Napoleonic French Flintlock Pistol

[Bear]

Hello,

I just got this flintlock in today and thought I'd post some pictures. Any help on the type, model, and markings would be helpful.

thanks,

barry

French Flintlock Pistol

Year 1812

.69 Caliber

Ramrod Replaced

Edited March 16, 2007 by Bear

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[Roeland]

I believe this is what gentlemen call: ''a reall beaty''.

Very nice piece Bear!congrats.

Personally I like the fact that the old masters whom created these put a lot of stamps, singatures etc. on their products.

[peter monahan]

Bear

Charleville was one of the principal manufacturers of arms for the French Army for several centuries. (The "Charleville musket" was the French and American counterpart to the "Brown Bess".) This looks to me like a standard pistol - the number of stamps suggest an "issue" piece rather than private purchase. I believe the model is "1797" but French isn't my field and I can't locate my one decent reference on the subject. More as I find it.

I'm very envious!

Peter

[peter monahan]

Here we go: "French Cavalry pistol of the Year 13" (AN xIII) (That's year 13 of the Revolution). A standard arm for Napoleon's mounted troops. You lucky dog! Charleville, btw, was the name of the armoury.

A very popular piece to reproduce, BTW. So there's a good bit of info out there if you look for "AN XIII" or "Year 13 pistol". It's doubly interesting that it has an 1812 marked barrel! Perhaps the last of the "Year 9" (AN IX) model barrels used with the newer mountig system (Google "AN IX" to see the differeence in the front ends of the two)

I haven't anything yet on the markings but the look as if they might be factory proof/inspection marks, except for the engraved "Mar 13", which confirms that it the "new model", replacing the Year 9 ones.

Check this site for some picks of another one: http://www.antiquefirearms.com/pages/217.htm. And if you tire of it, let me know!

Peter

Edited March 17, 2007 by peter monahan

[peter monahan]

If you were paying close attention there, you'll see I changed my call in mid-stream there, so to speak. But I think the photos are a true match and a Model 13 is what you have!

[Bear]

Thanks Roeland & welcome to the Napoleonic section.

Thanks Peter,

You can go on as much as you like. I took some more pictures of other markings and of some that look like marks.

thanks again,

barry

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[Daniel Murphy]

Bear,

Great old piece in very nice condition. The markings on the breech tang are "M. an 13" meaning "Modele AN XIII". It is just marked differently.

Dan

[Ulsterman]

A detail from Deighton's watercolour-one shortly after Waterloo.

[Chris Boonzaier]

What an amazing little gun!!

I bet holding that in your hand while watching the history channel and enjoying a nice glass of wine makes for a great evening....

... man... at what stage of our collecting lives does old metal and wood become more interesting than girls... I think I need a doctor!!!