Fredericksburg/Rappahanock Forge Muskets

[oreclan]

Many Klatch,
The British were also trained to aim and fire at targets, this is a common misconception (a reenactorism). There are numerous original accounts of deliberate aiming with long and short land pattern muskets.
YMH&OS
Ron M.

 

[patriot]

This is not an advertisement for ERA. But the information from Larry's website tells the story.

From the ERA Website:
"1755-1780 approximate time frame: Our Militia Musket represents a basic low cost musket that was made out of necessity to arm the American militia during the Revolutionary War. It retained the Brown Bess form, but the barrel was reduced to 42", Used a wooden ramrod. The nose cap, lower thimble, and wrist inlay were eliminated. Plain maple wood stained real dark, brass mounted Bess type hardware, L&R Queen Ann flintlock .75 caliber smoothbore full round tapered barrel, with bayonet lug."

"OUR STANDARD SMOOTHBORE BARRELS
Standard lengths are 24" 36" 42" and 46" available in .50 .54 .62 and .75 caliber Cloverleaf groups at thirty yards are common. They are made up from industrial grade hydraulic tubing. It's 1026 mild carbon steel much stronger than anything made in the 18th century. I have proof tested them with 250 grs. of FFFg black powder and six patched round balls. I took caliper measurements of the diameter in six locations before and after with absolutely no change. Colerain brand octagon to round smoothbore barrels are available for additional $100"

Like it says in the description, it is NOT fancy. But that does not imply that it is not well made. The stock is plain - the lock sits nicely in the wood - good wood to metal fit and finish - no carving or raised wood around the lock. Finish is dark and to my taste, well executed. I had Larry add front and rear sling swivels. He will customize it any way you want.

In addition, I purchased a bayonet from E.Godney Goodwin that was correct for the time period. I sent it to Larry and he made sure that it fit the Musket lug/site properly.

It took about a year to get one built, but well worth the wait. A gentleman to work with and I am very pleased with his work.

I really don't know what a Pedersoli Bess is going for these days. But for $875, I think the Milita Musket is a good buy. And I like spending my money in the U.S.

If you really want to, I'll bet you can find an engraver to engrave the Fred and other markings on the lock if you wanted to. I chose not to. The ERA musket is authentic enough for me as a representation of a generic rather than a specific musket.

The musket shoots well and is a pleasure to carry.

Hope this helps.

Patriot

 

[Carteret Kid]

I do not want fancy . I am looking for a poor boys weapon . In the Colonial era , Most of the fighting tended to be done by those who could not afford the ideal gear.
ERA should be better made than Indian .

 

[Trkdriver99]

What is ERA web address?
Ronnie

 

[mastrsgt]

Ronnie

Try this
[url] http://www.earlyrusticarms.com/earlyrusticarms.htm[/url]

Don R

 

[oreclan]

Could the enlarged vent be from a drum type percussion conversion , that was restored to flint ?

Looks like the vent hole is too small for that. It appears to have seen a lot of use and is simply burnt out.
Ron M.

 

[oreclan]

I thought I'd start a new topic on these, since the "Contintal Army Musket" topic has evolved towards these guns.

I went down to the Fredericksburg Area Museum and Cultural Center this morning and took some photos of the two muskets on display. One was made at the Fredericksburg Manufatuary of Arms in 1776, the other at the Rappahonnock Forge around 1780. Photos are not normally allowed, but I received permission from the museum director. The muskets are inside a plexiglas display case, so it they were difficult to photograph. I appologize for the reflections in some of the photos.

I know almost nothing about these, other than they are obviously patterned after the Brown Bess. I'd really like to hear your comments regarding their features. How close are they to a Brown Bess? What unique features do they have?

Fredericksburg and Rappahannock Forge Muskets

Thanks,
Steve

It's interesting that the Fredericksburg 1776 musket has an iron ramrod ,whereas the later ca. 1780 Rappahannock Forge musket sports a wooden one. Of course this may have been a replacement after the original was broken or lost. There is no ramrod tip.
Ron M.

 

[patriot]

I think this link is a more accurate address and up to date website. You can see that on the following website, prices are higher and reflect current pricing.
[url] www.earlyrusticarms.com[/url]

Patriot

 

[Carteret Kid]

There is another problem to consider when researching Fred. Muskets . The samples we have identified may or may not be arms made using recycled lock plates .
Recycled parts play havoc with classification .

