Hampton Roads Naval Museum

11. American Musket, 1812

Norfolk, VA

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Copied from the 1766 model French musket, the 1795 Springfield infantry musket was the first official model musket of the United States. Initially with the bayonet lug on the bottom of the barrel, this was rotated to the top of the barrel in 1797 and the look remained more or less the same through the end of the War of 1812. The musket gets its name from the first government armory of the United States in Springfield, Massachusetts. Though this weapon was much easier to disassemble, it was longer, had a shorter bayonet, a smaller caliber, and all metal parts were steel, leaving it more susceptible to rusting.