Guns and Sons of the American Revolution

[rep308]

After a couple of years of on and off again research, my application was accepted to the Sons of the American Revolution showing that Simon Palmer of Bartlet's regiment of the NH Militia is my 5th Great Grandfather. He fought in the battle of Bennington under Colonel Webster and was awarded 200 acres in Malta Maine for his service in 1820.

I figured it would be a great time to get a flintlock celebrate and a repro one that I can shoot and have fun. I can't seem to find out much about the firearms they used in his regiment so I looked at the Lexington Militia handbook for guidance:

http://www.lexingtonminutemen.com/u..._clothing_and_equipment_guidelines_2014_2.pdf

A Long Land Brown Bess seems to be historically accurate with two recommended sources

Middlesex Village Trading Company in NH - India import about $650
Pedersoli Brown Bess Musket - Italian import sold by many sources including Dixie Gun Works about $1100. http://www.davide-pedersoli.com/tipologia-prodotti.asp/l_en/idt_54/rifles-brown-bess.html

I can drive to NH to see and hold a Middlesex version and the reviews on the Pedersoli are good. The cost differential does not matter.

The questions to the board:
Is this a good historically accurate model to start?
Does anyone have personal experience with either flintlock?
Are there others I should consider?

 

[MisterHappy]

I am not a reenactor, and I don't play one on TV

I'd suggest that you talk to one of the rebel scum (my ancestors at that time were Tories ) that do the Lexington thing - most, if not all, of the Rebels did not have "military" arms at the start, but fowling pieces, and that sort of thing.

Just a thought, to broaden your choices.

I spoke with a Colonial a few years ago, and he said that fowling pieces were more likely in this area, as the nearest deer were "five days' walk west."

 

[Billsail]

The Lexington Minutemen seem to be sticklers for authenticity, and they recommend the $600 muskets from Middlesex Village Trading.

I think there was one in the classifieds here, a while ago.

 

[WBspectrum]

Mind sharing the process with us? I can trace my family back to the Revolutionary War and before. Thinking it might be good to join

 

[rep308]

Mind sharing the process with us? I can trace my family back to the Revolutionary War and before. Thinking it might be good to join

Go to https://www.sar.org/ and read through the application process. You need birth, death, marriage certificate to make you case. Real evidence is needed not just "grandma told me that". You apply though the state that the Revolutionary War vet fought in and there are genealogists who can help you through the process. I'm working through my Mom's side now as my secondary application, Amasa Mitchell fought in the Connecticut Militia. It's a hobby that turned into an obsession and I'm doing it to preserve my family heritage and a gift to my children and future generations. Now people only have to show they are related to me to make the link. Much easier for my cousins and other family members.

I did the Sons of the Union Soldiers of the Civil war from my Gettysburg wounded 3rd great grandfather last year and probably will buy a Springfield musket too.

Next steps are going through the process for the Daughters of the American Revolution, www.dar.org for my daughter and nieces. New Hampshire has awesome records going back 250 years for $15 per search and the good Mormons at Ancestry.com made it all possible

 

[knfmn]

I did the Sons of the Union Soldiers of the Civil war from my Gettysburg wounded 3rd great grandfather last year and probably will buy a Springfield musket too.

Damn Yankee!! [emoji3]

I'm looking forward to being active again with the SCV when I finally get back down south.

 

[Navy Moose]

Awesome you could find this information! Did the various organizations accept the information provided by Ancestory?

 

[rep308]

Awesome you could find this information! Did the various organizations accept the information provided by Ancestory?

No, ancestry gives you a hint or a fact. You then have to go to the original source for the doc.

 

[Ben Cartwright SASS]

Welcome to the SAR!

I had 24 ancestors who fought in the Revolution, all from the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania. I have 4 proven for the SAR and belong to the Boston Chapter. One of my ancestors Conrad Bloss was killed at the Battle of Long Island.

http://padell.org/revolution.html

 

[browncoat]

Welcome to the SAR!

I had 24 ancestors who fought in the Revolution, all from the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania. I have 4 proven for the SAR and belong to the Boston Chapter. One of my ancestors Conrad Bloss was killed at the Battle of Long Island.

http://padell.org/revolution.html

I'm descended through my mother from Captain William Prowell who fought in the revolutionary war and was from York PA. On my dad's side at least one of my ancestors fought for the Union in the Civil War. For SAR does only patrilineal descent count?

Sent from my GT-P3113 using Tapatalk

 

[WBspectrum]

Go to https://www.sar.org/ and read through the application process. You need birth, death, marriage certificate to make you case. Real evidence is needed not just "grandma told me that". You apply though the state that the Revolutionary War vet fought in and there are genealogists who can help you through the process. I'm working through my Mom's side now as my secondary application, Amasa Mitchell fought in the Connecticut Militia. It's a hobby that turned into an obsession and I'm doing it to preserve my family heritage and a gift to my children and future generations. Now people only have to show they are related to me to make the link. Much easier for my cousins and other family members. I did the Sons of the Union Soldiers of the Civil war from my Gettysburg wounded 3rd great grandfather last year and probably will buy a Springfield musket too. Next steps are going through the process for the Daughters of the American Revolution, www.dar.org for my daughter and nieces. New Hampshire has awesome records going back 250 years for $15 per search and the good Mormons at Ancestry.com made it all possible

Thanks. My Mom has already done all of the genealogy work so I'm well on my way I guess.

