Wes/Tex,
Thank you for posting this here.
My eyes popped out when I saw this in another thread you posted this link. Even with the crack in the stock behind the lock plate, this is an exceptional example of a Pattern 1742 Land Pattern Musket in almost untouched and unmodified condition.
At the time this musket was made, it was called a “Land Pattern” Musket until the coming of the “Short Land Pattern Muskets” in the 1760’s. Thereafter these and all full 46” barreled muskets were called “Long Land Pattern Muskets” to distinguish them from the newer Short Land Pattern Muskets. I make this distinction only for those who do FIW reenacting, because during that conflict it would only have been known as a “Land Pattern” Musket.
James Farmer of Birmingham was one of the more prodigious makers of locks and complete firearms for the British Board of Ordnance during his working years into the 1750’s. The lock plate of this musket bears his name as it was required until the 1760's, when it was dropped in favor of British Muskets being engraved with the name of the Arsenal for which the locks/guns were purchased or assembled, I.E. "Tower" for the arms issued from the Tower of London and "Dublin Castle" for the arms issued from Dublin Castle in Ireland. (It may be interesting to some that slightly over half of the British Regular Army was stationed in Ireland during the 1750’s, and the Irish Parliament had to fund their pay and supplies.) When James Farmer and Samuel Galton formed their partnership, they made even more Arms for the Government as well as for the slave trade. At the height of their production, they were assembling/making 12,000 Arms a year, which is a staggering amount prior to the Interchangeable Parts System of manufacture.
There is no doubt this was a British Ordnance piece as the lock plate bears the “King’s Cypher” of the Engraved Crown over the initials “GR” for George Rex/King George. Thanks to Kings George I, II and III; this King’s Cypher was perhaps the longest used of any and throughout most of the 18th century and after the War of 1812, until King George III passed.
The P 1742 Musket had all the improvements or modifications as first used in 1740; with the less fancy carving on the stock around the lock and tang, the “beefed up/more robust” trigger guard that would be used for at least the rest of the 18th century and most importantly the P 1740 Double Bridle Lock. The added Bridle on the Pan of the lock plate meant the Steel/Frizzen was no longer supported by just a single screw. From this point on, all Land Service Muskets were “Double Bridle” Locks and they even began to apply this modification to the cheap Sea Service Muskets later on.
What is great about this example of a P 1742 Musket is the front of the stock is still “as issued” and never modified with either a Nose Band (as many were modified even here in the Colonies in the FIW) or later a Nose Cap.
I would be at least somewhat surprised if the Wood Ramrod was original, but even if it is not, it is fitted with the correct Brass Ferrule. The manner in which they fitted that rather thin sheet Brass Ferrule to the Ramrods was very ingenious in a time period when epoxy glue was not even a science fiction idea. What they did was saw/file a groove into the end of the Ramrod and add a wedge that would just fit inside the Brass Ferrule. As they tapped the Ferrule on, the wedge spread out the end of the grooved ramrod to hold the Ferrule in place. Even though they would have had to have tapped the Ferrule to the rear in use as the wood inside the Ferrule wore, it seems these did not come off all that often. Brass Ferrules and Wood Rammers were in the lists of repair parts for use by British Artificers/Armorers during the FIW, but not so many Ferrules to expect they came off easily. Of course being a Wood Ramrod, the Worms for these Ramrods looked like a Coiled Spring.
Dr. Bailey in his works on 18th century British Military Arms has documented that Pattern 1742 Muskets like this were the “Work Horses” of the Regular British Regiments here during the FIW, as Wes/Tex noted. When may not be generally as well known is the British Ordnance Department actually ordered that all British Regiments sent here during the FIW and most of the replacement Arms sent here were to be “Wood Rammer” Muskets and not the “Steel Rammer Muskets” that were first produced in 1748 in a small run and in almost all the P 1756 Muskets. Any Regular Regiment that was to be sent here and had Steel Rammer Muskets, actually had to turn them in and receive P 1742 Wood Rammer Muskets in their place. This because British Ordnance considered the Threat on the Continent to be much greater and thus Steel Rammer Muskets were saved for British Regiments serving there. Though we may not like it today, the fighting here was seen as “in the backwater” compared to the threat of the French and her Allies on the Continent.
Some of these muskets were converted here in the Colonies by British Artificers/Armorers or other gunsmiths to use a Steel Rammer, later on in the FIW. The British Ordnance Department actually had 5 or 6 thousand Steel Rammer Muskets made up as the Pattern 1748 Land Service Musket, but all these went either to the Continent or retained on the Home Islands. It seems they also came up with a modification to convert Wood Ramrod Muskets to Steel Rammer muskets around that time. The modification included bushings soldered into the Ram Rod Pipes to reduce the diameter of the pipes to better fit the smaller diameter Steel Rammers and a Spoon shaped spring that was riveted inside the Rear Entry Pipe. Though this modification was well planned, the Springs in the Rear Entry Pipe either broke off or broke in two, far too often. The P 1756 Musket would correct these problems with smaller diameter Rammer Pipes and Rear Entry Pipes.
Gus