Charleville Musket
Manufacture royale d'armes de Charleville · Rifle · Out Of Production · 1717
Also known as: Fusil Charleville, Charleville Model 1766, French infantry musket
Overview
The Charleville Musket is a .69 caliber flintlock smoothbore muzzle-loading musket and the standard infantry firearm of the French Army from its introduction in 1717 until the early 19th century. Manufactured chiefly at the royal arsenal of Charleville-Mézières alongside Saint-Étienne and Maubeuge, it evolved through a series of patterns, the 1717, 1728, 1763, 1766 and definitive 1777 models, each progressively lighter and more refined. Supplied in large numbers to the American Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, the Charleville became the direct pattern for the first United States military musket, the Springfield Model 1795.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 4560 g (160.8 oz) |
| Overall Length | 1524 mm (60.00") |
| Barrel Length | 1187 mm (46.73") |
| Action Type | Muzzleloader |
| Firing Mechanism | Flintlock |
| Trigger Type | Single Stage |
| Muzzle Velocity | 427 m/s (1401 fps) |
| Effective Range | 46 m (50 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 183 m (200 yd) |
| Rate of Fire | 3 rpm |
| Barrel Rifling | None |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Wood |
| Finish | White Metal |
Calibers
- .69 Caliber Musket Ball · primary — also known as 0.69 in, 17.5 mm ball
Features
- Firing modes: Manual
- Feed systems: Muzzle Loaded
- Features: Smoothbore Barrel, Muzzle Loaded, Three Barrel Bands, Socket Bayonet Lug, Ramrod
Variants
- Charleville Musket Modèle 1763 — Reinforced
- Charleville Musket Modèle 1766 — Lightened
- Charleville Musket Modèle 1777 — Definitive Pattern
Service history
Operators
- French Army · adopted 1717 · as Fusil d'infanterie
- Continental Army / United States · adopted 1777
Conflicts
- American Revolutionary War (1775-1783)
- French Revolutionary Wars (1792-1802)
- Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815)
Production
Estimated total produced: 7,000,000 · Production years: 1717-1816
Total across all Charleville patterns and French arsenals; figures include later conversions.
Origin
Country of origin: France
Discontinued: 1816
Notes
Specifications follow the mid-century pattern; barrel and weight figures vary slightly across arsenals and successive models. Muzzle velocity is approximate for a period smoothbore. Many examples were later converted from flintlock to percussion.
Background
Early United States Springfield muskets were near-indistinguishable copies of the Charleville pattern; the fledgling American arms industry was effectively bootstrapped by reverse-engineering the French muskets France had shipped to Washington's army.