Old Flintlock Rifle Parts Found

[andy52]

A gator probably had a snack of the owner....

 

[erhunter]

That's a great piece of history! Awesome!

 

[Cvkotvkse]

Not saying this IS one, but the Model 1816, if I remember correctly, was one of the most common weapons, if not THE standard military issue long gun, of the Second Seminole War.
Any indiication of INTENTIONAL damage (broken or plugged barrel, stock broken at the wrist, etc.) to the gun? A man's hunting/fighting equipment generally was buried with him, often after being ceremonially "killed."

 

[Cvkotvkse]

Not saying this IS one, but the Model 1816, if I remember correctly, was one of the most common weapons, if not THE standard military issue long gun, of the Second Seminole War.
Any indiication of INTENTIONAL damage (broken or plugged barrel, stock broken at the wrist, etc.) to the gun? A man's hunting/fighting equipment generally was buried with him, often after being ceremonially "killed."

Asking because Seminoles during that time were documented as carrying everything from NW trade guns to captured military muskets to a shipment of half-stocked .50. cal. Ely rifles (used by Seminole warriors at Ft. Cooper to pin down the besieged troops from a distance out of range of the Army s smoothbore weapons.)
If the owner was Seminole, it could have been part of the grave goods.

 

[TarponStalker]

That's awesome. I would make a mounted display for it. Too cool to not let folks see it.

Yes. That’s why my photos aren’t too good. The parts are mounted inside a shadow box ( I think that’s what it’s called) along with a newspaper article and my grandfather letter to the state.

 

[TarponStalker]

What a great find! Thanks for sharing!

Can you say approximately where the swamp was, or at least what part of the state? It may be possible to correlate the location with a documented battle or skirmish.

The Seminole Wars Foundation might be interested in what you have there.

Notchy Bob

Thanks Bob.
I don’t know the exact location but it was in central Florida.

 

[TarponStalker]

Not saying this IS one, but the Model 1816, if I remember correctly, was one of the most common weapons, if not THE standard military issue long gun, of the Second Seminole War.
Any indiication of INTENTIONAL damage (broken or plugged barrel, stock broken at the wrist, etc.) to the gun? A man's hunting/fighting equipment generally was buried with him, often after being ceremonially "killed."

It’s so old and badly decayed that I can’t tell too much. There’s no wood left at all. I have considered getting a light to check the barrel. It may very well be loaded

 

[Cvkotvkse]

First of all. I’m sorry for the quality of these photos. These parts are inside a shadow box that was built for me so I’d have to take it apart to get better pics. I’ve been wanting to send these for some time. Hopefully I haven’t done it already years ago and forgot. HaHa.

My grandfather found the remains if this rifle while working in a swamp. It appears to be loaded and cocked. (Who knows). Maybe he was reloading when he fell. He also found a partial skull near the gun.
This was in the early 50s. The thoughts were it may have part of the Seminole wars even though they had started using percussion guns by the 1830s.
The barrel is very rusty. Has the flash hole and tang. Looks like a smooth bore.
I’ve tried to figure out what type of gun it is. The lock looks a bit like a Charleville musket with the hole in the hammer and sling swivel in front of the trigger guard.
I love that the flint is still intact in the jaws.
He tried many years ago to donate it to the state but they weren’t interested I guess. I still have his letters to them and a newspaper article about his find. Again this was 75 years ago.
I just thought y’all would find this interesting. We can only imagine what happened to the owner whether it be Seminole or white man.
Does anyone have any ideas on this gun?
Again I’m sorry about the photo quality.

The time period when your grandfather contacted the State of Florida about the gun was over 30 years before I worked as an archaeologist there at the Dept. Of State. By my time, salvage and restoration of previously-submerged weapons had come a long way, and Spanish muskets that had looked like just oblong clumps of coral when brought up from eighteenth-century shipwrecks were being cleaned and stabilized to a point where they were not only recognisable but identifiable as to type and model.
I suspect that you might encounter a different attitude if you contacted the Museum of Florida History's preservation lab about it nowadays.
I can PM you their contact info if you are interested.