Original Item: Only One Available. Acquired recently from an impeccably curated collection, this is a lovely third Pattern Brown Bess, with the 39" barrel adopted in 1796. Also known as the "India Pattern", it was the standard Musket of the line during 1815, the time of the Battle of Waterloo. This example also still retains the "bannister rail" butt stock, a feature that was basically done away with after 1807, as well as the swell to the stock around the lower ramrod pipe. It also features some lovely figuring to the grain on the rear half of the stock, particularly on the left side by the side plate, an the entire butt stock. Getting figured wood in a military issue weapon is entirely luck of the draw, so this is really a prime example.

The musket has a full 39" regulation length, .75" smoothbore iron barrel, which still retains a crisp CROWN / GR / DOWNWARD ARROW marking over a CROWN / CROSSED SCEPTERS marking, indicating Pre-1813 military inspection at the Ordnance Proof house on Tower Wharf, close to the Tower of London. The lock plate is correctly marked with CROWN over G.R. mid lock for King George III, and TOWER across the tail. There is also the CROWN / BROAD ARROW lock viewer's mark from the ordnance proofhouse. The lock has a ring neck cock.

It has all regulation brass furniture, together with correct issue iron ramrod. Shows use but remains in amazingly tight and clean condition. Action is strong and holds at half cock, firing correctly at full cock. The lock is quite clean and in very good shape. The barrel has a lovely patina of age, showing some scattered past peppering, now cleaned away. As mentioned before, the stock is truly lovely, with a great color and no cracks, damage, repairs, or other issues that we can see. The geometry around the "banister-rail" is still sharp, and the carved surround for the barrel tang is still crisp. The carved surround for the barrel tang is still crisp. Both sling swivels are present and move easily, and the cleaning rod is in great shape.

The brass side plate plate has a lovely regimental marking, which is still clear:-

ROYAL SCOTS
1'st R.O.F. 3'd B'N

At the start of the Napoleonic wars, this regiment was known as the 1st (Royal) Regiment of Foot, but in 1812 was renamed the 1st Regiment of Foot (Royal Scots), using a nickname they had born for quite some time. They started the Napoleonic wars with two battalions, but a 3rd and 4th battalion were raised in late 1804 as the conflict grew in size. The 3rd Battalion saw extensive service in the peninsular campaigns, and would take part in the Battle of Waterloo, so there's a chance that this musket was actually there!

A lovely example of the Third Model Brown Bess, marked to the 3rd Battalion of the 1st Regiment of foot, which saw extensive service during the Napoleonic Wars, ending at the Battle of Waterloo. Ready to research and display!

Specifications: 

Years of Manufacture: Circa 1800
Caliber: .75" Musket
Ammunition Type: Lead Ball & Powder
Barrel Length: 39 inches
Overall Length: 55 inches
Action: Flintlock
Feed System: Muzzle-Loaded

History of the 1st Regiment of Foot:

The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of Scotland. The regiment existed continuously until 2006, when it amalgamated with the King's Own Scottish Borderers to become the Royal Scots Borderers, which merged with the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret's Own Glasgow and Ayrshire Regiment), the Black Watch, the Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordons and Camerons) and the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders to form the Royal Regiment of Scotland.

French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars:

The 1st Battalion had returned to the West Indies as a garrison in 1790, and served there until 1797, with a brief period of combat in the Haitian Revolution. The West Indies were hotbeds of disease, and the battalion lost more than half its strength to disease in this period. It was reformed from militia volunteers in Ireland in 1798: This year saw a major rebellion erupt in Ireland after years of simmering tension. The Lothian Fencibles fought with distinction at the Battle of Vinegar Hill, one of the more important engagements of the rebellion. Subsequently, the regiment gained a new regimental song:

Ye croppies of Wexford, I'd have ye be wise
and go not to meddle with Mid-Lothian Boys
For the Mid-Lothian Boys they vow and declare
They'll crop off your head as well as your hair
derry, down, down.

Remember at Ross and at Vinegar Hill
How your heads flew about like chaff in a mill
For the Mid-Lothian Boys when a croppy they see
they blow out his daylights and tip him cut three
derry, down, down.

After the rebellion was over in Ireland they were used in minor raids on the coast of Spain in 1800. Meanwhile, from 1793 to 1801, the 2nd Battalion was based in the Mediterranean. It fought at the Siege of Toulon (1793) and the capture of Corsica (1794), returning briefly to Northern Europe for the Battle of Egmont op Zee in the 1799 Helder Campaign, before fighting in the 1801 Egyptian campaign at the Battle of Aboukir and the Battle of Alexandria.

Both battalions were subsequently dispatched to the West Indies, the 1st from 1801 to 1812, and the 2nd from 1803 to 1806. The 1st fought at the capture of Saint Lucia, as well as of Demerara and Essequibo in 1803, and the capture of Guadeloupe in 1810. The 2nd then moved to India, where it would remain until 1826, whilst the 1st was sent to Quebec with the outbreak of the War of 1812. It fought in the battles of Sackett's Harbor and Buffalo & Black Rock, as well as the capture of Fort Niagara (1813), the battles of Longwoods, Chippawa, and Lundy's Lane, along with the Siege of Fort Erie and the battle of Cook's Mills (1814). In February 1812, the regiment was retitled as the 1st Regiment of Foot (Royal Scots), the first official appearance of the popular name.

Two new battalions were raised in late 1804, at Hamilton, the 3rd and 4th Battalions. The 3rd served in the Peninsular War from 1808 to 1809, fighting at the Battle of Corunna in 1809 before being withdrawn by sea and sent to the Walcheren Campaign with the 1st Division. It returned to Portugal in 1810 with the 5th Division, fighting at the Battle of Buçaco (1810), the Battle of Fuentes de Onoro (1811), the battles of Badajoz, Salamanca and Burgos (1812), the Battle of Vitoria, capture of San Sebastián, Battle of Nivelle, and the Battle of Nive (1813), before advancing into France in 1814. It was sent to Belgium during the Hundred Days, and fought in Picton's Division (the 5th) at the Battle of Waterloo (1815). After two years in the Army of Occupation, it was disbanded at Canterbury in 1817.

The 4th was deployed to the Baltic in 1813, being involved with the recapture of Stralsund, and fought in the Netherlands in 1814, where it was captured and exchanged. It was then dispatched to Canada as part of the War of 1812, where it served as a garrison. It was withdrawn to England with the end of the fighting and disbanded at Dover in 1816.

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IMA considers all of our antique guns as non-firing, inoperable and/or inert. Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 921(a)(16) defines antique firearms as all guns made prior to 1899. This law exempts antique firearms from any form of gun control or special engineering because they are not legally considered firearms. No FFL, C&R or any license is required to possess, transport, sell or trade Antique guns. All rifles and muskets sold by IMA that were manufactured prior to 1899 are considered Antiques by the US BATF (United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms). Therefore, all of IMA's Antique guns may be shipped to all US States and most nations around the world.

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Pre-1899 Manufacture, no licenses required, allowed to ship to almost any deliverable address across the globe. Please note that for international shipping, these MUST be shipped using UPS WW Services. International customers should always consult their country's antique gun laws prior to ordering.