 

[mastrsgt]

Sorry about that. It was an old web address I had saved. I would have thought the prices would have benn updated.

Don R

 

[engravertom]

hello folks,

A little thread revival here!

Steve sent me a repro lockplate with Bess markings a little while back.

I had a friend weld up , anneal, and polish the old engraving off. Then, I added the markings Steve wanted.

Take care,

Tom

 

[poordevil]

Is that engraving? Who did it? Can any engraver do that?

P

 

[Coot]

You need to come back to Virginia. :grin: There is a Rappahannock Forge musket in the Colonial Williamsburg collection and I am pretty certain that I saw a couple at the Virginia Historical Society in Richmond. PM me if you want me to check with the Historical Society for you. Bill Ahern devotes about four pages (with photos) to the Fredericksburg Manufactory (sometimes referred to as the Virginia State Gun Factory) and the Rappahannock Forge (across the river from Fredericksburg) muskets in his book "Muskets of the Revolution".

 

[Steve Blancard]

This has been a back-burner project for a while, but I'm really excited to get going on it again. This lock plate started out as a Miroku Brown Bess. Tom did a wonderful job on it. There are so few surviving examples of original Fredericksburg muskets that I had little to go on. I sent Tom a couple rather poor photos of original Frederickburg lock plates and he worked his magic from there.

My version of the Fredericksburg musket will not be an exact replica of the one in the local museum, but rather will be representative of what would have been made during the crisis using whatever was available, in this case a combination of new and used parts.

 

[Mike Brooks]

Nice lettering Tom, I know how hard that is to do! :thumbsup:

 

[engravertom]

Thanks Mike! Lettering is tough, because, among other things, everyone knows what perfect lettering looks like. We see it everyday...

This is a simpler form of lettering, because it is made up of thin lines only. It does resemble machine engraving, which disappoints me a bit, but that is what the original looks like. If someone has a pantograph, and they are very clever with it, they could duplicate this pretty well. Most period lettering would not be so easy, as it often involves cuts of varying width to get the proper appearance. Some of the more modern computer driven engraving machines might be able to get close, but the layout is very critical, and dealing with irregular domed surfaces can be trouble also. At this point in history, hand engraving still has certain subtle advantages over the best computer generated engraving.

In my opinion, that will always be the case!

take care,

Tom

 

[engravertom]

yes, that is hand engraved lettering. many engravers could do that, although not all engravers specialize in lettering. A good well rounded engraver should be able to handle that sort of thing. The more specific information you can give them, the more likely you will be able to get the result you want from them. Also, check and see if they have pictures of the type of work you are looking for. If I don't have samples to show of certain kinds of work, it is difficult to get those kinds of commissions. If nothing else, have your prospective engraver, if they are not well established, cut a little sample on a piece of scrap. An established engraver will probably not take the time to do that for free, as they usually have plenty of work already.

The double line Roman font on the new Hermes pantograph would get the look almost right, but you would have to carefully size and position each letter, and distort the reduction ratio to get the "G" to look right.An adventurous machine engraver might try it, but most probably would shy away from it. It would be very time consuming for them to get that right

Hope that helps!

Tom

 

[Hornguy]

It's interesting that the Fredericksburg 1776 musket has an iron ramrod ,whereas the later ca. 1780 Rappahannock Forge musket sports a wooden one. Of course this may have been a replacement after the original was broken or lost. There is no ramrod tip.
Ron M.

Does anyone have pictures of an original Fredericksburg musket? I know of one that exists and want to see if it is authentic or a repro. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks...Hornguy

 

[Artificer]

I don't know if this PDF download will work on not.
americansocietyofarmscollectors.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/B...

If it doesn't, then google the following and you should be able to see it there:
THE RAPPAHANNOCK FORGE - American Society of Arms Collectors

I saw one on display in Fredericksburg, VA back in the 1980's at a local bank, but it was in such bad shape, I'm not sure it would help to see it in person.

Gus

 

[Artificer]

P.S. This MAY work as a direct link, but I'm not sure.

http://americansocietyofarmscollectors.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/B033_Swayze.pdf

Gus