revolutionary war rifle/musket

[hoipolloi1977]

Hi there,

I'm hoping someone might be able to help me out. My dad has a rifle/musket that he was told belonged to an ancestor and was used in the american revolutionary war.

Near the barrel is an engraved plate that says "S Harvey and Son Warranted". I'm having problems finding a manufacturer by that name.

Also, it does not have a flintlock firing mechanism but a ball.. and cap? I believe that's what he said.

I have pictures I can post if necessary.

Any information that someone can give me would be great - or even pointing me in the right direction to find the necessary info.

Thank you much!

 

[PT1911]

pictures are definitely warranted...

 

[paintballdude902]

Alot of older rifles were converted to cab and ball from flint lock. We have a rifle that says "harpers ferry 1814" that is cap
And ball

 

[Sam1911]

The two priming mechanisms you're describing are "flintlock" which would be appropriate to the Revolutionary era, and "percussion" or "percussion cap" fired that started to come onto the scene about 20 years before the start of the Civil War.

Many older rifles and muskets were modified, rebuilt, and scavenged over the decades (sometimes centuries) to keep them in the field and servicable. A conversion of a Revolutionary War musket to percussion would not be uncommon.

An expert with such guns will need to see it, probably in person, to tell you what it is, what it was, who did what, and what happened along the way.

Very cool thing to have, if you can document any of the history.

[By the way, "cap & ball" usually refers to early black-powder REVOLVERS which were loaded with powder and ball/bullet from the front of the cylinder and primed with a percussion cap. Really not appropriate to rifles or muskets. Another similar term would be "patched round ball", which describes the use of a spherical lead bullet (literally a round ball) that was placed on top of a piece of cloth (usually) before being rammed down the muzzle of a rifle or musket. The patch would grip the rifling and/or seal the bore as the ball by itself was a loose fit. Patched round balls were, and still are, common projectiles for rifles and muskets, but began to be superceeded by conical bullets like the "Minie ball" in military use by the middle of the 19th century.]

-Sam

 

[MrBorland]

My father went through this recently with his antique muzzleloader. Fortunately for him, Ron Gable, a highly regarded expert on antique muzzleloaders, lives locally and checked it out for him. Ron would likely have some insight for you if you contact him.

http://www.gabelguns.com/profile.asp

 

[Dr.Rob]

Without pics I can't say much about this.

Can't say how many times someone has showed up on Roadshow with a "revolutionary war" item that isn't. Doesn't mean anyone weas lying, just means a lot of family folklore can be more colorful than factual.

 

[Jim K]

The last Revolutionary War flintlock musket I saw was in good condition and appeared shootable. I know because I flipped open the trapdoor and checked out the barrel.

Jim