1957.121

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Details

ID Number

1957.121

Category

T&E For Science & Technology

Sub-category

armament T&E - firearm

Item Name

musket

Maker

Tower

Date

c. 1760s

Materials

METAL, STEEL METAL, BRASS WOOD, UNKNOWN

Measurements

barrel:; overall: 4.9 cm x 12.8 cm

Description

steel, brass, wood; missing ramrod; barrel has been shortened; stock chipped around lock plate; split bolt by flash pan; front sight replaced

History

The most commonly used small arms during the War of 1812 was the musket. The Tower musket or the "Brown Bess" was the standard British infantry weapon. These muskets were deliberately loaded with under-sized musket balls. The ball would bounce as it was propelled down the short range. However, due to the looser fire of the ball, "a British soldier could load and fire five or six times a minute, while the best an enemy could do with a conventional musket loaded with a tightly-fitting ball was three or four shots a minute "(Douglas:1963). With each side hidden from the other by black smoke from the gunpowder shortly after the beginning of the battle, the additional shots resulted in an advantage in firepower for the British. An exception to this was the battle of New Orleans in which the Americans used the Kentucky rifle which was also loaded with an undersized ball, but which had greater range and accuracy. This musket has been sawed off, cut down to 31", the Tower musket was usually 46 " in length. This was the type of musket used in Pontiac's attempted siege of Detroit in 1763. Cutting down the gun caused a run on files just before the siege - used to cut the barrels. New front sight on this one. Came from Wyandot reservation, which supports view that this one might actually have been used in Pontiac's rebellion, 1763.

Collection Name

Museum Windsor

Subject (Fre)

Y

Subjects

Detroit (Mich.) place

Natives subject

Pontiac person

War / Guerre subject