- Joined
- Apr 16, 2021
- Messages
- 824
- Reaction score
- 756
So, we all presumably know that a shiny gun ain't exactly tactically sound in practical situations. But we also know that a gun could be like a pair of shoes or a hat in days of yore (18th C.). It told people your station, as it were. Thus we also have highly decorated guns, and modestly decorated guns, and practically plain guns.
So my question is, do we have any primary sources, outright speculations, or generally sound implications of how people kept up the ornamentation on their rifles in the Colonial and Revolutionary eras? I was thinking that someone on the frontier might not want shiny bits, but then I recalled how often we see imagery of bright colors and gaudy bobbles in period art. Even native warriors wore bright colors at times, if not always.
To stay on point, anyone know if brass parts were kept polished, navy fashion, or not?
I could have posted this elsewhere, but given that it specifically deals with a period of time when flintlocks were the overwhelmingly predominant arm, I reckoned here is a as good as any historicity forum.
So my question is, do we have any primary sources, outright speculations, or generally sound implications of how people kept up the ornamentation on their rifles in the Colonial and Revolutionary eras? I was thinking that someone on the frontier might not want shiny bits, but then I recalled how often we see imagery of bright colors and gaudy bobbles in period art. Even native warriors wore bright colors at times, if not always.
To stay on point, anyone know if brass parts were kept polished, navy fashion, or not?
I could have posted this elsewhere, but given that it specifically deals with a period of time when flintlocks were the overwhelmingly predominant arm, I reckoned here is a as good as any historicity forum.