A Revolution in Arms: Weapons in the War for Independence

Thought this was interesting.

Especially the British Pattern 1769 Short Land musket.
I was always led to believe that not many Short Land BB were used during the AWI.

https://www.americanrevolutioninsti...Ez3hxyPV-R4XX_2SnCAAdKEBkWUJUDQrkAF3wmrNgGefA

Hi,
There seems to be a lot of folks even in the living history community that are misinformed about weapons used during the AWI. The short land pattern 1769 was issued to some troops heading for America as early as 1775. Most of those early issues were from the Irish establishment initially.

dave

Hi Willowbilly,

From the article:

“British Pattern 1769 Short Land Musket.

Colonial storehouses contained large numbers of these guns, which patriots seized in the early months of the conflict. Colonial storehouses contained large numbers of these guns, which patriots seized in the early months of the conflict.”

I would very much like to see the documentation supporting this generalization from the article, that I emboldened and italicized above. In fact, period documentation must lead to the conclusion that just the opposite was true. Some Colonies had purchased Commercial Contract Muskets that resembled the Ordnance Pattern SLP’s, but were not the same thing as British Ordnance Approved Arms. True Pattern 1769 SLP’s were just too new as of then and not even widely distributed to Regular British Regiments in the British Army, let alone many (or any) of them stored in Colonial Armories.

As Dave Person mentioned, it was common practice for British Units sent here in the Early Period of the War to have been “re-armed/upgraded/modernized” with the then new P 1769 SLP’s and most often from Dublin Castle, before they left the British Isles. SLP’s were also sent as replacements and upgrades for British Regiments already here.

Gus

I think it depends on what you call a shortland musket.

There were many Brown Bess muskets with 42 inch barrels at the start of the Revolution. These were marine muskets, militia muskets, navy pattern muskets, and many Irish made muskets denoted as long land were made with 42 inch barrels. Many subcontractors were also making Brown Bess muskets with 42 inch barrels.

I dont think many of the 1769 pattern muskets were widely available until after the early years of the War as it was common practice by the Ordenance to use up old stores of muskets which would have been a large number of 1756 pattern muskets.

After 1777 when France entered the war more short land pattern muskets were being sent south for the Southern theater of the War, this would have been the 1769 pattern and the 1771 Leige Brown Bess. Not many of the 1779 patterns would have likely made it to the North American War.