Title
English Militia Musket
Description
To help meet the need for military firearms during the French and Indian War, the English government approved this model in 1756 for issue to marine units and the domestic militia.
This musket is patterned after the early naval variation of the English Short Land Service Muskets. The English walnut stock supports the musket's iron barrel which is pinned to the stock following standard English practice. The stock butt is crudely carved with the letters “E*D” which may be the initials of the musket's owner at one time. The brass furniture includes a trigger-guard plate, flat side plate and a shorter tang on the stock's butt plate. Three brass thimbles retain the musket's wood rammer under the barrel. This militia model also omits the standard escutcheon wrist plate usually found on the top of the stock's wrist. The butt plate is engraved with the British “fraction”, “E/8.” These marks usually represent a company or regimental issued marking
Caliber: .78
Weight: 10.0 lbs
Length: 57 1/2"
Barrel: 42"
This musket is patterned after the early naval variation of the English Short Land Service Muskets. The English walnut stock supports the musket's iron barrel which is pinned to the stock following standard English practice. The stock butt is crudely carved with the letters “E*D” which may be the initials of the musket's owner at one time. The brass furniture includes a trigger-guard plate, flat side plate and a shorter tang on the stock's butt plate. Three brass thimbles retain the musket's wood rammer under the barrel. This militia model also omits the standard escutcheon wrist plate usually found on the top of the stock's wrist. The butt plate is engraved with the British “fraction”, “E/8.” These marks usually represent a company or regimental issued marking
Caliber: .78
Weight: 10.0 lbs
Length: 57 1/2"
Barrel: 42"
Source
Brown, M.L. Firearms in Colonial America: The Impact on History and Technology 1492-1792. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1980.
Date
c. 1756
Rights
George C. Neumann Collection, Valley Forge National Historical Park
Identifier
VAFO 108
Original Format
Photograph