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GLRRM : 01548
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GLRRM : 01548
Description: The flintlock musket shown here is an India Pattern "Brown Bess", first issued to the British Army in 1797. It continued to be used in front line service until 1838, when it began to be superseded by a percussion cap musket, and many flintlock Brown Besses were then converted to percussion muskets. The origin of the nickname "Brown Bess" is disputed. One theory is that it derives from the colour of the walnut stock, or the colour of the iron barrel after it had been treated against rust. Another theory is that it comes from the German, "braun buss", meaning "strong gun" or "brown gun". The weapon was first employed in the British Army during the reign of King George I, who came from Hanover and who could speak no English. The flintlock had been invented in the 1630s and slowly began to replace matchlock and wheel-lock mechanisms throughout Europe. The British Brown Bess itself originated in 1722 as the Long Land Pattern Musket with a 46 inch barrel, followed by the Short Land Pattern with a 42 inch barrel in 1768, and the India Pattern, here, with a 39 inch barrel. The India Pattern was originally produced for the armies of the British East India Company, before being adopted for the British Army itself and being manufactured, like its predecessors, at the Tower of London. Hence another name for the Brown Bess types, the Tower musket, all being stamped with the word TOWER and a Royal crown device. These muskets were fitted with removable socket bayonets. However, it was the slow rate of fire, short range, inaccuracy and unreliability of the flintlock musket dictated most of the infantry tactics of the period. Of its type, the India Pattern was probably the best among its European contemporaries, but in reality, there was little to choose between these competing smoothbore weapons. In order to be effective, a concentration of firepower was required, requiring soldiers to stand shoulder to shoulder, two or three ranks deep, and firing in volleys. Trained soldiers would take care to ensure that their weapons did not go off "half-cock" or that there was no mere "flash in the pan". While being so close together meant that soldiers were vulnerable to the firepower of the enemy, it also meant that they were better protected against cavalry, who might try to charge while they were reloading. An even surer defence against cavalry charges was to form the Regiment into a square, with muskets and bayonets pointing out menacingly from every face. Indeed, being caught in line by cavalry usually spelled disaster for infantry, and an important part of infantry drill was to be able to change rapidly from one formation to another, be it line, column or square. After several false starts during the French Revolutionary and early Napoleonic Wars, British infantry tactics reached their apotheosis under the command of the Duke of Wellington during the Peninsular War. In defence or attack, the British infantry proved to be almost unbeatable, a state of affairs arrived at through the application of rigorous training and stern discipline, combined with high morale and a superior weapon.
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