A Rare Flintlock 1756 Long Land Musket by Edge to the 1st Battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers. 62” overall, 46” Barrel with Ordnance Proofs & Crown GR, & a Broad Arrow inspectors stamp, engraved with the Price of Wales Feathers over ‘ICH DIEN’ in folded ribbon over ‘R23’. Barrel tang with inspectors stamp. Rounded Lock with double line engraving with Crown, GR & ‘Edge 1756’ on the tail. Stamped ‘RE’ (Richard Edge) internally with Crown over 2 inspectors stamp. Swan neck cock, frizzen & top jaw with double border line engraving. Walnut full stock with ordnance markings behind the trigger guard, regulation brass furniture comprising butt plate with stepped tail, flat long land side plate, wrist plate engraved 8 over 1 (8th musket of the 1st Grenadiers company), trigger guard, three ramrod pipes, one long two short, & entry pipe, fore end cap, iron rammer.
Dated 1756.
In very good sleepy condition, repair to stock around one ramrod pipe, numerous 1111 setters up marks in the ramrod channel, on lock and brass work. Fore end sling swivel missing. The musket iron parts are in very good uncleaned condition, barrel engraving is good but very difficult to photo, would benefit from a sympathetic clean.
This gun acquired by William Adair Regimental agent to the 23rd Foot from 1745 to 1761, who purchased Flixton Hall in 1753, then by descent the estate passed to Major-General Sir Alan Shafto Adair, 6th Bt. This item purchased by W. Keith Neal in 1950 from Flixton Hall, at this time most other items from the hall were sold to Colonial Williamsburg in the 1950s and were the basis for their outstanding early Brown Bess collection. This musket was retained by Keith Neal in his private collection and sold by him to an English collector in the 1980s.
See ‘The Brown Bess’ by Erick Goldstein & Stuart Mowbray Page 62 -73 & ‘18th Century Weapons of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers from Flixton Hall’ by Erik Goldstein.
1st Battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers most notable action was at the Battle of Minden on the 1st August 1757. They also took part in most of the major actions in North America including the Battles of Lexington, Concord, Bunker Hill, Guildford Court House and Yorktown'