September 15, 16, & 17, 2026 Firearms & Militaria
The live portion of this session begins on Wednesday, September 16, 2026.
Lot #2034:
REVOLUTIONARY WAR ERA 26-HOLE CARTRIDGE BOX AND BAYONET RIG.
Rare Revolutionary War American cartridge box and bayonet rigs for an infantry musket with matching shoulder slings. Cartridge box has an early style bag bottom and long box flap with scalloped bottom edge. Block bored with .78" diameter holes in 9/8/9 pattern for 26 rounds. Box flap secured by latch tab sewn to the inside of the flap, likely fastening to a now missing leather knot or button on the underside of the body. Two-piece, 3" wide black leather shoulder sling sewn into the rear seams of the box. The long portion fitted with flat, dark iron six-sided belt tip, secured by sliding flat iron keeper after passing though a flat brass friction buckle attached to the shorter strap. The bayonet is still in the scabbard on the 3" wide bayonet sling, measures 16" overall with blade 12 - 3/4" blade, is British in appearance, but set up for a bottom-mounted bayonet stud indicating, along with the large caliber holes in the block, likely use with a Dutch-Germanic import musket from among the substantial numbers imported into American colonies in the French and Indian War. See Neumann, “Battle Weapons,” 41.BB for a similar bayonet, and 59.MM for a .77 caliber musket with bottom bayonet stud; also Mullins, “Of Sorts for Provincials,” p.155-56. CONDITION: Very good, solid condition set with just typical age crazing and minor cracks to the leather. Traces of period whitening on both slings. The bag bottom of the cartridge box is typical early war American construction, making room for cleaning rags and gun tools in a box that lacks an implement pouch. A square reinforcement on the shoulder sling indicates it carried a vent pick and brush. We see some possible slight glue repair or reinforcement along the inside fold of the box flap. A very rare, early set of accoutrements possibly used by Provincials during the French and Indian War and then brought out again for Revolutionary War service.
Item Dimensions: 20" X 20"