Heritage, 2009, Volume 3 Page: 30
31 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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The New England Militia Musket
By Tom Power
To inaugurate this column for HERITAGE magazine, which will
Image 1 focus on old firearms and their relationship to American and Texan
history, I felt that it would be appropriate to start with the first type
of firearm to have a direct effect on the history of the United States
of America.
There were many types of firearms that were used in colonial North
America, but the gun that fired "the shot heard around the world"
was the New England Militia Musket.
New England Militia Muskets were smoothbore weapons with a
', bore diameter of between .69 inch and .75 inch. They were fired
using a flintlock ignition system that produced a spark by striking a
piece of flint against steel over a pan filled with a priming charge of
powder; this set off the main charge through a small hole at the rear
of the barrel. See Image 1, at left.
These muskets were also adapted to use a bayonet. This was done by
attaching the bayonet to the forward end of the gun barrel by means
of a socket that rotated and engaged a lug on the barrel. These bayo-
net lugs are only seen on military weapons. Because the musket was
slow to re-load, many times the bayonet became the primary weapon
after the first shot was fired. See Image 2, at left.
Image 2
All photographs are courtesy of the author.
HERITAGE Volume 3 2009
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Texas Historical Foundation. Heritage, 2009, Volume 3, periodical, 2009; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth254214/m1/30/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas Historical Foundation.