Gun: Pattern 1756 Long Land Musket
Manufacturer: Tower of London
Caliber: .78
Manufactured: 1762
Condition: NRA Good (Antique Gun Standards)
Value: Undetermined
The British 47th Regiment of Foot arrived in Boston on Oct. 23, 1774, as one of several British regiments sent to quell the unrest that preceded the opening salvos of the American Revolution. Having compiled an excellent record during the French and Indian War, some veterans of that conflict remained in the ranks. The uniform was the standard pattern of the Warrant of 1768 with red coats faced with white and pewter buttons numbered “47.” The regiment was composed of eight battalion companies and two flank companies, one each of grenadiers and light infantry.
Both flank companies participated in the Lexington-Concord expedition of April 19th, 1775. The battalion companies were part of Lord Hugh Percy’s relief column arriving later in the day. Battalion soldiers of the 47th were involved in the extraordinary hand-to-hand struggle with 80-year-old militiaman Samuel Whittemore, who, it was claimed, shot and killed three of their number. After being shot in the face, bayoneted several times and left for dead, the gritty old veteran remarkably survived to live another 18 years. After the Lexington-Concord expedition, the 47th reported 12 of its firelocks lost and 30 broken, along with 17 bayonets and four scabbards lost.
Their next major action was the Battle of Bunker Hill (actually fought on Breed’s Hill) on June 17, 1775, where the unit stormed into the Patriot redoubt, engaging in vicious hand-to-hand fighting. It was bloody affair for the regiment, which reported 73 killed and wounded.
After the evacuation of Boston, the regiment sailed to Halifax and then on to Quebec. They were engaged in various operations in the Lake Champlain area throughout 1776, including the victory at Trois-Rivières. The following year, they participated in the disastrous Burgoyne invasion of New York, which resulted in six companies of men surrendered at Saratoga. Two companies consisting of about 80 men under command of Capt. Thomas Aubrey were posted to guard a supply post on Diamond Island in Lake George. Col. John Brown, with a small flotilla of gunboats and a vastly superior infantry force, attacked the island, but after a two-hour artillery duel, the attackers were driven off. The Americans were forced to ground and burn their boats afterward.
Various detachments of the 47th later served along the frontier, including Henry Bird and Simon Girty’s invasion of the Illinois country, culminating in the capture of Ruddle’s and Martin’s Station. Elements also saw service at Fort Michilimackinac, Fort Haldimand on Carleton Island and Detroit. In 1782, the private soldiers were drafted into the 8th (King’s) Regiment of Foot, and the officers and NCOs returned to England to recruit a new regiment. That year, they were granted the title of the “Lancashire Regiment.”
In October 1758, the regiment was issued 330 muskets with bayonets to replace worn-out guns from the Seven Years War. In July of 1770, the 47th received an augmentation of 126 additional muskets from Dublin Castle in Ireland. On Aug. 30, 1775, they received 282 new muskets and one sergeant’s fusil (most likely from the Tower of London). October of 1781 gave them 270 muskets to replace those lost at Saratoga.
This splendid pattern 1756 Long Land Musket is marked “Tower” on the lock and “7/43” on the brass wrist plate, indicating its issue to the 7th Battalion Company, gun number 43. The 46-inch barrel is engraved “47 Regt.” Also with it is the matching numbered bayonet with part of the leather scabbard remaining. This gun was likely part of the regiment’s 1775 issue of 282 new muskets, and as such, bore witness to the momentous events at the beginning of the American Revolution.
Branded into the face of the stock is “United States,” which someone later tried to partly efface. It is likely this arm was surrendered by British troops at Saratoga, then marked as United States property and used to arm Americans in their fight for liberty before subsequently falling into private hands. Today, it remains as one of a scant few British Long Land muskets with a direct tie to the events of the American Revolution. As such, its rarity means examples do not often come up for auction. When they do, expect them to fetch astonishing sale prices.
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