Brown Bess New Land Pattern
British Board of Ordnance · Rifle · Out Of Production · 1802
Also known as: New Land Pattern Musket, New Land Service Musket, Pattern 1802 Musket, New Light Infantry Land Pattern
Overview
The Brown Bess New Land Pattern is a .75 caliber flintlock smoothbore muzzleloading musket adopted by the British Board of Ordnance in 1802 as a refined successor to the earlier Land Pattern muskets. Conceived after the Peace of Amiens as a higher-quality alternative to the cheap wartime India Pattern, it blended features from the India Pattern with several 1790s experimental muskets, adding a flat ring-neck cock, a notched rear sight and improved lockwork. Built on a walnut full stock with brass furniture and a roughly 39-inch barrel, it stood about 55.5 inches overall and weighed close to 10 pounds, though it was not manufactured in quantity until the mid-1810s and saw only limited issue before percussion arms superseded it.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 4560 g (160.8 oz) |
| Overall Length | 1410 mm (55.51") |
| Barrel Length | 991 mm (39.02") |
| Action Type | Muzzleloader |
| Firing Mechanism | Flintlock |
| Trigger Type | Single Stage |
| Muzzle Velocity | 305 m/s (1001 fps) |
| Effective Range | 46 m (50 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 180 m (197 yd) |
| Rate of Fire | 3 rpm |
| Barrel Rifling | None |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Wood |
| Finish | Russet Brown |
Calibers
- .75 Caliber Musket Ball · primary — also known as 0.75 in, 11-bore ball, .693 lead ball
Features
- Firing modes: Manual
- Feed systems: Muzzle Loaded
- Features: Smoothbore Barrel, Muzzle Loaded, Brass Furniture, Wooden Ramrod, Socket Bayonet Lug, Flat Ring Neck Cock, Notched Rear Sight
Base model
Service history
Operators
- British Army · adopted 1802 · as New Land Pattern Musket
- British Army Light Infantry · adopted 1811 · as New Light Infantry Land Pattern
Conflicts
- Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815)
- War of 1812 (1812-1815)
Production
Production years: 1802-1854
Introduced 1802 but not produced in quantity until roughly 1814, when a few thousand were made largely for light infantry use; assembled at the Tower of London from contracted locks, barrels and furniture.
Origin
Country of origin: United Kingdom
Discontinued: 1854
Notes
Nominal .75 in bore firing a roughly .69 in service ball wrapped in a paper cartridge. Line-infantry examples were made with a longer 42-inch barrel; the 39-inch light-infantry version is the most commonly cited New Land pattern. Despite adoption in 1802, mass production was delayed and the cheaper India Pattern remained the standard British musket through the Napoleonic Wars. Muzzle velocity and range figures for period smoothbores are approximate.
Background
The New Land Pattern was Britain's attempt to build a finer musket once peace with France briefly returned in 1802, but war resumed before it could displace the plain, cheap India Pattern that actually armed Wellington's redcoats across the Peninsula and at Waterloo.