View source for Brown Bess

{{Short description|British flintlock musket}}
{{More footnotes needed|date=March 2013}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2014}}
{{Infobox weapon
| name               = Land Pattern Musket<br><small>a.k.a. Brown Bess</small>
| image              = British Military Short Land Pattern Musket.jpg
| image_size         = 300
| caption            = A Short Land Pattern Musket
| origin             = [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]]
| type               = [[Musket]]
<!-- Type selection -->
| is_ranged          = yes
| is_bladed          = 
| is_explosive       = 
| is_artillery       = 
| is_vehicle         = 
| is_missile         = 
| is_UK              = yes
<!-- Service history -->
| service            = [[British Army]] (1722–1867)
| used_by            = {{bulleted list
  | [[British Empire]]
  | [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|various Native American tribes]]
  | [[United States]]
  | [[Saint-Domingue|Haiti]]
  | [[Kingdom of Ireland]]
  | [[Sikh Empire]]
  | [[Kingdom of Sweden|Sweden]]
  | [[Kingdom of the Netherlands|Netherlands]]
  | [[United Mexican States|Mexico]]
  | [[Empire of Brazil|Brazil]]
  | [[Confederate States of America]]
  | [[Zulu Kingdom]]
  | [[Russian Empire]]
  | [[Nguyen dynasty|Vietnam]]
  | [[Qing dynasty|China]]
}}
| wars               = {{collapsible list
  | bullets = yes
  | title = List of conflicts
  | [[Ottoman-Persian Wars]]
  | [[Second Herat War]]
  | [[First Herat War]]
  | [[Afghan–Sikh Wars]]
  | [[French invasion of Egypt and Syria]]
  | [[Anglo-Turkish War (1807–1809)]]
  | [[Egyptian–Ottoman War (1831–1833)]]
  | [[Russo-Persian Wars]]
  | [[Wahhabi war]]
  | [[Persian–Dutch War]]
  | [[British attack on Berbera (1827)]]
  | [[Peninsular War]]
  | [[Siamese–Vietnamese War (1841–1845)]]
  | [[Burmese–Siamese wars]]
  | [[Ragamuffin War]]
  | [[Indian Wars]]
  | [[First Anglo-Sikh War]]
  | [[Second Anglo-Sikh War]]
  | [[Chickasaw Wars]]
  | [[Dummer's War]]
  | [[First Maroon War]]
  | [[War of the Austrian Succession]]
  | [[the '45|Jacobite rising of 1745]]
  | [[Karnatic Wars|Carnatic Wars]]
  | [[French and Indian War]]
  | [[Seven Years' War]]
  | [[Anglo-Mysore Wars]]
  | [[Anglo-Maratha Wars (disambiguation)|Anglo-Maratha Wars]]
  | [[American Revolutionary War]]
  | [[Xhosa Wars]]
  | [[Australian Frontier Wars]]
  | [[Haitian Revolution]]
  | [[French Revolutionary Wars]]
  | [[Coalition Wars]]
  | [[Second Maroon War]]
  | [[Kandyan Wars]]
  | [[Irish Rebellion of 1798]]
  | [[Napoleonic Wars]]
  | [[Irish rebellion of 1803|Emmet's Insurrection]]
  | [[Ashanti-Fante War]]
  | [[Musket Wars]]
  | [[Finnish War]]
  | [[Ga-Fante War]]
  | [[War of 1812]]
  | [[Greek War of Independence]]
  | [[Anglo-Ashanti Wars]]
  | [[Anglo-Burmese Wars]]
  | [[Naning War]]
  | [[Baptist War]]
  | [[Texas Revolution]]
  | [[Rebellions of 1837]]
  | [[First Opium War]]
  | [[Mexican–American War]]
  | [[Second Opium War]]
