I walked into a local antique shop this morning and saw this beat up antique musket sitting in this exact spot, on that table. I knew immediately this was something special, and nobody realized it. 🧵
It may appear like a Civil War era gun, but in reality, the carved initials on the stock were most likely carved by an American soldier during the Revolutionary War. I was told it recently came out of a local home in an estate sale.
So I bought it, and took it outside for some better pics. This is undoubtedly a mid-18th century French musket, usually known as a “Charlieville.”
In the sunlight I was able to read the markings on the lock. “St. Etienne” is what it says, referring to one of the 3 French armories where these military muskets were produced in the 18th century. The flat shape indicates it predates the American revolution. Possibly by a lot.
This was the standard French military musket, beginning in 1717 and continuing into the first half of the 19th century.
While the flintlock mechanism is no longer there, that’s normal, as these were universally converted to percussion during their long working lives.
These were donated to us by the French and used by Americans during the Revolution. We didn’t develop our own musket until after the war, in 1795. Guess what it was based on? The 1795 Springfield was almost an exact copy of the Charlieville.
This particular one was cut down at some point, made shorter, probably for customized application, perhaps use on horseback or in boats. That would be consistent with use in my area, which was frontier during the Rev War.
The hole in the stock is from the iron spring that held the middle of the 3 original iron bands in place, which was removed to shorten the gun.
This was done early on in the gun’s working life. For whatever reason the first band they reinstalled backwards. It’s clearly been there for a very long time.
It’s common to see the carved initials on these stocks, along with other markings and carvings from the soldiers who humped them around. This one has them on both sides.
I’m no expert on French muskets, but I believe the iron hardware is all mid 18th century, and all pre American rev war.
It has that classic early French style that Americans liked so much they adopted as their own.
Just look at the extent to which this thing was beat to hell. It may have been at Valley Forge, Yorktown, who knows what it saw… I bet it was kept by a local family through generations, used until obsolete, and eventually just forgotten. It gives that vibe. To me anyway…
One of my favorite guns I own is another Charleville, this one in better condition. It’s actually marked “U STATES” because troops kept stealing their issued muskets in the early days of the war. George Washington ordered thousands of them marked as federal property.
One of my other favorite guns was a colonial American stocked “Franken-gun” using mostly French iron hardware. It was at two different battles with George Washington. The hardware looks familiar, eh?
The first official shoulder arm adopted by the US Army was the model 1795 Springfield Musket. Produced at our first armory established by Congress (Springfield, MA). Patterned after the 1763 French “Charleville.” The same .69 caliber would remain standard for the next 60 years.
This musket continues to be the ceremonial symbol of the US Army Infantry. 2 crossed 1795 muskets represent the infantry branch insignia and the branch plaque. It also remains to this day on the Expert Infantry Badge and the Combat Infantry Badge, commemorating this 1st musket.
Coincidentally I once also found a 1795 Springfield that, like this French musket it’s based on, is also cut down. It’s on the wall of my study. I’ve always figured it was customized as a canoe or horse gun for a scout or other specialized use. Possibly concealment…
So if you see an old gun somewhere that follows this pattern, examine it and look at the lock for any markings. It could be American history. And if you don’t want it, or want to sell it, send it my way…
Also, check out Robert’s Antiques in Lewisburg, WV. One of the only shops I bother going to because they find cool things, like guillotines and bicycles with AK-47s. They also sold me this musket for less than I offered to pay, even after I told them what I thought it was.
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You’ve seen the debate about the ballerina “trad” wife, who left her dance career to have a bunch of kids… I often get asked how a Florida boy ended up in rural WV. When I was in law school at UNC I met a girl… 🧵
She was a ballet teacher in rural West Virginia, where the local public HS had a classical ballet class. And she had a studio in the small town. All the little girls adored her.
We started hanging out a lot. I drove there every weekend from law school.
Here's a conclusive sequence of events in the Sonya Massey shooting, verified with screenshots. 🧵
1:19:44 - First, Deputy Grayson asks Sonya for ID. "You're not in trouble, I just need your last name."
1:20:16 - As Sonya looks for her ID, Deputy Grayson notices a pot on the stove boiling and points it out to the other deputy.
1:20:18 - The other deputy then turns and looks towards the pot. His bodycam shows the pot on the stove with blue flames under it. The other deputy says "check on the burner" (to the best that I can tell).
GRAPHIC: Cop shoots Sonya Massey for holding a pot of steaming water, afterwards falsely claiming she “came at me with boiling water.”
She had called them with reports of a possible prowler. They came inside and asked for her ID. She removed a pot of steaming water from the stove. Then the cops bizarrely acted afraid of the pot, shooting her in seconds.
A theme throughout the footage is that the cops, the shooter in particular, was a total dick to the woman, who appeared to be afraid and confused.
Concerned about systemic inequality? Let’s talk about Kamala Harris and her career as a prosecutor that is almost never discussed by either side…🧵
Harris was a district attorney in San Fransisco from 2004 to 2011. She stood out there by being tough on crime in the form of prosecuting truant school children, sending letters to San Fransisco parents each year, threatening them with citations.
She sponsored a 2010 law making it a misdemeanor crime for parents whose children miss 10 percent of a school year without an excuse the State deemed acceptable.
Today I received a memorandum order in a wrong house police raid case, dismissing one of our counts in the lawsuit. When I first saw the order, I read it to say that I was also ordered to show cause why I shouldn’t be sanctioned by the Court. Oh man….🧵
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a family who came home to find on their surveillance cameras that cops had been in their house, including their kids bedrooms. Turns out they were looking for someone who didn’t live there.