Michilimackinac original wall gun and various found gun parts

[Dwshotwell]

I live just down the road from Fort Michilimackinac and we go once or twice every year but usually I have guests and only get to stare at the old guns and gun parts for so long before I have to move along. A few weeks ago I went by myself, spent lots of time, and took a bunch of pictures. The only original gun they have on site is the wall gun pictured below. The other guns at the fort are all reproductions. I did take pictures of them (French fusils, English trade guns, etc.) but as they aren’t original I won’t post them here unless someone asks.

[Dwshotwell]

Here are various gun parts they have unearthed in the archeology work at the site:

[Dwshotwell]

[Dwshotwell]

A few more…












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[Dwshotwell]

[Dwshotwell]

[Tanselman]

If the wall gun was not labeled, I would think it was a market hunting fowler, like a punt gun except higher quality. Most fort or wall guns I have seen were plainer, stocked more like a rifle, and made to shoot large balls that could do major damage a good distance out from the fort, more so than a much smaller rifle ball. In addition, the wall guns I've seen have usually been more dinged up. I'd like to see the muzzle on this gun, to see if a fowler barrel, or if the barrel has a heavier wall that can handle a large ball. Or maybe I just haven't seen enough real wall guns.

Shelby Gallien

[Dwshotwell]

That’s interesting  Shelby. I have no idea, but I do know based on some information about wall guns on the fort’s website that this gun, while original, was probably NOT original to this location. They talk about there being two wall guns in the fort’s returns up until the 1780s, when the fort was moved from this location to Mackinac Island, and that those guns were no longer listed in the returns by the time the British left and turned things over to the Americans. They do have reproductions of a wall gun that they use for demonstrations, but it is not out on display.

One thing that speaks to your point: in the website description of the wall guns and how they were used, they list the weight as much heavier, 35 - 40 pounds, while this gun is listed as 19 pounds.

EDIT: here’s a link to the Fort’s web page discussing the wall guns. The pictures are of the reproduction wall gun rather than this gun, which they do mention: https://www.mackinacparks.com/the-wall-gun/

[jrb]

Thanks for sharing the photos.
Was this repro of a 27" barrel fusil still on display?

[WESTbury]

Thanks for taking the time to post these pictures. Would love to get up there to see the display in person.

[Dwshotwell]

@jRb, I don’t think they have it out. I remember reading that post you quoted but have never seen anything at the Fort pertaining to it. I’ll look at the photos of the reproductions that I took, but I don’t think any of them were short barreled.

 The current executive director used to be my neighbor (20 years ago) and I may use this as an excuse to see if there are other items that they don’t have out on display. I may be wrong, but I think some of the things I’ve seen in books that came from the fort are not there, but may be in the Michigan State University historical museum.

[spgordon]

Thanks for posting these images! Can’t visit so this is fantastic.

[ScottNE]

If the wall gun was not labeled, I would think it was a market hunting fowler, like a punt gun except higher quality. Most fort or wall guns I have seen were plainer, stocked more like a rifle, and made to shoot large balls that could do major damage a good distance out from the fort, more so than a much smaller rifle ball. In addition, the wall guns I've seen have usually been more dinged up. I'd like to see the muzzle on this gun, to see if a fowler barrel, or if the barrel has a heavier wall that can handle a large ball. Or maybe I just haven't seen enough real wall guns.

Shelby Gallien

This discussion tickled a memory in my brain — back when my old home town of Middleboro Massachusetts in Plymouth Colony was the frontier, there was a story that the colonists used a “long gun” mounted in the stockade to shoot an Indian from nearly a half a mile away (there’s a rock in Middleboro with the appearance of a handprint on it, the story was that the Indian was engaged in a bit of taunting directed towards the stockade and was so shocked to actually be hit at that distance that his hand left an imprint on the rock that he hastily took cover behind). Incidentally, this is supposed to have occurred on July 9th, 1675.

The gun responsible for this particular event used to be in the Pilgrim Hall museum but is now housed in the Taunton Historical Society — I don’t have any pictures of it myself but found a link to a photograph of the gun (credited to one Sharon Catunto). The Pilgrim Hall gave dimensions of 7.5 feet long and “over 20 pounds” in weight, whereas the Taunton Historical Society gives a weight of just 12 pounds. It definitely does not appear to be a purpose made wall gun, but was seemingly used as one. The Middleboro militia was just 16 men at the time — to my recollection the entire combined militia of Middleboro and neighboring Bridgewater amounted to just 24 men. The owner of the gun, John Tomson, was a lieutenant in the militia and the Pilgrim Hall still has his sword and pistol.

The gun — I remember it being called “the long Tom gun” when I was a kid — https://southcoastmurdersmysteries.weebly.com/uploads/6/8/7/8/6878634/editor/678.jpg?1605480033

[Dwshotwell]

That particular wall gun is dutch.

That’s great. I guess they never said it where it was from and as noted earlier it wasn’t original to the site. Too bad that in a fort with extensive French and British history the one original gun on site is Dutch.

Mike, any chance you’d elaborate on how you identified it?

[Dwshotwell]

Thanks Mike. And I expect you’re right. The fort folks probably don’t know the difference. And 99.999999% of the tourists walking past wouldn’t either.

[WESTbury]

Flat lock plate. The brits used round. The museum probably doesn't know the difference.

Not all the time Mike.

I'm quite sure that you've just overlooked the Sea Service Muskets Pattern 1719 and Sea Service Pistol Pattern 1801 as well as the Pattern 1738 Wall Piece.

But you are correct, the majority of British flint arms had rounded lockplates.

Kent

[backsplash75]

It is a Dutch rampart/wall gun, identifiable by furniture and lock, etc.

https://www.bidsquare.com/online-auctions/skinner/dutch-flintlock-wall-gun-913971

great pics, thanks for sharing!