  | [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]]
  | [[Cochinchina campaign]]
  | [[American Civil War]]
  | [[Paraguayan War]]
  | [[Garnier Expedition]]
  | [[Anglo-Zulu War]]
  | [[Tonkin campaign]]
  | [[Boxer Rebellion]]
}}
<!-- Production history -->
| designer           = 
| design_date        = 1722
| manufacturer       = various
| unit_cost          = 
| production_date    = 1722–1850s (all variants)
| number             = 4,300,000
| variants           = Long Land Pattern, Short Land Pattern, Sea Service Pattern, India Pattern, New Land Pattern, New Light Infantry Land Pattern, Cavalry Carbine, Marine Carbine
<!-- General specifications -->
| spec_label         = 
| weight             = {{convert|10.5|lb|abbr=on}}
| length             = {{convert|58.5|in|abbr=on}}
| part_length        = {{convert|42.0|-|46.0|in|abbr=on}}
| width              = 
| height             = 
| diameter           = 
| crew               = 
<!-- Ranged weapon specifications -->
| cartridge          = [[paper cartridge]], [[buck and ball]]/[[Round shot|roundball]] undersized (.69/17.5&nbsp;mm) to reduce the effects of powder [[fouling]]
| caliber            = .75–.80 (19–20mm)
| barrels            = 
| action             = [[flintlock]]/[[percussion lock]] (conversion)
| rate               = user dependent; usually 3–4 rounds/minute
| velocity           = {{convert|1000|-|1800|ft/s|abbr=on}}<ref>{{cite web |last1=James |first1=Garry |title=Britain's Brown Bess |url=https://www.rifleshootermag.com/editorial/featured_rifles_bess_092407/83445 |website=rifleshootermag.com |date=23 September 2010 |publisher=RifleShooter}}</ref><ref>Benjamin Robins, ''New Principles of Gunnery: Containing the Determination of the Force of Gun-Powder'', 1805</ref>
| range              = {{ubl
  | {{convert|100|yd|m|0|abbr=on}} (point target)
  | {{convert|300|yd|m|0|abbr=on}} (area target)<ref>{{cite book | last=Hughes | first=B. P. | title=Firepower: weapons effectiveness on the battlefield, 1630—1850 | publisher=Arms and Armour Press | publication-place=London | year=1974 | isbn=978-0-85368-229-5 | oclc=1551982 | page=}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Haythornthwaite | first=Philip | title=Napoleonic infantry: Napoleonic Weapons and Warfare |publisher=Cassell | publication-place=London | year=2001 | isbn=978-0-304-35509-9 | oclc=43501345 | page=}}</ref>
}}
| max_range          = {{convert|1200|yd|m|0|abbr=on}} (the maximum range of the bullet when fired at an angle of 60°)<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/MCR/article/view/17669/22312#no10|first1=Peter |last1=Krenn |first2=Paul |last2=Kalaus |first3=Bert |last3=Hall |title = View of Material Culture and Military History: Test-Firing Early Modern Small Arms |journal=Material Culture Review|date=6 June 1995 }}</ref>
| feed               = [[Muzzleloader|Muzzle-loaded]]
| sights             = a single [[Open sights|fore-sight]] that also doubles as a [[bayonet lug]]
}}

