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Short Land Service musket

Brown Bess is a nickname of unknown origin for the British Army's Land Pattern Musket and its derivatives. This musket was used in the era of the expansion of the British Empire and acquired symbolic importance at least as significant as its physical importance. It was in use for over a hundred years with many incremental changes in its design. These versions include the Long Land Pattern, Short Land Pattern, India Pattern, New Land Pattern Musket, Sea Service Musket and others. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ... Muskets and bayonets aboard the frigate Grand Turk. ... The British Empire in 1897, marked in pink, the traditional colour for Imperial British dominions on maps. ...

The Long Land Pattern musket and its derivatives, all 0.75 calibre flintlock muskets, were the standard long guns of the British Empire's land forces from 1722 until 1838 when they were superseded by a percussion cap smoothbore musket. The British Ordnance System did convert many Flintlocks into the new Percussion system and were known as the Pattern 1839 Musket. A fire in 1841 at the Tower of London destroyed many muskets before they could be converted. Still, the Brown Bess saw service until the middle of the nineteenth century. Some were still in service during the Indian rebellion of 1857, and some were sold to Mexico where troops used them during the Texas Revolution of 1836 and the Mexican-American War of 1846 to 1848. The word calibre (British English) or caliber (American English) designates the interior diameter of a tube or the exterior diameter of a wire or rod. ... Flintlock of an 18th Century hunting rifle, with piece of flint missing. ... A long gun is a firearm with an extended barrel, usually designed to be fired braced against the shoulder. ... The percussion cap or primer was the crucial invention that enabled firearms to fire in any weather. ... Her Majestys Royal Palace and Fortress The Tower of London, more commonly known as the Tower of London (and historically simply as The Tower), is a historic monument in central London, England on the north bank of the River Thames. ... An engraving titled Sepoy Indian troops dividing the spoils after their mutiny against British rule gives a contemporary view of events from a British perspective. ... Combatants United States Mexico Commanders Zachary Taylor Winfield Scott Stephen W. Kearney Antonio López de Santa Anna Mariano Arista Pedro de Ampudia José Mariá Flores Strength 78,790 soldiers 18,000–40,000 soldiers Casualties KIA: 1733 Total dead: 13,271 Wounded: 4,152 25,000 killed or wounded...

As most male citizens of the American Colonies were required by law to own a musket for militia duty, the Long Land Pattern was a common firearm in use by both sides at the commencement of the American Revolution. John Trumbulls Declaration of Independence, showing the five-man committee in charge of drafting the Declaration in 1776 as it presents its work to the Second Continental Congress The American Revolution refers to the period during the last half of the 18th century in which the Thirteen Colonies that...

Origins of the name

One theory states that the "Brown Bess" was named after Elizabeth I of England, however this is only a theory and lacks backing. It is not believed that this name was used contemporaneously with the early Long Pattern Land musket but that the name arose in late years of the eighteenth century when the Short Pattern and India Pattern were in wide use. Elizabeth I (7 September 1533 – 24 March 1603 ) was Queen of England and Queen of Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. ...

Early uses of the term include the newspaper, the Connecticut Courant in April 1771, which said "...but if you are afraid of the sea, take Brown Bess on your shoulder and march." This familiar use must indicate widespread use of the term by that time. The 1785 Dictionary of Vulgar Tongue, a contemporary work which defined vernacular and slang terms, contained this entry: "Brown Bess: A soldier's firelock. To hug Brown Bess; to carry a fire-lock, or serve as a private soldier."

Military and government records of the time do not use this poetical name but refer to firelocks, flintlock, muskets or by the weapon's model designations.

Popular explanations of the use of the word "Brown" include that it was a reference to either the color of the walnut stocks or to the characteristic brown color that was produced by russeting, an early form of metal treatment. Others argue that mass-produced weapons of the time were coated in brown varnish on metal parts as a rust preventative and on wood as a sealer (or in the case of unscrupulous contractors, to disguise inferior or non-regulation types of wood). However, the Oxford English Dictionary notes that "browning" was only introduced in the early 19th century, well after the term had come into general use. Russet can mean: Look up russet in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Similarly, the word "Bess" is commonly held to either derive from the word arquebus or blunderbuss (predecessors of the musket) or to be a reference to Elizabeth I of England, considered is likely after to commemorate her death. More plausible is that the term Brown Bess could have been derived from the German words "brawn buss" or "braun buss", meaning "strong gun" or "brown gun"; King George I who commissioned its use was from Germany. The Oxford English Dictionary refers to "brown musket" dating back to the early 18th century to refer to the same weapon. Japanese arquebus of the Edo era (teppo) The arquebus (sometimes spelled harquebus, harkbus[1] or hackbut; possibly related to German Hakenbuechse or Dutch Haakbus) was a primitive firearm used in the 15th to 17th centuries. ... An English flintlock blunderbuss A blunderbuss is a muzzle-loading firearm with a flared, trumpet-like barrel and is the predecessor to the shotgun. ... Elizabeth I redirects here. ... George I King of Great Britain and Ireland George I (George Ludwig von Guelph-dEste) (28 May 1660–11 June 1727) was Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Hanover) from 23 January 1698, and King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 1 August 1714, until his death. ...

