“I Picked Up a Good French Gun” The Muskets of the Battles of Lexington and Concord
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In 1774, a war between England and Massachusetts Bay Colony appeared inevitable. In preparation, Massachusetts militiamen relied upon muskets obtained from various sources: inheritance, the French and Indian War, the Siege of Louisbourg, and commercial markets. The result was a variety of weapons of different caliber, origins, and values. Thus, as Massachusetts soldiers marched off to war on April 19, 1775, it would not have been uncommon within the same militia company to see hunting guns, English muskets, Dutch muskets, Americanmade muskets (with parts from several sources), and French muskets. BRITISH-MADE GUNS Historically, pre-revolutionary Massachusetts Bay Colony encouraged its provincial soldiers to provide their own guns rather than rely upon the government to supply them. This effort was met with moderate success, and, as a
result, a wartime shortage often existed. Massachusetts was forced to petition Britain for military supplies. Unfortunately, the muskets and related equipment provided by the British government were not at the top of the line. Colonial governments traditionally received obsolete and older arms from Britain in times of crisis. For example, in the fall of 1755, thenGovernor Shirley described the 2,000 weapons he received from England as “Land muskets of the King’s pattern with double bridle locks, old pattern nosebands and wood rammers.” In 1756, an additional 10,000 similar muskets were shipped to the colonies, including Massachusetts. The descriptions of these muskets, particularly with the emphasis on “double
bridle locks,” suggest the muskets issued to Massachusetts provincial troops were the outdated 1730 King’s Pattern (often and erroneously referred to as the 1st Model Brown Bess). The 1730 King’s Pattern represented most muskets shipped from England to Massachusetts during the French and Indian War. The 1730 musket’s overall length was sixtyone inches, its barrel length was forty-five inches, and its caliber was .77. This firelock featured a double bridled lock, a wood ramrod, a brass noseband to slow wear on the stock’s fore end, and a redesigned oval trigger lock. Many of these English weapons remained in the hands of provincial troops following their service against the French and would have seen action again on April 19, 1775.
Original 1730 King’s Pattern musket manufactured by gunmaker Edward Cookes. International Military Antiques Quotation in the title is from Recollections of an Old Soldier: The Life of Captain David Perry, A Soldier of the French and Revolutionary Wars, self-published in 1822 by Captain Perry.
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BY ALEX CAIN
