Prior to the introduction of these weapons, up through the 17 th century, a non-commissioned officer (NCO) in a European army would usually carry a weapon called a halberd or pike, a two-handed pole-arm. Halberd from the American Revolution (Varnum Armory Collection) Many variations were produced, including lighter-weight models called carbines, many of which were carried by non-commissioned officers. Muskets were relatively easy to load and could be fired up to four times a minute by a skilled foot soldier. At a range of up to 50 yards, they could hit a man-sized target (weapons with rifled barrels had a much longer range and greater accuracy). Smooth-bore flintlock muskets in this period were not particularly accurate over distance. However, the story of the Gould fowler is for another time. It is a perfect example of a gun made from various parts of different weapons.

In fact, hanging on the wall just above the English Carbine is a pre-Revolutionary war era fowler (a musket used primarily for hunting) owned by Thomas Gould of Quidnessett. Many guns were made from parts of other weapons or from castings based on (or “patterned after”) earlier weapons.

Fortunately, there were upwards of 3,000 gunsmiths scattered about the colonies and a number were here in Rhode Island. In the colonies, if you needed a musket, you were pretty much on your own. From 1722 to 1838, the British Army used the Land Pattern worldwide and some were used by colonists as well. In a rack atop the 19 th-century glass-front bookcase in the Varnum Commander’s Office is a rare English Carbine, a scaled-down version of the British Land Pattern Musket, commonly known as the “Brown Bess”. When coupled with the history of an American Revolutionary War weapon, it gets even more interesting. There’s nothing like a good detective story.

Long land pattern brown bess