It is a gun. Used when the english settlers landed in Australia.

The Land Pattern Muskets

From the seventeenth to the early years of the eighteenth century, most nations did not specify standards for the firearms of their militaries. Firearms were individually procured by officers or regiments as late as the 1740s, and were often custom made to the tastes of the purchaser. As the firearm gained ascendancy on the battlefield, this lack of standardization led to increasing difficulties in the supply of ammunition and repair materials. To address these difficulties, the standardization of "patterns" began. Stored by the military in a "pattern room", a pattern rifle served as a reference by which arms maker could make comparisons and take measurements to insure that they could produce firearms that would achieve some level of standardization.

Stress-bearing parts of the Brown Bess, such as the barrel, lockwork, and sling-swivels, were customarily made of iron; while other furniture pieces such as the butt plate, trigger guard and ramrod pipe were found in both iron and brass. It weighed around 10 pounds (5 kg). It could be fitted with a 17-inch (430 mm) triangular cross-section bayonet. There were no sights on the weapon although the bayonet lug on the barrel may have been used in that manner, similar to the bead on a shotgun. A pump-action, a Remington 870, two semi-automatic action Remington 1100 shotguns, 20 boxes of shotgun shells, a clay trap, and three boxes of clay pigeons. ...

The earliest models had iron fittings but these were replaced by brass in later models after 1736. Wooden ramrods were used with the first guns but were replaced by iron ones although guns with wooden ramrods were still issued to troops on American service until 1765 and later to loyalist units in the Revolution. Wooden ramrods were also used in the Dragoon version produced from 1744 to 1771 and for Navy/Marine use.

Accuracy of the Brown Bess was, as with most other muskets, low, primarily due to the lack of sights and the use of undersized military ammunition meant for ease of loading. The effective range is often quoted as 100 yards (meters) but was often fired en masse at 50 m to inflict the greatest damage upon the enemy. The combination of large caliber of the projectile, the heavy weight of its lead construction contributed to its low effective range. Military tactics of the period stressed mass volleys and massed bayonet charges, instead of individual sniping. The large soft projectile could inflict a great deal of damage when accurate. The great length of the weapon allowed longer reach in bayonet engagements. For Pb as an abbreviation, see PB. General Name, Symbol, Number lead, Pb, 82 Chemical series poor metals Group, Period, Block 14, 6, p Appearance bluish gray Standard atomic weight 207. ... This article is about the military occupation. ...

Many variations and modifications of the standard pattern musket were found over its long history. The earliest version was the Long Land Pattern of 1722, 62-inch long (without bayonet) and with a 46-inch barrel. It was later found that shortening the barrel did not detract from its accuracy but made handling the musket easier. This resulted in the Militia (or Marine) Pattern of 1756 and the Short Land Pattern of 1768, both of which had a 42-inch (1,067 mm) barrel. // Events Abraham De Moivre states De Moivres theorem connecting trigonometric functions and complex numbers Publication of the first book of Bachs Well-Tempered Clavier Fall of Persias Safavid dynasty during a bloody revolt of the Afghani people. ... 1768 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

Another notable version with a 39-inch (991 mm) barrel was manufactured for the British East India Company, and eventually adopted by the British Army in 1790 as the India Pattern. The British East India Company, sometimes referred to as John Company, was the first joint-stock company (the Dutch East India Company was the first to issue public stock). ...

Percussion cap

Towards the end of the life of the weapon, there was a change in the system of ignition. The flintlock mechanism, which was prone to misfiring, especially in wet weather, was replaced by the more reliable percussion cap. The last flintlock pattern manufactured was selected for conversion to the new system as the Pattern 1839. A fire at the Royal Arsenal destroyed large stocks of these in 1841, so a new Pattern 1842 musket was manufactured. These remained in service until the outbreak of the Crimean War when they were replaced by the Minie or the P53 Enfield rifled musket. Flintlock of an 18th Century hunting rifle, with piece of flint missing. ... The percussion cap or primer was the crucial invention that enabled firearms to fire in any weather. ... Combatants Allies: Second French Empire United Kingdom Ottoman Empire Kingdom of Sardinia Russian Empire Bulgarian volunteers Casualties 90,000 French 35,000 Turkish 17,500 British 2,050 Sardinian killed, wounded and died of disease ~134,000 killed, wounded and died of disease The Crimean War (1854–1856) was fought... The Minie ball is a type of ordnance. ... // British Pattern 1853 Enfield Rifle- Musket The P53 Enfield Rifle-Musket was the standard British Infantry weapon from 1853-1867. ...

See also

Wikisource has an original article from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica about:

Brown Bess

• British military rifles
• Charleville musket

Image File history File links Wikisource-logo. ... The original Wikisource logo. ... Encyclopædia Britannica, the 11th edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ... The origins of the modern British military rifles are within its predecessor the Brown Bess musket. ... The Charleville musket was the primary musket used by the French during their participation in the American Revolutionary War. ...

External links

• Replicas of Various Models of Brown Bess Muskets with Historical Backgrounds and Images.
• Entire text of Kipling's poem "Brown Bess"