The Heavy, Long Gun That Won the American Revolutionary War

Malnourished, ill-clothed, and under-paid: it is astonishing to consider the level of commitment to liberty exhibited by Colonial Militia and Minutemen and Continental Army soldiers slogging hundreds of miles for 8 years in sweltering and freezing weather to finally win the American Revolutionary War against the British Empire, the most powerful land and naval military force in the world at the time.

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From 1775 to 1783, approximately 231,000 soldiers served in the Continental Army, with up to 145,000 men serving in state militias. This means that over 375,000 Americans served in total, though never more than 48,000 served in the Continental Army at any one time.

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About 50,000 British soldiers were sent to fight in the American Revolution, but this figure does not include the significant number of other forces that fought alongside them, such as 30,000 German mercenaries, 25,000 American Loyalists to the Crown, and multiple Native American allies.

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A Continental Army soldier carried a heavy burden of gear averaging 52 pounds:

• their musket
• bayonet
• leather cartridge box with
• paper
• gunpowder and
• lead balls
• canteen with water
• knapsack containing essentials like a
• blanket
• tin cup
• bowl and
• spoon
• other necessities like
• a writing kit
• an extra shirt or
• cooking pot.

“Brown Bess” is the nickname for the heavy British-made muzzle-loading smoothbore flintlock Land Pattern Musket and its many derivatives, carried and depended upon by American patriots.

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It weighed approximately 10 pounds, having an average overall length of 59 inches (about 5 feet), depending on the specific model. Its mounted bayonet was an additional average length of 15 inches; meaning the total length of Brown Bess was around 6 feet.

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A musket required 13 steps to load and fire. A good soldier could manage about three shots per minute and reliably hit a target within 100 yards; but under the stress of battle and any malfunctions, probably less.

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The spent black powder created enough white smoke to obscure a battlefield in a matter of minutes. Armies often closed to less than 50 yards before firing and used the bayonet in follow-up grueling hand-to-hand combat.

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To increase the chance of hitting an enemy at a distance, some soldiers would use the tactic known as “buck and ball”: load a standard musket ball along with several smaller buckshot pellets. A ball’s caliber was typically around 0.69 to 0.75 inches in diameter.

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Approximately 25,000 American soldiers and militia died during the Revolutionary War, with roughly 6,800 killed in combat and the rest dying from disease, wounds, and captivity. The majority of those who died from disease perished as prisoners of war, particularly on British prison ships.

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An estimated 24,000 to 25,000 British soldiers died in the American Revolution, with the majority of deaths caused by disease rather than combat. Of the total, about 1,200 were killed in action, while disease, such as smallpox, claimed 18,000 or more lives, with many others dying from wounds or being taken prisoner.

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Death tolls weren’t as high as in other wars, but the losses were significant for the population of the 13 colonies. Because the population of the 13 colonies was only 2.5 million in 1776, the loss of 25,000 men had a big impact upon American society.

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Also see:

⇨   American Revolution Institute: A Revolution in Arms

⇨   American Rifleman: American-Made Muskets In The Revolutionary War

⇨   Wikipedia: Brown Bess

⇨   Wikipedia: List of infantry weapons in the American Revolution

⇨   American Battlefield Trust: Small Arms of the Revolution

⇨   AmericanRevolution.org: American Revolution Weapons | Muskets, Rifles, Pistols & More

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