This pistol shows the major improvement made by the New Land Pistol- the use of a captive, swivel ramrod. Some date these pistols as early as 1796 with other weapons of the New Land series, but Davies, Chisnall and Brook, British Ordnance Single Shot Pistols, date their issue in any quantity to about 1808 for use in Wellington’s Peninsular Campaign. See their Chapter 5 for discussion of this pattern and its various types. This has the standard 9-inch barrel, and the simplified stock with no apron around the barrel tang, meant to speed wartime production, and no rear entry pipe for the ramrod. This latter was a design flaw frequently resulting in bruising or splintering to the stock and this pistol shows the addition of a brass strengthening plate around the ramrod channel. See Davies, et al., Figure 5-14 for a similar example. At least three different patterns of lock are known on these pistols. This pistol uses a Flat India Pattern Lock with a waterproof pan, for which see their Figure 5-18, which they suggest might be the waterproof lock offered by Willets & Holden of Birmingham in 1810.

This pistol shows issue and use, with dings and handling marks to the wood, and the addition of the reinforcing plate, but rates good to very good overall, with visible markings to both wood and metal, a tight fit of metal and wood, and a clean bore and functional lock. The metal is smooth, light gray for the iron and steel and a medium aged tone to the brass. The lock markings are correct and sharp: TOWER to rear of the hammer and crown over GR forward of the hammer with a broad arrow under the pan. The barrel proofs are plainly visible on the left breech, though a little indistinct in detail, which is common. The underside of the triggerguard has a characteristically British engraved “fractional” unit designation “22/5,” which we would take to indicate issue to trooper number 22 of the 5^th company of a regiment or ownership by the 5^th Company of a 22^nd Regiment. The counterpane has a number of dings, but shows several “S” stamps as well a pair of broad arrows point to point, indicating the pistol was sold out of government stores. The grip shows some small checks, but both a Crown/GR stamp on the right wrist and a second stamp below that we can’t quite make out, but may be a postwar ownership marking applied after its sale by the government.  [sr] [ph:L]

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