The Historian's Archives

Wow. I haven't blogged in ages! Well, my mother Mrs. Mecomber finally put a spark under my seat and got me to blog again -- she tagged me with a photo meme! To be honest, I don't have that many photos. But I do have a TON of history pictures; you know, paintings and sketches, etc., from American history. So let's see, what are the rules? 1. Go to your Picture Folder on your computer or wherever you store your pictures.
2. Go to the 6th Folder and then pick the 6th Picture.
3. Post it on your bloggy and tell the story that goes with the picture.
4. Tag 5 other glorious peoples to do the same thing and leave a comment on their bloggy tellin’ them ’bout it.

Well, here is my picture:


No, these guys are not standing in line. This is an illustration of the steps that a Continental Soldier, fighting for American independence in General George Washington's army, would have to go through to load his musket. My family learned about these steps when we visited Fort Stanwix in Rome, New York. It could take as many as 20 seconds to load your musket, and after you fired a single shot (and muskets were usually less accurate than the one firing it), you would have to start all over again! Imagine trying to do that when you have bullets and shells whizzing around your head! No wonder it was the habit of the Continentals to retreat into the woods rather than take an open field!

You would think that somebody would have tried to make an improvement on this system, so that you wouldn't have to spend so much time reloading. Well, you'd be correct. The most common rifles in America, mentioned above, were mass-manufactured by factories in Europe. But in the early American wilderness, you had to shot many times, and fast. With Indians on the warpath, and hunting the main source of food supply, a better musket was invented (some say) as early as the 1740s by the German settlers of western Pennsylvania and Kentucky. This was also known as the long rifle, because its barrel was longer than most rifles, giving it greater accuracy. It was also built to fire two shots without needing to reload. This weapon came in handy many a time during the Revolutionary War, and since it was a uniquely American musket, it was the patriots' "secret weapon."

One of the times this rifle came in handy was right here in New York State, at the Battle of Freeman's Farm (one of the first battles of the Saratoga Campaign of 1777), when Daniel Morgan's Rifle Company used it to ambush the British from the tops of the trees, taking down British officers. Eventually, the British were overwhelmed by the Americans, and the British General Burgoyne was forced to surrender, on October 17, 1777. The attempt to divide the American colonies by taking New York had failed, and it is said that Burgoyne privately made the statement that his defeat meant that the final victory in the Revolutionary War would belong to the Americans.