick in the ground) and a forked head on the other end (to hold a lighted match); formerly used to fire cannons

A stick for holding a gunner's match

A linstock (also called a lintstock) (adapted from the Dutch lontstok, "match stick") is a kind of torch made of a stout stick or metal a yard in length, with a fork at one end to hold a lighted slow match, and a point at the other to stick in the ground. Linstocks were used for discharging cannons in the early days of artillery.