AMERICAN COLONIAL MILITIA MUSKET, F & I WAR PERIOD

This is an excellent colonial period "US" surcharged musket dated "May 27, 1761". It has an American cherry full stock with sheet brass and forged iron mounts. This American made musket measures 57 1/4 inches overall with a 42 1/2 inch .75cal round barrel. The barrel has a wedding band filed beauty ring at the breech with the tang sporting a filed rear sight groove. In addition, there is a 1/4 inch tall "US" surcharge at the breech, forward of the tang and beauty ring. There are no other markings on the barrel, but there is evidence of a bayonet lug 3/4 of an inch from the muzzle, indicating to me that the barrel is probably a recycled 1st Model Brown Bess barrel. The convex lock is original to the musket and in its unaltered flintlock configuration.  The lock features the very early features of no external bridle and an internal frizzen screw. The cherry full stock has beautiful architecture reminiscent of French influenced New England fowlers but with a long wrist extending nearly to the butt plate, reminiscent of long land pattern Brown Bess wrists.  Both the sideplate and the buttplate are made of hammered sheet brass (an extremely early feature) and are lightly engraved. The triangular sideplate has a light "branch and leaf" engraving, the length of it, and the buttplate has the date "May 27, 1761" lightly engraved on it. The buttplate finial design is loosely patterned after the Brown Bess with a two stage design and pointed finial. The triggerguard is roughly hand forged iron and fastened to the stock with four forged nails. The three ramrod ferrules are also made of sheet brass.  All mounts are original (and unaltered) to the musket.

I believe this musket was frontier made for an American militia unit (possibly native American) during the French and Indian War.  I believe this musket found its way into the Continental Army arsenal by 1777 when Washington ordered all Continental Army owned muskets to be surcharged with either "US", "U States", or "United States". Much of the surcharging effort after Washington's order occurred in the field rather than at the several Continental arsenals. The fact the surcharge on this barrel measures a full 1/4 inch in height places it squarely within the Revolutionary War period.

Condition:  Excellent for its age and use.  The cherry stock has an ancient surface with no replacements but there is a chip above the top to the lock which is tacked back in place (in-period).  The lock is original to the musket in its original flintlock configuration.