 

[Ben Cartwright SASS]

No.
It could be maternal all the way or a mix or what ever, it just has to be a "direct" line from you to the Patriot ancestor.

It is a good time to get in, next year the National Convention is here in Massachusetts.

 

[shadowr434]

I too am in the process of becoming a member as my 5th great grandfather on my grandmothers side was in the fight.

 

[IPSC_DRL]

I have a long land pattern Brown Bess musket and really enjoy shooting it. I practiced for a while and got to the point where I can fire three rounds in a minute which I understand was the acceptable standard for a musket man of the day.


I have been told that my great grandfather was conscripted to serve in the Russian army. ............

 

[rep308]

I've received a lot of PM's on how to go through the application process, here is what I did:

I used Ancestry.com, an amazing site, to get links to the details and map the path. I then went for the original sources. Census data after 1860 included all household members and links to the original docs that I printed out. Census data pre civil was is touch and go depending on where you lived. NH was amazing and list the primary Male by name and others by count. Good for tracking if your target is the primary male.

Ancestry.com gave me leads to birth, death and marriage dates. I then sent a form and $15 for NH records for official copies by mail. MA requires you go to Boston to do any pre 1910 work on site, a pain. Maine says tough luck no records before 1900. It is really state dependent. Ancestry gave me links to Revolutionary War rolls and stated that my 5th Great Granddad received a land grant from the state of Maine and for $25 I was able to get a copy (I wish I could get those 200 acres!)

If you go to the SAR.org site they list the genealogist by state that you worked with. Simon Palmer fought in NH so I worked with that person. I had my crap together before I contacted him and I think that got his attention. He helped me find some docs, helped me format the app and reviewed it. I sent him two full copies of my documentation (about 75 pages!) and two checks totaling $150 one for the state app and one for national. Eight weeks later I got a notice.

My wife's granddad was in the SAR. To apply from her side you list the person who is already in member number and then show your link to them. It is a heck of a lot easier to get a secondary for my Son by going back to his great granddad than all the way back to the original person.

It takes time, patience and persistence. I had little to start with and got so frustrated I quit for 6 months. I had a Eureka moment when I got help from the Exeter NH historical society. There are dozen's of local historical societies in NH each staffed by helpful volunteers. I found if you did your homework and asked nice they were very willing to help. I always sent them a $50 thank you check.

Overall I spent about $500 in search and app fees and Ancestry.com is a whopping $300 per year. They have free two week trials from time to time. Be careful about following false paths. There are is a lot of sloppy work on that site from other users who want to be famous but cheat when faced with the: Am I related to this important person or this farmer? Following a false path can waste a lot of time.

I learned a lot, had fun and made my Dad proud. I think it was the best gift I every gave him and that is the best part so far.

 

[Palladin]

Been in both SAR & Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil war for a few years now. Grandfather x7 fought at Saratoga, Grandfather x3 fought at the 2nd battle of Bull Run.
It's a lot of confirmation work, took 18 months from start to finish, each generation has to have confirming documentation.

my Uncle x6, married a Mayflower Descendant; it's fascinating stuff.

BBQUncle is in both SAR, SUVCW and Confederate sons. He has the most knowledge on this stuff and the weapons utilized.

 

[Jenny]

Living history types I know speak MUCH more highly of the Pedersoli than the Indian ones imported by Middlesex so far as build quality goes: that said I don't know if Pedersoli has the more-period-correct Long Land. (Short Lands were rather like M4s in news footage of the early part of the Iraq war: they were around, but not as ubiquitous as they'd later become. Edit: the linked Perdersoli does look like a Short Land. It existed in period, but I doubt a NH militiaman would have one, at least early in the war. )

Militia arms at least in MA colony were largely fowlers, yes. A quick day trip to Lexington/Concord will show you lots of examples. If that's what you're going for, I'd just check out the Concord museum and the Masonic museum that's in Lexington near the Arlington town line. Alternately try to find a copy of "Muskets of the Revolution & French & Indian Wars"

Common features you'll find: a filed "rear sight notch" at the breechplug and recycled hardware from F&I (French & Indian War) era French military muskets (bringbacks by victorious English militia I assume).

This one from Middlesex is fairly close in form, but the lock is a little early:
http://www.middlesexvillagetrading.com/MNEF.shtml


.. or spend twice as much and have a very nice replica made. If cost differential is no object, and around-$1200 is on the table, this is absolutely the route I'd go in your shoes.
I'm sure if you write one of the local reenactor companies, they can suggest a good maker for this area / period.

 

[dogdoctor]

After a couple of years of on and off again research, my application was accepted to the Sons of the American Revolution showing that Simon Palmer of Bartlet's regiment of the NH Militia is my 5th Great Grandfather. He fought in the battle of Bennington under Colonel Webster and was awarded 200 acres in Malta Maine for his service in 1820.

Congrats on joining. I'm in the process of trying to change my State/Chapter to Mass. I joined with/under my Father just this summer in CT (way simpler on the application process to do it that way since he was joining too). Unfortunately, from what I've been told, is that the Mass SAR Secretary has had some health issues and my transfer request has stalled.

 

[gerrycaruso]

I saw a Brown Bess at Cabela's in Berlin the last time I was in there. Blue Northern in Ayer may also have one.