"'''Brown Bess'''" is a nickname of uncertain origin for the [[British Army]]'s [[Muzzleloader|muzzle-loading]] smoothbore [[flintlock]] '''Land Pattern Musket''' and its derivatives. The [[musket]] design remained in use for over a hundred years with many incremental changes in its [[design]]. These versions include the Long Land Pattern, the Short Land Pattern, the India Pattern, the New Land Pattern Musket, and the Sea Service Musket.

The Long Land Pattern musket and its derivatives, all 0.75 inches [[Caliber|calibre]] flintlock muskets, were the standard [[long gun]]s of the [[British Empire]]'s land forces from 1722 until 1838, when they were superseded by a [[percussion cap]] [[smoothbore]] musket. The [[Glossary of British ordnance terms|British Ordnance System]] converted many [[flintlock]]s into the new [[Caplock mechanism|percussion system]] known as the Pattern 1839 Musket. A fire in 1841 at the [[Tower of London]] destroyed many muskets before they could be converted. Still, the Brown Bess saw service until the middle of the nineteenth century.

Most male citizens of the [[Thirteen Colonies|thirteen colonies]] of [[British America]] were required by law to own arms and [[ammunition]] for [[militia]] duty.<ref>{{cite web |last=Linder |first=Doug |title=''United States vs. Miller'' (U.S. 1939) |work=Exploring Constitutional Law |publisher=University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School |year=2008 |url=http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/millervus.html |access-date=26 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011123170327/http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/millervus.html |archive-date=23 November 2001 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Long Land Pattern was a common [[firearm]] in use by both sides in the [[American Revolutionary War|American War of Independence]].<ref>Neumann, George. [http://www.americanrifleman.org/ArticlePage.aspx?id=2037&cid=0 "The Redcoats' Brown Bess"], {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722051841/http://www.americanrifleman.org/ArticlePage.aspx?id=2037&cid=0 |date=22 July 2011 }} ''American Rifleman'', posted 2009.</ref>

In 1808 during the [[Napoleonic Wars]], the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]] subsidised [[Sweden]] (during the period when [[Finland under Swedish rule|Finland was under Swedish rule]]) in various ways as the [[Government of the United Kingdom|British government]] anxiously wanted to keep an ally in the [[Baltic Sea]] region. These included deliveries of significant numbers of Brown Bess-muskets for use in the [[Finnish War]] of 1808 to 1809.<ref>Norrbottens museum, Månadens föremål 2009/September Flintlåsgevär med bajonett.</ref>

During the [[Musket Wars]] (1820s–30s), [[Māori people|Māori]] warriors used Brown Besses purchased from European traders at the time. Some muskets were sold to the [[Mexican Army]], which used them during the [[Texas Revolution]] of 1836 and the [[Mexican–American War]] of 1846 to 1848. Brown Besses saw service in the [[First Opium War]] and during the [[Indian rebellion of 1857]]. [[Zulu people|Zulu]] warriors, who had also purchased them from European traders, used them during the [[Anglo-Zulu War]] in 1879. One was even used in the [[Battle of Shiloh]] in 1862, during the [[American Civil War]].<ref>Brown, Dee Alexander (1959). ''The Bold Cavaliers''. p. 50.</ref>

==Origins of the name==

One hypothesis is that the "Brown Bess" was named after [[Elizabeth I of England]], but this lacks support. [[Jonathan Ferguson]], Keeper of Firearms and Artillery at the [[Royal Armouries]], traces the name to at least the 1760s, and his research suggests the name was adopted from slang for a [[mistress (lover)|mistress]], [[prostitute]], or lowly woman who also appear in period sources referred to as "Brown Bess". He writes, {{"'}}Bess' was a [[generic term|generic]] and sometimes [[derogatory]] name, a bit like 'Sheila' in modern [[Australian English]]", and "brown" simply meant plain or drab. Ferguson discounts, with evidence, many of the other theories previously popular.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://royalarmouries.org/stories/our-collection/brown-bess-musket-or-mistress/|title=History of the term 'Brown Bess'|date=2017-05-17|publisher=Royal Armouries|access-date=2018-11-16|language=en-GB|archive-date=18 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418223622/https://royalarmouries.org/stories/our-collection/brown-bess-musket-or-mistress/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Early uses of the term include the [[newspaper]], the ''[[The Hartford Courant|Connecticut Courant]]'' in April 1771, which said: "...&nbsp;but if you are afraid of the sea, take Brown Bess on your shoulder and march." This familiar use indicates widespread use of the term by that time. The 1785 ''Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue'', a contemporary work that defined vernacular and [[Slang|slang terms]], contained this entry: "Brown Bess: A soldier's firelock. To hug Brown Bess; to carry a fire-lock, or serve as a private soldier." [[Military]] and [[government]] records of the time do not use this poetical name but refer to ''firelocks'', ''flintlock'', ''muskets'' or by the weapon's model designations.

