A rare excavated example of the British 2nd Model, or Short Land Pattern, flintlock musket — the storied "Brown Bess" that served as the standard infantry arm of British and Crown forces from the late 1760s through the Napoleonic era and the War of 1812. Recovered from private property in the vicinity of Fort Erie, the piece retains a striking amount of its original brass furniture and lock work despite long ground burial.

The musket exhibits the pattern's distinctive long-tail flat brass sideplate and the early, finely delineated acorn-finial brass trigger guard, together with its brass buttplate and ramrod thimbles. The brass nosecap remains in place. The early gooseneck cock and flintlock are complete and stand in the firing position.

CONDITION: Overall relic/excavated condition consistent with extended ground burial. The barrel was shortened through period usage to approximately 39 inches, giving an overall length of approximately 54 inches. The upper (forward) ramrod thimble is absent and a small section of the sideplate is lost; the balance is complete.

PROVENANCE & HISTORY: Recovered from private property in the area of Fort Erie. A rare ground find, almost certainly lost in the course of battle action. Given the long service life of the pattern, the loss could date to the Revolutionary War or the War of 1812; the heavy fighting around Fort Erie in 1814 makes a War of 1812 association the most probable, though this cannot be established with certainty.   [ss][ph:L]

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