Fowler/Trade Gun from James Gordon's Book

[jmaurer]

Thinking about another build roughly based on the fowler/trade gun in James Gordon's Weapons in Early American History, page 45. Does anyone know the gauge of this particular firearm?

[jmaurer]

I didn't have the link handy when composing the original post above, but here's the impetus for wanting to build a copy loosely based on the fowler in Gordon's book:

https://digitalmuseum.se/011024409983/handelsgevar

It looks like the fowler in the link provided above is one of the sealed pattern guns intended as guides for African trade weapons (Royal African Company, or the later African Company of Merchants?). For anyone who hasn't taken a look at the on-line photos from that assemblage, do yourself a favor and search for "handelsgevar" (preferably with an umlaut over the "a" in "gevar") for what trade guns could have looked like for North American trade, during the same period. An extrapolation, perhaps, from gunsmiths in Birmingham versus London (the maker of the fowler in the link, Annely, was working in Birmingham, if I've looked at accurate information). As I understand it, Africa was supplied largely out of Birmingham, while North America was supplied by London-based gunsmiths. BUT, Richard Wilson also had contractual agreements with the Royal African Company, if I recall correctly. Anyway, lots of similarities between the Swedish museum's "Afrikanskt" guns and recovered bits here in the U.S. Any opinions?

[Hungry Horse]

 I think you’ll find many of the London marked guns were actually built in Birmingham, or even countries outside of the British Empire.
  The guns sent to North America don’t resemble those sent to Africa much in my experience. The North American Natives were much more aware of quality firearms than their African counterparts, because in many cases they had more exposure to high quality firearms.

  Hungry Horse

[jmaurer]

HH, I think you're likely correct about the intended recipients in North America demanding a bit higher quality. I do recall, however, a couple of contemporary makers indicating that if they were to make copies of trade guns in the same manner as originals were made, they wouldn't sell!

[backsplash75]

Hey Guys,

Plenty of really sub par guns were sold in North America to Natives (as well as in Africa).

“...Paris, the Trader, who is at the Head of those People, and can, I'm persuaded, get him to visit and assist us with more or less of his People,
 except when they may be put on some Expedition or partiuclar Service from Virginia; but have not taken the Libery even of writing to that Gentlman on the Subject, until I have your Honour's Authority for so doing. I am informed that on their coming over Potowmack, Commissary Ross rode Express to the Governor of Maryland; Thier Arms were said to be of the worst sort of Sale Guns with painted Stocks, and that they wou'd fondly have had an Exchange of some Rifles that were among our People. the Indian Captn was gratified and got a rifle from one of the soldiers.” (Colonel John Armstrong to the Executive Council, Carlyle, 5 May 1757, [concerning 60 Cherokees under the Direction of "Capt Paris (a Trader in their Nation)" Minutes of the Provincial Council From the Organization to the Termination of the Proprietary Government volume 7 page 505).

http://books.google.com/books?id=EYJuAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA234&dq=conrad+weiser+captain+bull&hl=en&sa=X&ei=DARIT7CCCoLu0gG--oCHDg&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=snippet&q=bull&f=false

Charles Frederick Post 1759

"Captain Bull shot a squirrel, and broke his gun. I cut fire wood, and boiled some chocolate for supper.  The others came home, and brought nothing..."
p248

"Colonel Bouquet set out for Loyalhannon: The Indians got some liquore between ten and eleven o'clock. One Mohock died; the others fired guns three times over him; at the last firing one had accidentally loaded his gun with a double charge: this gun burst to pieces, and broke his hand clean off; he also got a hard knock on his brest; and in the morning at nine o'clock he died, and they buried them in that place, both in one hole....

one of the ways a gunmaker could save money was by proofing or not- as well as final bore reaming. Following quote is from Richards, W. (1980). The Import of Firearms into West Africa in the Eighteenth Century. The Journal of African History, 21(1), 43-59- and you can see that astute customers/markets in both America and Africa wanted London proved barrels (the "Ketch" muskets are dog locks by the way).