[[File:Officer and Serjeant of a Highland Regiment.jpg|thumb|left|Soldiers of the [[42nd Regiment of Foot|Black Watch]] armed with a musket (Brown Bess) and a [[halberd]], {{Circa|1790}}]]

Popular explanations of the use of the word "Brown" include that it was a reference to either the colour of the [[walnut]] [[Stock (firearm)|stocks]], or to the characteristic brown colour that was produced by russeting, an early form of [[metal]] treatment. However, in the case of russeting at least, the [[Oxford English Dictionary]] (OED) and Ferguson note that "[[Browning (steel)|browning]]" was only introduced in the early 19th century, well after the term had come into general use.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://royalarmouries.org/stories/our-collection/brown-bess-musket-or-mistress/|title=History of the term 'Brown Bess'|date=2017-05-17|publisher=Royal Armouries|access-date=2018-11-16|language=en-GB|archive-date=18 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418223622/https://royalarmouries.org/stories/our-collection/brown-bess-musket-or-mistress/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Others argue that mass-produced weapons of the time were coated in brown [[varnish]] on metal parts as a rust-preventive and on [[wood]] as a sealer (or in the case of unscrupulous [[General contractor|contractor]]s, to disguise inferior or non-regulation types of wood), an entirely different thing from russeting.

Similarly, the word "Bess" is commonly held to either derive from the word ''[[arquebus]]'' or ''[[blunderbuss]]'' (predecessors of the musket) or to be a reference to Elizabeth I, possibly given to commemorate her death. The OED has citations for "brown musket" dating back to the early 18th century that refer to the same weapon. Another suggestion is that the name is simply the counterpart to the earlier [[Bill (weapon)|Brown Bill]]. However, the origin of the name may be much simpler, if vulgar.

{{poemquote|In the days of lace-ruffles, perukes, and brocade
Brown Bess was a partner whom none could despise—
An out-spoken, flinty-lipped, brazen-faced jade,
With a habit of looking men straight in the eyes—
At [[Battle of Blenheim|Blenheim]] and [[Battle of Ramillies|Ramillies]], fops would confess
They were pierced to the heart by the charms of Brown Bess ...|sign=[[Rudyard Kipling]], "Brown Bess", 1911}}

Kipling may have based his poem on an earlier but similar "Brown Bess" poem published in "Flights of Fancy" (No. 16) in 1792. Of course, the name could have been initially inspired by the older term of the "Brown Bill" and perhaps the barrels were originally varnished brown, but it is well known in literary circles that the name "Brown Bess" during the period in question in the 17th to early 19th centuries is not a reference to a colour or a weapon but to simply refer to a wanton prostitute (or harlot).<ref>A Dictionary of Sexual Language and Imagery in Shakespearean and Stuart Literature, Gordon Williams (1994) pgs 102–103</ref> Such a nickname would have been a delight to the soldiers of the era who were from the lower classes of English and then British society. So far, the earliest use noted of the term "Brown Bess" was in a 1631 publication, John Done's ''Polydoron: or A Mescellania of Morall, Philosophicall, and Theological Sentences'', page 152:

{{blockquote|Things profferd and easie to come by, diminish themselves in reputation & price: for how full of pangs and dotage is a wayling lover, for it may be some browne bessie? But let a beautie fall a weeping, overpressed with the sicke passion; she favours in our thoughts, something Turnbull.}}

==The Land Pattern muskets==
[[Image:Brown-Bess-Musket.png|thumb|upright|The Long Land Pattern "Brown Bess" musket was the British infantryman's basic arm from about 1740 until the 1830s.]]

