What would a British soldier have done with his 'Brown Bess'?
The Brown Bess is a nickname for the British Short Land Pattern Musket. It was produced from 1725–1838. The Land Pattern, or more popularly known as the "Brown Bess", and its versions were all .75 caliber smoothbore flintlock muskets. They were the standard guns for all land forces in the British Empire. It was one of the most important military firearms ever designed. It helped win the British Empire.
The Brown Bess was replaced after 1838 by smoothbore percussion cap muskets. Its effective range was about 100 yards (91 m) but in most battle situations the distance between forces was only about 50 yards (46 m). Even at that range the gun was not particularly accurate. The British tactic was to fire in vollies followed by a bayonet attack. While the origins of the name Brown Bess are uncertain, a plausible explanation is the name was based on the German Braun buss, meaning strong gun. The gun was commissioned during the reign of King George I of Great Britain, who was from Germany.