Revolutionary War Facts

Facts about Weapons of the Revolutionary War

Revolutionary Weapons Fact 1 Muskets: The most common Revolutionary weapon was the flintlock musket, commonly known as the Brown Bess, and was first used in 1768
Revolutionary Weapons Fact 2 Muskets: The Muskets were muzzle loaded with a single shot or grape shot (multiple balls), fired from the shoulder.
Revolutionary Weapons Fact 3 Muskets: The Musket had a short range and was not very accurate and used by infantry. The Revolutionary War muskets were commonly equipped with bayonets
Revolutionary Weapons Fact 4 Muskets: Only about 20% of the lead fired from one army to another hit the target
Revolutionary Weapons Fact 5 Rifles: A shoulder fired weapon with a long barrel. The rifle was slower to load but more accurate than the musket. The rifle had a longer effective range. Sharpshooting riflemen were used as snipers against the British to great effect - see the Battle of Long Island
Revolutionary Weapons Fact 6 Rifles: The rifle had a longer effective range. Sharpshooting riflemen were used as snipers against the British to great effect - see the Battle of Long Island
Revolutionary Weapons Fact 7 Long Rifles: The Long Rifle was the one of the first completely American designs. It was made by the Germans who colonized Pennsylvania
Revolutionary Weapons Fact 8 Bayonets: The bayonet is a swordlike stabbing metal blade that may be fixed to the muzzle of a musket or rifle for use in hand-to-hand fighting, effectively turning the gun into a spear
Revolutionary Weapons Fact 9 Bayonets: The bayonet is referred to as an edged weapon mounted on the muzzle end of a firearm as a backup weapon used in close quarters combat.
Revolutionary Weapons Fact 10 Pistols: A pistol is a non-repeating handgun - designed to be held and operated by one hand
Revolutionary Weapons Fact 11 Pistols: The barrel of a pistol was approximately six inches long. Difficult use because of the extensive load times.
Revolutionary Weapons Fact 12 Pistols: Cavalrymen and American officers used pistols. Pistols were effective only at close range.
Revolutionary Weapons Fact 13 Swords: Swords were widely used during the Revolutionary war and included hanger swords (cutlass), sabres and hunting swords
Revolutionary Weapons Fact 14 Hanger Swords - Cutlass: A Hanger Sword or cutlass is a short, broad sabre or slashing sword, with a straight or slightly curved blade sharpened on the cutting edge and was used by Infantrymen
Revolutionary Weapons Fact 15 Sabres: A sabre is a heavy cavalry sword with a curved blade and a single cutting edge. Officers also carried small sabre swords which were light, straight, and slender - often used to direct troops
Revolutionary Weapons Fact 16 Hunting Swords: A Hunting sword is single-handed short sword
Revolutionary Weapons Fact 17 Tomahawks: A tomahawk is type of axe that is native to North America, resembling a hatchet with a straight shaft.
Revolutionary Weapons Fact 18 Tomahawks: The tomahawk was used as a hand-to-hand or a thrown weapon
Revolutionary Weapons Fact 19 Knives: A vast selection of knives were used during the Revolutionary war including throwing knives, daggers, scalpers and skinners
Revolutionary Weapons Fact 20 Pole arms: A pole arm was a cutting or thrusting weapon mounted on a long handle or pole. Pikes, spears, halberds, partisans and spontoons were all pole-arms. A pole arm was used as a close combat weapon in which a blade is placed on the end of a long wooden shaft, extending the user's effective range.