From the seventeenth century to the early years of the eighteenth century, most nations did not specify standards for military firearms. Firearms were individually procured by officers or [[regiment]]s as late as 1745, and were often custom-made to the tastes of the purchaser. As the firearm gained ascendancy on the [[battlefield]], this lack of [[standardisation]] led to increasing difficulties in the supply of [[ammunition]] and repair materials. To address these difficulties, armies began to adopt standardised "patterns". A military service selected a "pattern musket" to be stored in a "pattern room". There it served as a reference for [[Gunsmith|arms makers]], who could make comparisons and take measurements to ensure that their products matched the standard.

Stress-bearing parts of the Brown Bess, such as the [[Gun barrel|barrel]], [[Mechanism (engineering)|lockwork]], and [[Sling (firearms)|sling]]-[[swivel]]s, were customarily made of iron, while other furniture pieces such as the butt plate, [[trigger guard]] and ramrod pipe were found in both iron and [[brass]]. It weighed around {{convert|10|lb|kg}} and it could be fitted with a {{convert|17|in|mm|adj=on}} triangular [[cross section (geometry)|cross-section]] [[bayonet]]. The weapon had a single fore-sight, but no rear sights.  this doubled as a bayonet lock. This is often mistakenly referred to as a "bayonet lug" but this is a modern nomenclature - contemporary sources refer to this as a "sight" and cite its positioning to be intentional for aiming.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Windham |first1=William |url=https://play.google.com/store/books/details/William_Windham_A_Plan_of_Discipline_Composed_for?id=B0EIAAAAQAAJ |title=A Plan of Discipline, Composed for the Use of the Militia of the County of Norfolk |last2=Townshend |first2=George Townshend Marquis |date=1759 |publisher=Printed, for J. Shuckburgh, at the Sun, next Richard's coffee-house, Fleetstreet |language=en}}</ref>

The earliest models had iron fittings, but these were replaced by brass in models built after 1736. Wooden [[ramrod]]s were used with the first guns but were replaced by iron ones, although guns with wooden scouring sticks were still issued to troops on American service until 1765 and later to [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|loyalist]] units in the [[American Revolution]]. Wooden ramrods, also called scouring sticks, were also used in the [[Dragoon]] version produced from 1744 to 1771 for [[Navy]] and [[Marines|Marine]] use.

The [[Accuracy (firearm)|accuracy]] of the Brown Bess was fair, as with most other muskets. In 1811, in [[London]], a test [[shooting]] was conducted at the site. The [[Shooting target|target]] was a wooden [[shield]] the size of an [[infantry]] or a [[cavalry]] line. The results of the practice were as follows: at a distance of {{convert|100|yd|m}} 53% hits, {{convert|200|yd|m}} 30% hits, {{convert|300|yd|m}} 23% hits. The accuracy of the Brown Bess was in line with most other smoothbore muskets of the 18th to 19th centuries. But it should be borne in mind that this{{Clarify|date=August 2021|reason=the text refers to tests; normally they would not be done by unskilled soldiers}} is the result of shooting by ordinary soldiers who had little [[Military education and training|training]]. Soldiers of [[light infantry]] had more training, and were taught accurate shooting.<ref>British Light Infantry and Rifle Tactics of the Napoleonic Wars</ref>

The Brown Bess was used not only in the [[line infantry]], but also light infantry, as well as [[Rogers' Rangers]], hunters, [[skirmisher]]s, [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Indians]] and many other [[Irregular military|irregular troops]] who used non-standard [[Military tactics|tactics]].

According to Spearman in ''The British Gunner'', the standard service charge for the Brown Bess was 6 drams (165 grains) of [[black powder]], including the powder used for priming. However, Spearman also mentioned that "the service charges given in [the] table, although established by authority, [were] too great, and [could] be reduced by about one-fourth" due to advances in black powder quality.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Spearman |first1=James |title=The British Gunner |date=1828 |publisher=Allen Parbury |location=London |url=https://archive.org/details/britishgunner00speagoog/page/n60/mode/2up}}</ref> Analysis of two paper cartridges from the [[American Revolutionary War]] found that they contained approximately 115 grains of powder, which was consistent with Spearman's observations that the standard service charge could be reduced by one-fourth.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Klatt |first1=Paul E |title=Musket Cartridges of the American Revolution |journal=Gun Report |date=December 1999 |volume=45 |issue=7 |url=https://www.reenactor.ru/ARH/PDF/Paul.pdf}}</ref>

