What musket did the Americans use in the revolution?

[pc_gamer321]

Hey guys, I'm just wondering you guys know what was the most common rifle and musket used in the continental army.

[Farnan]

Rifle would be the American Long Rifle.

Muskets were a mix of Brown Besses, Charleville muskets (from the French), and a good amount of older muskets that were used by the militias for decades.

[pc_gamer321]

Rifle would be the American Long Rifle.

Muskets were a mix of Brown Besses, Charleville muskets (from the French), and a good amount of older muskets that were used by the militias for decades.

Thanks for the response!

So, I assume they got the Besses from weapon cache raids against the British and for the fact that everyone was required to be in the milita?

[Farnan]

Remember, the militia of the colonies was once its main defense force so a good deal were probably given to them by the British before the war, especially during the French and Indian War. Some probably were captured from the British though.

[antaeus]

Remember, the militia of the colonies was once its main defense force so a good deal were probably given to them by the British before the war, especially during the French and Indian War. Some probably were captured from the British though.

exactly..

http://www.11thpa.org/weapons.html ... interesting site...

"THE BROWN BESS'S ROLE IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION: As with any country suddenly involved in a war, the American Colonies in 1775 had to acquire a great number of arms quickly. Their immediate supply was already in the militia system of each state that required men from 16 to 60 years of age to own a longarm plus a bladed secondary arm such as a sword, bayonet or belt axe. Those and other flintlocks they pressed into service included a broad mixture of various locally made hunting and military designs using assorted old and new parts, commercial arms contracted from private makers, inventories of provincial arsenals, confiscated Loyalist arms, state purchases of spare guns from civilians, surplus supplies from European dealers and muskets issued here by the British during prior wars. These latter arms were largely obsolete and repaired arms, and in many cases were vintage Dutch, Liege and other European cast-offs. Thus, the few Brown Besses initially in American hands were usually worn versions of the early Long Land 1730 and 1742 designs, which were later supplemented by at least 17,000 more recent patterns captured during the conflict (Moller, Ref. 5).

The majority of locally manufactured rebel arms followed the English pinned barrel format prior to the heavy import of French and other European military aid beginning in 1777, which supplied most of the Continental Line for the remainder of the war. Yet the Brown Bess remained a major share of the arms carried by provincial forces through 1783 - both as complete muskets and as surviving components remounted on the large number of locally assembled American arms.

At the beginning of hostilities, the royal forces had at least 5,200 muskets in storage, mostly in New York and Quebec (Bailey, Ref. 1, 2). They were primarily wooden ramrod Long Land 1730s and 1742s. Most active British regiments here were equipped with the later 1756 version having the steel ramrod. Through the war's first two years, the Long Land remained the primary British arm in America, and earlier wooden ramrod patterns were normally given to Loyalist units or as replacements to Hessian Troops. Some Short Land muskets arrived early with a few of the new regiments from Britain, and they became the British army's principal arm after 1777. The English carbines and fusils, although not covered in this article, usually adopted the Brown Bess configuration in reduced dimensions.

During the American Revolution's eight years, England produced more than 218,000 Land Service longarms and contracted for another 100,000 of the Short Land Pattern 1777 from Liege and German sources after France entered the hostilities in 1778 (Bailey, Ref. 1, 2). Created as the beginning of a new system for standardization and quality control, these venerable Brown Bess muskets became the workhorse that was instrumental in determining the future of North America and much of the world. Today, they remain as icons reminding us as collectors and historians of the courage and sacrifices during those formative years of our heritage."

[Running Nose]

What a coincidence, I asked myself the same question.

[Farnan]

You can imagine how hard all this made logistics, with more than two types of muskets.

Even harder was the fact that the American Long Rifles were hand made by many different muskets, so they all had slightly different calibers. Luckily most riflemen could make their own ammo, but if not it would have been impossible to supply them with shot.

[pc_gamer321]

Alright, here is more of a "debate question".

What would you take in battle, the Brown Bess, or the Charville Model 1777.


So, anyways, I'm trying to get into reenactments, and so far I've participated in, experienced a few, and now it is time for me to get some equipment. (having a tough time with that). So I just want the best musket the Americans used

[Farnan]

Alright, here is more of a "debate question".

What would you take in battle, the Brown Bess, or the Charville Model 1777.


So, anyways, I'm trying to get into reenactments, and so far I've participated in, experienced a few, and now it is time for me to get some equipment. (having a tough time with that). So I just want the best musket the Americans used

Charleville as they were supplied by the French and were probably in better condition rather than the old ones or stolen ones of the Brown Besses. However, it depends on what you want to portray. If its a Continental go for the Charleville. If its militia go for the Brown Bess.