Model 1808 Contract Musket
United States Government Arms Contractors · Rifle · Out Of Production · 1808
Also known as: U.S. Model 1808 Musket, 1808 Contract Flintlock Musket, Model 1808 Militia Musket
Overview
The Model 1808 Contract Musket is a .69 caliber flintlock smoothbore muzzle-loading musket produced by private American arms contractors under United States government contracts authorized following the Militia Act. Patterned closely on the Springfield and Harpers Ferry Model 1795 muskets, it featured a walnut full-length stock, iron furniture and three barrel bands securing a round smoothbore barrel. Manufactured in the years leading up to and during the War of 1812 by contractors across the industrializing northern states, it armed both the regular United States Army and numerous state militias.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 4500 g (158.7 oz) |
| Overall Length | 1518 mm (59.76") |
| Barrel Length | 1130 mm (44.49") |
| 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
Service history
Operators
- United States Army · adopted 1808 · as Model 1808
- State Militias
Conflicts
- War of 1812 (1812-1815)
Production
Estimated total produced: 85,000 · Production years: 1808-1815
Roughly 85,000 muskets were ordered across some 18 private contractors under the 1808 government contracts; delivery totals varied widely by maker.
Origin
Country of origin: United States
Discontinued: 1815
Notes
Not a single standardized arm but a family of muskets built to the 1808 contract pattern by many private makers (e.g. Eli Whitney, Thomas French, Elijah & Asa Waters). Dimensions and weight vary slightly between contractors; many surviving examples were later converted from flintlock to percussion.
Background
The 1808 contracts marked a turning point for American arms manufacturing: nearly all of the eighteen contractors came from the industrializing northern states, and the program helped bootstrap the private firearms industry that would supply the young republic through the War of 1812.