Modern [[Ballistics|ballistic]] testing with [[Electronic firing|electronic ignition]] demonstrated that a muzzle velocity of 1800 fps was possible, with a corresponding muzzle energy of approximately 4000 J (2940 ft-pds).<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/MCR/article/view/17669/22312#no10|title = View of Material Culture and Military History: Test-Firing Early Modern Small Arms &#124; Material Culture Review| journal=Material Culture Review | date=6 June 1995 | last1=Krenn | first1=Peter | last2=Kalaus | first2=Paul | last3=Hall | first3=Bert }}</ref> 

However, when loaded with 100 to 110 grains of modern black powder and fired manually, the Brown Bess typically only reached a muzzle velocity of 1000 fps with approximately 1600 J (1180 ft-pds) of muzzle energy.<ref>{{cite web |last1=James |first1=Garry |title=Britain's Brown Bess |url=https://www.rifleshootermag.com/editorial/featured_rifles_bess_092407/83445 |website=rifleshootermag.com |date=23 September 2010 |publisher=RifleShooter}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Scott |first1=Douglass |last2=Bohy |first2=Joel |last3=Boor |first3=Nathan |last4=Haecker |first4=Charles |last5=Rose |first5=William |last6=Severts |first6=Patrick |title=Colonial Era Firearm Bullet Performance: A Live-Fire Experimental Study for Archaeological Interpretation |journal=American Society of Arms Collectors |date=April 2017 |url=https://americansocietyofarmscollectors.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/I-Roundball-Shooting-Phase-1-Report-Revised-3-20-24.pdf}}</ref> 

Roberts et al. summarized historical data which suggested that muzzle velocities of 1500 fps were not uncommon. This would generate approximately 3000 J (2200 ft-pds) of muzzle energy. However, Roberts was unable to generate this velocity without exceeding the service charge established by Spearman.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Roberts |first1=N A |last2=Brown |first2=J W |last3=Hammett |first3=B |last4=Kingston |first4=P D F |title=A Detailed Study of the Effectiveness and Capabilities of 18th Century Musketry on the Battlefield |journal=Journal of Conflict Archaeology |date=February 2008 |volume=4 |issue=1/2 |pages=1–22 |doi=10.1163/157407808X382737 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/48601919#:~:text=The%20research%20found%20the%20Brown,even%20if%20bone%20were%20hit.|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

According to the Russian lieutenant-general Ivan G. Gogel, all the muskets of the [[List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Europe|European nations]] were able to penetrate a wooden [[shield]] with a thickness of {{convert|1|in|cm}} at a distance of 300 yards.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://search.rsl.ru/ru/record/01002987782|title = Гогель, Иван Григорьевич - Подробное наставление о изготовлении, употреблении и сбережении, огнестрельнаго и белаго солдатскаго оружия : С 6-ю чертежами - Search RSL| year=1825 | publisher=В типографии Медицинскаго департамента Министерства внутренних дел }}</ref>

British soldiers armed with Brown Besses preferred to reduce the standard number of steps for loading a musket. To this end, they would sometimes drop the [[Paper cartridge|cartridge]] into the barrel and strike the butt on the ground, to seat the load without the use of a ramrod.<ref>Thomas Anburey. "Here I cannot help observing to you, whether it proceeded from an idea of self-preservation, or natural instinct, but the soldiers greatly improved the mode they were taught in, as to expedition. For as soon as they had primed their pieces and put the [[Paper cartridge|cartridge]] into the barrel, instead of ramming it down with their scouring sticks, they struck the butt plate of the piece upon the ground, and bringing it to the present, fired it off."</ref>

Besides not having [[Open sights|fore-sights]], Brown Bess-muskets were virtually identical to [[Potzdam musket]]s up until the Prussian 1801 pattern.

