Springfield Model 1795 Musket: America's First Military Production
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Published 2021-04-08
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The first US-production military arm was the “US musket, Charleville pattern” - known today as the Model 1795 Springfield Musket. Copied from the French 1766 model Charleville which made up the bulk of existing US arms supplies, this was a .69 caliber smoothbore flintlock with a 44.5 inch (1.13m) barrel. Springfield was formally established as a manufacturing center in 1795, and this was its first weapon. By 1798, 3,152 had been made for the government, along with guns of the same pattern made by a myriad of private contractors. It was only in 1799 that quality control concerns led to a requirement to mark a manufacturer’s name to the guns, and Springfield started stamping its name and a date on its guns. This example is dated 1799 on the buttplate, making it the earliest model of identifiable US martial long arm. Total production would end up being between 80,000 and 85,000 guns form Springfield before evolution of the design led to a new model designation in 1816.
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All Comments (21)
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The real, real, real M-1.
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You can't miss when your barrel goes over the field and is touching the enemy
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"Our musket iusn't quite long enough as it is. Can you do something about it?" "Why yes we can. We'll permanently attach the bayonette"
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You could still buy the 1795 musket that was "sporterized" and mostly converted to shotguns from the Sears catalog in the 1920's. They were a cheap hunting gun and were apparently pretty popular at $5.00 to $8.00 each. If nothing else, using a 130 year old converted musket as a shotgun in 1928 shows the durability of the musket.
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I was part of the Commander in Chief guard A Co of the Honorguard in DC. I used to have wear wigs, and carry muskets. We had a couple originals muskets in our armory. I never thought my first duty station in Infantry I would be assigned a musket, M-14, and M-4.
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This video is 8 minutes old, so that's...about 24 shots a well trained musketman could do in that timeframe. Why'd I bring that up? Comment for the algorithm of course.
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It’s hilarious that right behind Ian is obviously a .50 cal barrel, which is a smaller caliber than the .65 cal flintlock musket.🤣
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"The French copies no one. No one copies the French." Model 1795: "Allow me to introduce myself."
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Re: the "unusual" front sight: Back in the '60s I belonged to the Brigade of the American Revolution and used M1840s French .69 cal Charleville flintlocks in competition (was surprised they were still making flints that late) - beautiful workmanship. We had one guy who was consistently more accurate with his musket and we thought it was just an exceptionally bored weapon. Finally, he fessed up. He let the thumbnail on his right hand grow long, then cut a notch in it. When he sighted (we just pointed) the gun, he used that notched thumbnail as a crude rear sight. That method was accurate enough to beat all the rest of us. I wonder how much more effective a line of musketeers with notched thumbnails would have been in those days. :-)
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Oiled wood is so good, 220 years later its still in good condition.
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"0.69 caliber" N I C E
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“I can’t flip it, because I don’t have another five feet of the table on the other side”
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That is why the U.S. Army "Combat Infantryman Badge" superimposed a Springfield Arsenal Musket, Model 1795 on it . The CIB is the most coveted badge for the U.S. Army Infantryman. I love your videos about guns.
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Apparently Walmart wasn't yet selling screwdrivers, the screw heads on this piece are un-buggered.
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The branch insignia of the US Army infantry is a silver 1795 Springfield Musket set on a blue-field and surrounded by a silver border. This insignia set in a silver wreath designates an infantryman who has engaged the enemy in combat; it's a badge of honor and point of pride for those who have earned one.
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It continues to blow my mind to see these weapons from the past still being around and very well preserved. Wish they could tell their story...
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No field stripping? No mud test? Perhaps a WWSD 1800 (what would Springfield do) in a future video? No worries, mate, I see myself out.
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Nothing like morning coffee and a new Forgotten Weapons video.
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3:50 "Holy moly, these guys are long!" - Ian McCollum 2021 Also, 69 caliber? Nice.
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Imagine gun manufacturer turning down a US Government deal today in preference to private sales.