"Farmer and Galton's records, however, provide conclusive evidence that most of the cheapest guns for the African trade were poorly finished and that their barrels were likely to burst on firing as they were neither bored at the nose nor were they proved. The badness of English guns became so well known between 1749 and 1750 along the West African coast, that traders had difficulty in trading with English guns.
3 5 Farmer and Galton supplied the cheapest guns for the African trade, Catch Trading guns, ·"got up in the common way without proof. "
 Most of these cheapest guns, the Catch Trading guns, were not proved, though they were proved on request at an extra cost of
1s. for each gun proved.40 ~~e proving of Catch Trading guns was so unusual that James Farmer gave precise instructions to Samuel
Galton on how an order for 300 Catch Trading guns should be proved in 1748.
41 He wrote, "I would have you prove 300 Trading barrels but must have a ball the size of the bore and done to see them
proved.1142 Farmer and Galton usually bore these cheap guns at the nose which added 1s. to the cost of making 20 Catch Trading guns.43
Other gunmakers were able to lower their prices by leaving out this finishing process of boring at the nose.44
The profit margin on the cheapest guns for the African trade was very small and could only be maintained by most gunmakers by
reducing the finishing processes on the guns to a minimum. ....Many of Farmer and Galton's customers in
the African trade requested careful proving for their guns, especially for the more expensive guns like the Birding and Danish guns. Slave traders often gave precise instructions on the proving and finishing of the guns which they ordered. In 1754 IParmer and Galton received an order for 700 Angola muskets which should have "very neat, stout barrels, proof'marked, and the nose of the barrels
clear bored as far down as can be. ,A9 "

DeWitt Baily's article The Wilsons: Gunmakers to Empire (American Society of Arms Collectors 2002 Bulletin p85/11) lists these purchase prices from Wilson from the papers of Falmouth
Va merchant William Allason from 1761:

12 trading Guns London proved Barrels, white stocks & c 8/-
12 ditto better sort with spotted stocks & c 10/6

A lot of these English makers made all kinds of stuff at different price points. Contrast the Bumford trade fusil with the Fowling gun Colonial Williamsburg has up in the arms gallery at the DeWitt Wallace Museum.


Richards, W. (1980). The Import of Firearms into West Africa in the Eighteenth Century. The Journal of African History, 21(1), 43-59.

"As S. Galton wrote in 1757,'The guns made for Africa are of many different sorts according to the different parts of the Coast they are designed', and he gave the following list:

Cheap guns in the African Trade s.d.

Catch Trading for the Winward and Gold Coasts 6s.8d.
Round Muskets. 7s0d
Square Muskets 7s2d
Bonny Guns 7s0d
Angola Guns 7s0d
Winward Muskets 7s4d

Better quality guns in the African Trade s.d.
Plain Birding guns 10s0d
Carved Birding Guns 11s0d
Jamaica Guns (Beech or Walnut Stocks) 9s6d
Dutch Guns (Made to Dutch Pattern) 10s6d to 11s0d
Danish Guns 12s6d
Buccaneer Guns 9s6d
Spanish Guns 10s6d
Swivel Blunderbusses 15s to 18s0d

GP 405/2 January 1757

so both the African and American markets had cheap $#@*, and both had discerning customers that wanted higher quality proofed arms.

[backsplash75]

I didn't have the link handy when composing the original post above, but here's the impetus for wanting to build a copy loosely based on the fowler in Gordon's book:

https://digitalmuseum.se/011024409983/handelsgevar

It looks like the fowler in the link provided above is one of the sealed pattern guns intended as guides for African trade weapons (Royal African Company, or the later African Company of Merchants?). For anyone who hasn't taken a look at the on-line photos from that assemblage, do yourself a favor and search for "handelsgevar" (preferably with an umlaut over the "a" in "gevar") for what trade guns could have looked like for North American trade, during the same period. An extrapolation, perhaps, from gunsmiths in Birmingham versus London (the maker of the fowler in the link, Annely, was working in Birmingham, if I've looked at accurate information). As I understand it, Africa was supplied largely out of Birmingham, while North America was supplied by London-based gunsmiths. BUT, Richard Wilson also had contractual agreements with the Royal African Company, if I recall correctly. Anyway, lots of similarities between the Swedish museum's "Afrikanskt" guns and recovered bits here in the U.S. Any opinions?