===Variations===
[[File:Buck&Ball musket StormWreck.jpg|thumb|X-ray of a Brown Bess musket recovered by [[St. Augustine Light#Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program (LAMP)|LAMP]] archaeologists from an American Revolutionary War-era shipwreck from a ship lost in December 1782. It is believed to be a 1769 Short Land Pattern, and is loaded with [[buck and ball]].]]

Many variations and modifications of the standard pattern musket were created over its long history. The earliest version was the Long Land Pattern of 1722, {{convert|62|in|mm}} long (without bayonet), with a {{convert|46|in|mm|adj=on}} barrel. It was later found that shortening the barrel did not detract from accuracy but made handling easier, giving rise to the Militia (or Marine) Pattern of 1756 and the Short Land Pattern of 1768, which both had a {{convert|42|in|mm|adj=on}} barrel. Another version with a {{convert|39|in|mm|adj=on}} barrel was first manufactured for the [[British East India Company]], and was eventually adopted by the British Army in 1790 as the India Pattern.

By the late 1830s and into the early 1840s the weapon was becoming obsolete and its flintlock mechanism was being replaced by the more efficient and reliable percussion cap ignition. The [[flintlock mechanism]] was prone to misfiring, especially in [[Moisture content|wet weather]]. The last flintlock pattern manufactured was selected for conversion to the new system as the Pattern 1839. As a fire at the Tower of London destroyed large stocks of these in 1841, a new Pattern 1842 musket was manufactured. These remained in service until the 1853 outbreak of the [[Crimean War]], when they were replaced by the [[Minié rifle|Minié]] and the [[Pattern 1853 Enfield|P53 Enfield]] [[rifled musket]].

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! style="text-align:left; width:10%;"|Pattern
! style="text-align:left; width:20%;"|In service
! style="text-align:left; width:15%;"|Barrel Length
! style="text-align:left; width:15%;"|Overall Length
! style="text-align:left; width:15%;"|Weight
|-
|Long Land Pattern || 1722–1793<br>Standard Infantry Musket 1722–1768<br>(supplemented by Short Land Pattern from 1768) || {{convert|46|in|mm}} || {{convert|62.5|in|mm}} || {{convert|10.4|lb|kg}}
|-
|Short Land Pattern || 1740–1797<br>1740 (Dragoons)<br>1768 (Infantry)<br>Standard Infantry Musket 1793–1805 || {{convert|42|in|mm}} || {{convert|58.5|in|mm}} || {{convert|10.5|lb|kg}}
|-
|India Pattern || 1797–1854<br>Standard Infantry Musket 1797–1854<br>(Some in use pre-1797 purchased from the East India Company for use in Egypt) || {{convert|39|in|mm}} || {{convert|55.25|in|mm}} || {{convert|9.68|lb|kg}}
|-
|New Land Pattern || 1802–1854<br>Issued only to the Foot Guards and 4th Regiment of Foot || {{convert|39|in|mm}} || {{convert|55.5|in|mm}} || {{convert|10.06|lb|kg}}
|-
|New Light Infantry Land Pattern || 1811–1854<br>Issued only to the 43rd, 51st, 52nd, 68th, 71st and 85th Light Infantry and the Battalions of the 60th Foot not armed with rifles. The detail differences between this musket and the standard New Land Pattern were a scrolled trigger guard similar to that of the [[Baker Rifle]] except more rounded, a browned barrel and a notch used as rear-sights, the bayonet lug being used as fore-sights || {{convert|39|in|mm}} || {{convert|55.5|in|mm}} || {{convert|10.06|lb|kg}}
|-
|Cavalry Carbine || 1796–1838<br>Issued to cavalry units || {{convert|26|in|mm}} || {{convert|42.5|in|mm}} || {{convert|7.37|lb|kg}}
|-
|Sea Service Pattern || 1778–1854<br>Issued to Royal Navy ships, drawn by men as required, Marines used Sea Service weapons when deployed as part of a ship's company but were issued India Pattern weapons when serving ashore || {{convert|37|in|mm}} || {{convert|53.5|in|mm}} || {{convert|9.00|lb|kg}}
|-
|}

