“Committee of Safety” Musket” (AL5086)

“Committee of Safety” Musket”. “Committee of Safety” Musket attributed to Captain John Boyd’s Ranging Company of the Pennsylvania Rangers. The Rangers were active during the Revolutionary War. This is a typical committee of safety musket having a mixture of French and British parts. See Flayderman’s 9th Edition, page 728, for information on these interesting Revolutionary War muskets. The overall length is 60”. The .75 caliber British barrel is 44 5/8”. The bore is good. All metal has a brown/dark brown patina. The wood is very good with alterations that will be detailed later. With the exception of the barrel and ramrod pipes, the remainder of this interesting musket started as a French Model 1763/1766 infantry musket. The lock, marked D over Charleville is flat with a rounded tail. The reinforced cock is flat. The iron pan is faceted. The long iron trigger guard ends in tear drops. The rear swivel stud in front of the trigger guard bow has been cut flush. The iron s-shaped sideplate is inlet into the stock. The tang on the iron butt plate is rounded and of medium length. The barrel has a proof and DY76 at the breech. The French stock has been modified from band-fastened to pin-fastened. The fore end was recontoured; the band springs were removed and the holes neatly filled. The ramrod channel at the rear was neatly filled, approximately 8”. Newly made ramrod pipes (three total) were installed and a new front swivel and rear sling button were installed. The stock left flat has “C. (or G) J.Y.” in about ¼” high letters dot punched in it. This appears to be repeated in ¾” letters on the left wrist. The sideplate is neatly engraved “Capt. John Boyd” in script. This engraving is not of the period. It may have been added by Boyd or his family at a later date. Accompanying this musket is an extensive archive on Boyd. This includes the August 2002 Muncy (PA) Historical Society and Museum of History publication “Now and Then” with two relevant articles: Captain John Boyd of Northumberland, (page 35) and Captain John Boyd’s “Charleville” (page 43). This is a rare opportunity to add a committee of safety musket to your collection, especially one with a likely attribution. Comes with Capt. Boyd Archives.