Object Record

Metadata

Object name

Bayonet, Socket

Title

Bayonet, Socket

Date

1795

Materials and techniques

Metal

Physical description

Bayonet: probably for a US musket copied after a French Musket, or for a French musket.

Bayonet with a flat rectangular blade, with a slight face flute towards the tip. Scalloped sholders, short central fuller on the flat upper face. These were often shipped to the Continental Army based on the French Model 1754, and made for use with the Charleville musket.

Past exhibit

Sons of the Revolution in the State of New York History

Current exhibit

Path to Liberty: The Emergence of a Nation

Gallery label

Path to Liberty (2025): Continental soldiers carried most of their own supplies from battlefield to battlefield. This included weapons, musket balls and powder horns, and extra clothing. One soldier might carry over 45 pounds of gear, with his musket alone weighing 10 to 15 pounds. At the start of the war in spring 1775, militia men brought their personal weapons, including muskets and swords. By November that year, the Continental Congress sought to standardize weapons across the Army, and began issuing them directly to soldiers. These standards included use of .75 caliber muskets with barrels measuring three feet and eight inches long, and steel ramrods. The musket on display bears the symbol of the British East India Company and the initials "TOW" for "Tower of London" on its lock plate. While some soldiers owned guns before the war, some muskets used by Patriots were captured from British arsenals. Soldiers also collected and reused enemy musket balls found on the battlefield. Officers carried polearms, like the halberd and sword shown here. General Washington favored officers carrying polearms, recognising that their attention was needed for troops under their command, and muskets would divert that attention. However, this made officers vulnerable to attack, so they often carried pistols for protection. Pistols, then, became both a necessary defense and a status symbol within the Army.

Catalogue number

X65

Collection name

Tools and Equipment

Credit line

Collection of Fraunces Tavern Museum