Long land pattern brown bess series#

By 1777, the regiment was part of the British effort to cut off New England from the rest of the colonies.ДЄ complicated series of campaigns culminated with the Battles of Saratoga (September 19 and October 7, 1777) in which the British were defeated. Originally formed in 1689, it was initially sent to Quebec in 1776 following the outbreak of war in America. Our carbine belonged to the 24 th Regiment of Foot, one of the British units that fought in the Battles of Saratoga. Of 500 men, only about a half-dozen carbines were issued. Production as we know it was still not in use). Simply means the weapon was replicated from an original design, although mass InДЎ770, a new Pattern Carbine was developed for non-commissioned officers inД«ritish grenadier and light infantry companies (again, the term вЂњpatternвЂќ Need for a smaller, lighter weapon (which was not fitted with a bayonet).

Since NCOs were charged with maintaining order in the firing lines, they were often in positions of close combat. During the French and Indian War, sergeants would frequently cast aside their halberd and take up the more practical musket. They were essentially a symbol of rank, but as evident by the sharpened tip on the example displayed in the Varnum ArmoryвЂ™s CommanderвЂ™s Office, they could also be used to prod a recalcitrant soldier into action or as a weapon in its own right. Prior to the introduction of these weapons, up through the 17 th century, a non-commissioned officer (NCO) in a European army would usually carry a weapon called a halberd or pike, a two-handed pole-arm. Halberd from the American Revolution (Varnum Armory Collection) Many variations were produced, including lighter-weight models called carbines, many of which were carried by non-commissioned officers. Muskets were relatively easy to load and could be fired up to four times a minute by a skilled foot soldier. At a range of up to 50 yards, they could hit a man-sized target (weapons with rifled barrels had a much longer range and greater accuracy). Smooth-bore flintlock muskets in this period were not particularly accurate over distance. However, the story of the Gould fowler is for another time. It is a perfect example of a gun made from various parts of different weapons. In fact, hanging on the wall just above the English Carbine is a pre-Revolutionary war era fowler (a musket used primarily for hunting) owned by Thomas Gould of Quidnessett. Many guns were made from parts of other weapons or from castings based on (or вЂњpatterned afterвЂќ) earlier weapons. Fortunately, there were upwards of 3,000 gunsmiths scattered about the colonies and a number were here in Rhode Island. In the colonies, if you needed a musket, you were pretty much on your own.

From 1722 to 1838, the British Army used the Land Pattern worldwide and some were used by colonists as well. In a rack atop the 19 th-century glass-front bookcase in the Varnum CommanderвЂ™s Office is a rare English Carbine, a scaled-down version of the British Land Pattern Musket, commonly known as the вЂњBrown BessвЂќ. When coupled with the history of an American Revolutionary War weapon, it gets even more interesting. ThereвЂ™s nothing like a good detective story.

Long land pattern brown bess