==See also==
* [[British military rifles]]
* [[Carbine]]
* [[Charleville musket|French Land Pattern Musket]]
* [[Historical reenactment]]
* [[List of infantry weapons in the American Revolution]]
* [[List of wars involving England]]
* [[List of wars involving Great Britain]]
* [[List of wars involving the United Kingdom]]
* [[M1752 Musket|Spanish Land Pattern Musket]]
* [[Military history of Britain]]
* [[Military history of England]]
* [[Military history of the United Kingdom]]
* [[Musket]]
* [[Potzdam musket|Prussian Land Pattern Musket]]
* [[Rifle]]
* [[Springfield musket|American Land Pattern Musket]]
* [[Swedish Land Pattern Musket]]

{{s-start}}
{{succession box |title=United States Army rifle |before=??? |years=1776-1795 |after=[[Model 1795 Musket]]}}
{{s-end}}

== Citations==
{{Reflist}}

==General bibliography==
* Cumpston, Mike. [https://www.thefreelibrary.com/The+guns+of+empire%3A+18th+century+martial+muskets.-a0180516167 "The guns of empire: 18th century martial muskets"]. ''Guns'', August 2008, p.&nbsp;60. FMG Publications, San Diego, CA
* Reid, Stuart. ''British Redcoat (2) 1793—1815''. Warrior series. Osprey Publishing. {{isbn|9781855325562}}. {{OCLC|37820387}}.

==External links==
{{Wikisource1911Enc|Brown Bess}}
{{Commons category|Brown Bess}}
* [http://www.militaryheritage.com/muskets.htm Detailed Brown Bess Images and Information. Correct Source of Images with Blue Background.]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160425135105/http://www.lincolnminutemen.org/brown-bess-musket-misconception/ Brown Bess—Musket Misconception]
* [http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/brown-bess-2/ Kipling's poem "Brown Bess"]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJMbxZ1k9NQ Brown Bess Musket: Three shots in 46 seconds (video)]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oPPF6hk8u4 Live Fire (Brown Bess) Volley at 60 yards www.kings8th.com (video)]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiQUYnv64mQ (Brown Bess) Musket Firing Demonstration Part 1 (Minuteman National Park) (video)]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgrLWwZeVYQ (Brown Bess) Musket Firing Demonstration Part 2 (Minuteman National Park) (video)]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ho-QCmnNMl8 How to fire a Brown Bess musket—English Heritage (video)]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trgZmM9fNS0 Brown Bess Flintlock Musket Accuracy—updated (Australia) (video)]
* [https://digitaltmuseum.se/021026713982/gevar Swedish subsidy musket from the United Kingdom #1—Swedish Army Museum (image)]
* [https://digitaltmuseum.se/011023042101/gevar-m-1794 Swedish subsidy musket from the United Kingdom #2—Swedish Army Museum (image)]

{{BritishEmpireWeapons}}
{{VictorianEraBritishWeapons}}
{{Early firearms}}

[[Category:18th-century weapons]]
[[Category:19th-century weapons]]
[[Category:British Army equipment]]
[[Category:Military equipment of the Early Modern period]]
[[Category:Military equipment of the late modern period]]
[[Category:Muskets]]
[[Category:War of 1812]]
[[Category:Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1722]]
[[Category:Weapons of the United Kingdom]]
[[category:Victorian-era weapons of the United Kingdom]]
[[category:American Revolution]]
[[category:American Revolutionary War]]
[[category:Fur trade]]
[[Category:American Civil War weapons]]
[[Category:Napoleonic Wars weapons]]
[[Category:Weapons of the Confederate States of America]]