British “Tower” George III Heavy Dragoon Flint Lock Military Pistol    ON-HOLD

Pattern 1777 - Circa 1777 - 1780  - Excellent Condition - Well Marked  Price $7500

 

Very Scarce English heavy dragoon horse pistol which is stamped with the number “7” on left side of the barrel breech end. This mark probably represents the 7th Royal Fusiliers Regiment which took a very active part in the American Revolution and served for a time under the infamous Colonel Banastre Tarleton whose green uniform was the dress of the British Legion organized in New York.

 

This regiment was formed as a fusilier regiment in 1685 by George Legge, 1st Baron Dartmouth, from two companies of the Tower of London guard, and was originally called the Ordnance Regiment. This regiment became the 7th Regiment of Foot (Royal Fusiliers) in 1751 with the name lasting till the end of the 1780’s.

 

Col. Tarleton gained his reputation after the Battle of the Waxhaws where he had numerous Americans killed after the battle.

 

19 1/2” overall length with 12” round smoothbore .65 caliber barrel with Royal Ordnance proofs at the center breech. Lock plate stamped with strong “CROWN/BROAD ARROW” mark and the Royal Cypher. A Royal Armory Cross Pikes Proof mark is on the barrel tang. The tail of the lock plate has a crisp “TOWER” stamp. The walnut stock with brass mounts and an inspector’s stamp “VI” in the wood just to the rear of the side plate. A Store Keeper’s cartouche dated 1786 struck on the right wrist indicating when it was returned to the storekeeper. at the Tower. There are stamped marks in the ramrod channel of "BK" and two other crown type marks.

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100% original and fine in every respect including all the lock parts and the ramrod. Beautiful metal with the original grey patina and finished stock with very few bumps and bruises. The flint hammer is in very strong working order.

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The arrival of the arms at the Tower, deliveries were generally monthly. When the arms arrived at the Tower they were received by the Storekeeper's clerks, and having been noted down and a receipt issued, they were struck on the right side of the buttstock with the

Storekeeper's stamp consisting, until the 1780s, of the Royal Cypher with a crown above it, Beginning in 1786 a date was added below the cypher, but this date was not changed until the particular stamp was either broken or worn out. Dated Storekeeper's stamps cannot be used as a precise indication of when a piece was taken into store, except that the year shown will indicate a 'not before' date. The weapons were now completed and in their racks in the Tower of London, ready for distribution to the troops and ships of HM forces, or to garrisons at home and abroad.

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The British Royal 7th Fusiliers participated in Major General Tryon's raid in July 1779 on three Connecticut ports. In April 1780, the Fusiliers took part in the capture of Charleston.  Once Charleston fell, the regiment helped garrison the city. Three mounted companies were sent to Ninety-Six to assist with the training of Loyalist militia companies and to join Charles Cornwallis's Army as it advanced towards Charlotte, North Carolina in early September 1780. After the war the Fusiliers returned to England in 1783. The British Government having acknowledged the Independence of the United States of America, a general peace was signed on 30th.November 1782. The 7th.Royal Fusiliers returned to England early in 1783.

 

It is stated in De Witt Bailey’s book “Small Arms of the British Forces in America 1664-1815” pp.281-291 that these pistols (Patterns 1777 & 1781) were originally developed for use by American Loyalist mounted militia units in the South and that 400 pairs of pistols were delivered to the Ordnance Store Ship Juliana at Charleston Harbor, South Carolina in Dec. 1781, which Prof. Bailey states were most probably of this pattern.

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