Berks guns on display at washington crossing

[DaveM]

Has anyone been to see these in person? These are not my photos but supposedly show attributed berks county guns including a purported 1776 musket marked for berks county on display there.

[WESTbury]

No, but I wish I had seen them!

Love to see the documentation for the attributions.

It's a wonderful collection. Thanks for posting the pictures Dave.

Kent

[Buck]

Dave,

What was the name on the barrel? The info too fuzzy on the zoom.

Buck

[DaveM]

Buck, the photos are bad, according to the display it is marked on the barrel near the breech “Barks (Berks) County - 3B”, and “G”.

I was not there in person, and these are photos someone else took. I would like to see these in person if they are still on display. If it is legit this would be an amazing musket. But maybe t was a later militia unit rather than revolutionary war?

[spgordon]

This seems like a classic instance of stating something confidently that is pure speculation. How do we know, I wonder, that Balser Geehr marked any muskets that he supplied at this time "G"?

If it is, as the museum card says, the "sole survivor," then there aren't other Berks County committee of safety muskets with a similar marking. Even if there were, how would we know this "G" stands for "Geehr" and not for "company G" or the seventh company (marked with a letter rather than a number)? How do we know this "G" didn't follow "F" and precede "H" in some marking/tracking system?

Also: I don't think we know whether Berks County actually supplied the 100 muskets that they were asked to. The Berks County committee reported in December 1775 that “the Persons imployed in the making of fire arms” had no funds to purchase materials. Little progress had been made by February 1776, at which time the committee had “contracted with nine Gunsmiths . . . for 318 Musquets & Bayonets” but “few as yet are intirely compleated,” or even by July 1775, a year after the quotas were issued, when the Berks committee revealed that “the Arms directed to be made for the Use of the Associators in this County are not yet above half of them compleat.” Berks gunsmith John Kerlin was still apologizing in August 1776 that he “should have had Sum [muskets] redy before now but we have been verey Bussy at repairing the militias arms.”

[DaveM]

I agree Scott completely, the theory of G for Gehr means nothing. 

If 3B stands for 3rd Battalion, in the 1780 Berks County company returns, there was a 3rd Battalion (noted as “3rd Battalion-southern section”) whose Major was Jacob Kerlin. Published in “The Pennsylvana Associators”, 2nd vol. I know virtually nothing about the militia designations, other than what I see in an old Berks County in the Revolution book that shows the reference noted above. In 1780, August, John Kerlin Jr. was on the roster of 32 men in this battalion also. If the marking is legit, maybe the Kerlins were more prone to mark the guns they made for their own battalion? All speculation but interesting! If they even made muskets then!

The 3rd Battalion has rosters listed from 1775 through 1783. I believe 1780 was the only year with Major Jacob Kerlin noted. This battalion was associated with other geographic areas of Berks county in other years, such as Windsor Twp.

[WESTbury]

Exactly to all of the above by Scott and Dave.

As I stated in my post: "Love to see the documentation for the attributions." 

[spgordon]

Here, by the way, is the document that shows that Pennsylvania's Committee of Safety agreed with Mark Bird to deliver 100 stand of arms. No delivery date is mentioned (except: "with all possible expedition"), and Bird's offer seems to have been to "purchase & have made" these arms--that is, he wasn't promising to produce 100 muskets from scratch.

It seems like some of the arms counted in the 100 he would supply to the Committee of Safety would be ones that the county had already made (which he would purchase from the county and, with those funds, the county would make new arms).

[DaveM]

Scott, at the end of the letter, when it is stated to “forward them…to our company”. Do you believe by “company” that the writer is referring to the committee of safety, as a company, or is this a request to send them to a specific militia company/unit?

Below is a letter from Bird to the committee that gives a glimpse into how some of the wealthier citizens took it upon themselves to pay for equipment and not necessarily wait for Committee funds. Col. Nicholas Lotz in Reading similarly supplied troops out of his own account. Bird as you know was an ironmaster, at what is now referred to as Birdsboro.

[spgordon]

Scott, at the end of the letter, when it is stated to “forward them…to our company”. Do you believe by “company” that the writer is referring to the committee of safety, as a company, or is this a request to send them to a specific militia company/unit?

That word is actually "Commissary" (Robert Towers) .... [what looks like a "p" is a double-s]

[Monty59]

Hello, I have this pic I made during a hollyday trip in the USA .

Monty

[WESTbury]

Monty,

Thanks for sharing your photo.

Looks like they have some great items to be studied.

I do know that my friend, the late Bill Ahearn, had some of his collection on display there. I do not know if his widow left them there or withdrew them.
 
Kent