Choosing a RevWar militia gun

Choosing a musket for a Revolutionary War militia impression.

Advance three steps backwards, or the Militia Heroes. 1779 British Museum

One of the more costly (and thus difficult) choices to make when equipping for a Revolutionary war militia (or early war Continental soldier) impression is firearm choice.  Like many modern conflicts, the early battles of the Revolutionary war were frequently fought with the leftovers from the last war; the French and Indian or Seven Years war.  In choosing a plausible firelock for this impression, it is a good idea to nail down what actually existed and was common in the area being represented.  Sadly, great lists like this one from Hyde County NC are rare items (those types are further illustrated here), but it does a great job of showing the diversity in arms that some militia companies fielded. Luckily, three main front runners have been identified for "common" muskets from the prior conflict that were imported for provincial use and were very widespread in the colonies.  This list is in no way all inclusive, many other varieties can be documented in almost every colony (for instance, small amounts of captured Spanish muskets in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, as well as local restocks and etc), but these three main options offer "safe" choices via documented usage in large numbers in the colonies below (the majority of them are found through primary documents but some via excavated parts, feel free to inquire about any specifics that are omitted here). If the impression doesn't require a bayonet, English import fowling pieces with walnut stocks and 4 foot barrels should be considered as they were likely the most common gun in British America during this period.

Muskets of the King's pattern:

Long land pattern musket from Colonial Williamsburg's emuseum.

Pattern 1742 muskets with wooden rammers were the workhorses of the French and Indian War, half of all imported muskets from the Tower were of this type (well over 10,000 stands).  In addition, some earlier guns (Pattern 1730s in Georgia and Queen Anne era muskets in multiple colonies) can be documented in some places. The best reproduction option that is currently available is from the Rifle Shoppe or parts from Track of the Wolf, although some have had decent success reworking Pedersoli short land muskets towards the general look of a pattern 42- a conversion I believe was pioneered by the late Kit Ravenshear. However, the barrel will be 4 inches too short.  As an aside, before buying or building anything I recommend you do yourself a favor and compare any reproduction muskets with the illustrations in Goldstein and Mowbray's The Brown Bess; An Identification Guide and Illustrated Study of Britain's Most Famous Musket.

Dutch Muskets: 

Dutch Muskets were the second most commonly imported guns from Ordnance stores during the F&I era for use here.  The best reproduction option that is currently available is from the Rifle Shoppe (Dutch type II series 693 without barrel bands and wooden rammer).

Wilson commercial military style muskets:

Wilson commercial military style muskets saw wide spread use in various configurations, generally following the lines of King's Pattern guns with lighter and cheaper furniture. The best reproduction option that is currently available for these is from the Rifle Shoppe (Series 671), although some have had success reworking Pedersoli short land muskets (furniture swap, remarking), they will be about 4 inches too short in the barrel for most of the earlier applications (a surviving New York  Wilson musket has been shortened to 42 inches and there are surviving military style fusees and muskets that appear to have been that length from the start). 

 

 

Fowling Pieces:

 

In addition to older muskets, some militia fielded with fowling pieces. Likely the most common civilian arm of the era, there are contexts where this is an acceptable choice for a militia impression. The new fowling gun kits from Jim Kibler appear to be a great option for that route.