Item Description
Original Item. One-of-a-kind. This is a head turner. Dating from the late 18th century, this is a continental Iron barrel flintlock ship's swivel gun bluderbuss of massive proportions. It has an overall length of 49 inches, and the the 31 inch iron barrel has an oval muzzle that measures four inches across.
The large wood stock comes almost all the way to the muzzle and is supported in the middle by a truly enormous swivel yoke, with a 5" x 1" base pin for securing to the ship's rail. The musket style lock has a flash guard fitted to the exterior side of the pan. The mounts, butt plate, trigger guard, side plates and ramrod pipes are all iron and it retains its original iron ramrod. It has been placed on a wood display block, which has a hook connected to the trigger guard in order to keep the muzzle at the correct angle.
On the downside, the entire gun is in neglected and pitted condition. Clearly from a long time ago, but there is a very good explanation. On the left side of the dark wood butt there is a 3" x 2" engraved silver oval plaque that reads:
- Taken From -
THE FRENCH SHIP FRIEDLAND
Under the command of
CAPTAIN FRANCOIS LOUIS BEENS
- Dec. 14th 1807 -
By the men of H.M.S. ALACRITY
later discovered in the
ROYAL NAVAL DOCKYARD PORTSMOUTH
- 1856 -
So it appears this fabulous swivel gun was taken as a prize from the French ship Friedland, which research tells us was a Privateer. It was then taken to Portsmouth, stored and forgotten, in miserable seaport conditions, only to be discovered 49 years later!
A fascinating story of a terrific trophy of war. If only it had been treated with more respect at the time.
Specifications:
Year of Manufacture: c. 1780-1805
Caliber: Blunderbuss - 4 inches wide
Ammunition Type: Lead Shot & Powder
Barrel Length: 31 inches
Overall Length: 49 inches
Action: Flintlock Side Action
Feed System: Muzzle-Loaded
NOTE: International orders of antique firearms MUST be shipped using UPS WW Services (courier). USPS Priority Mail international will not accept these.
- This product is available for international shipping.
IMA considers all of our antique guns as non-firing, inoperable and/or inert. Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 921(a)(16) defines antique firearms as all guns made prior to 1899. This law exempts antique firearms from any form of gun control or special engineering because they are not legally considered firearms. No FFL, C&R or any license is required to possess, transport, sell or trade Antique guns. All rifles and muskets sold by IMA that were manufactured prior to 1899 are considered Antiques by the US BATF (United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms). Therefore, all of IMA's Antique guns may be shipped to all US States and most nations around the world.
These antique guns are not sold in "live" condition. They are sold as collector's items or as "wall hangers". Any attempt at restoring an antique gun to be operational is strongly discouraged and is done so at the risk of the customer. By purchasing an antique gun from IMA you thereby release IMA, its employees and corporate officers from any and all liability associated with use of our Antique guns.
Pre-1899 Manufacture, no licenses required, allowed to ship to almost any deliverable address across the globe. Please note that for international shipping, these MUST be shipped using UPS WW Services.
- Not eligible for payment with Paypal or Amazon
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