British Short Land Pattern Musket (Brown Bess)

 

The British Short Land Pattern musket, part of a series of muskets that were the standard for British forces for well over 100 years, was a .75 caliber, flintlock, smoothbore musket weighing in at about 10.5 pounds with an overall length of 58.5 inches.  It was manufactured with a barrel 2 inches shorter than the Long Land Pattern musket, primarily from 1740-1797, at which point the India Pattern became standard for the British infantry.  Its initial use was by Dragoons in 1740, and became the infantry standard in 1768.  A 17″ triangular bayonet could be fixed to the front, making the weapon stand over 6 feet tall.  This model firearm was used by both the British and Continental soldiers during the Revolutionary War.  For more details, visit here. 

 

Image from: http://amhistory.si.edu/militaryhistory/collection/object.asp?ID=88