250 Years Of Marine Corps Service "Rifles"

 The Tactical Hermit links to a piece on the Marine Corps Service "rifles" over the past 250 years. I put "rifles" in quotes because initially and well into the 1800s they were typically issued smoothbore muskets, with the article noting that the "[i]n 1775, at the outset of the American Revolution, a Continental Marine would have likely carried a British Short Land Pattern Musket, also known as the 'Brown Bess.'" As the war progressed and French aid began to come in, American forces would have been armed with Model 1763 and Model 1777 French Charleville Flintlock Muskets. If you are like me, you might have some confusion as to the photograph of the Springfield Model 1835 Flintlock Musket because the photograph clearly shows a weapon intended to use a percussion cap. However, some quick research revealed that the weapons were converted from flintlocks to a percussion locks in the 1840s and '50s. Sort of amazing, though, that for the past 60 years, we've been using the AR system. 

• Related: "250 Years of the American Infantry Rifle"--Rock Island Auction.