-I don't have the book in the original post, but the gun in the link from post #2 is Kaliber kal 16.9 mm / 0.6653543 "

-The Galtons in Birmingham made "Carolina guns" as well as a ton of varieties of African trading guns. Both markets seemed to have placed a premium on London proofed barrels (less likely to kaboom but costs more for builder and end user).

-Africa is a big place and there were regional preferences for several gun styles (Galton is even making knock offs of Dutch guns; see my other post), in America you mostly see trade guns in "Carolina" or Northwest pattern, but there are also fowling guns and buccaneers being sold here too.  Some of the African trade guns look very similar to Carolina guns, but generally speaking they had a bigger bore than those for the American market (.58-62 preferred) and minor decorative differences.

this gun by Annely



is very similar to "Carolina" guns for the American market although the sideplate isn't engraved and it is Kaliber kal 16.9 mm [.66 cal]. Other similar contemporary guns meant for the African market in that collection have .75" bore.

Voyages to the Coast of Africa by Saugnier, Pierre -Raymond de Brisson
Published 1792

p292
"General statement of such merchandize as is necessary to carry on trade in the river of Senegal, Goree, & c.

...2, and 3. Single and double-barrelled muskets, four feet eight and nine inches in length, large bore, bronzed and gilt,
light stock and silver plate. The arms are purchased by the Moors, as also in the Galam trade, for the Saracolets of the caravans.
 They begin to be in request among the Yolof negros.

p293

4. Ammunition-muskets, called trade-muskets, without bayonets, with wooden ram-rods, are good articles of trade for negroes in general;
mounted with iron for Senegal and up the river; but with copper [brass] for Goree and the neighboring country.

l

[jmaurer]

Backsplash, thanks for the information. Is some of it from this article:

James Farmer and Samuel Galton, the Reality of Gun Making for the Board of Ordnance in the Mid-18th Century

by David Williams? I've contemplated signing on to the host website and paying the fee to download that article, since it looks like it could contribute to the subject at hand. Is it perhaps the source for your intriguing statement above:

"-The Galtons in Birmingham made "Carolina guns" as well as a ton of varieties of African trading guns."?

I find myself again unprepared with the wrong computer at the end of a semi-working weekend; I had intended to include a quote in my response to this thread from the Tennessee Division of Geology's report on Fort Loudoun found at

https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/environment/archaeology/documents/researchseries/arch_rs17_fort_loudoun_2010.pdf

The report includes discussion of communications from staff at the fort regarding supplies needed for the men stationed at the fort, as well as items intended for trade. It's been a while since I've read it, but I think in one correspondence, there is indication of several of the guns for Indian trade (almost certianly of "Carolina" pattern) having been received as "broke", even before the first use! or so I would assume.

As a partial aside, Backsplash, do you find the description of caliber as noted on Sweden's Armemuseum site to be confusing? It's easy to tell the difference between caliber/guage and barrel length descriptions, but it seems that the asset headers and subsequent descriptive info are sometimes at odds. And just eyeballing some of the Swedish museum pieces, the caliber described looks a bit odd for how the barrel looks (I realize that's too subjective). Anyway, thanks!

[backsplash75]

JMAUER,

David Williams' writing on the Galtons is top notch, but some of the nuts and bolts (errr...cocks and sidenails?) info I quoted above is from  a paper by  Richards, W. (1980). The Import of Firearms into West Africa in the Eighteenth Century. The Journal of African History, 21(1), 43-59.You can ask for a copy of it here https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-african-history/article/import-of-firearms-into-west-africa-in-the-eighteenth-century/84E8BF080DACF066CC957D56271DC721

I recommend going through both (Richards focuses more on the civilian side, Williams work more the Ordnance). I really need to get across the pond and comb through the Galton papers, between Williams and Richards it sounds like a treasure trove of info.

I will take a look at the Ft Loudon (TN) pdf, if you find the quote please add to this thread. There is info in the Edmund Atkin/Loudon papers about some pretty sorry stuff not being packed well too.

Kaliber/bbl length in the Armemuseum database is pretty par for the  course (albeit with the added translation issues) for most museum databases. Most of the people doing the entry info are not gun guys, I am just ecstatic that they put all of those items online, even if navigation is a bit cumbersome on my end.