Firearms

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Photos from our private tour of the “Pittsburgh, Virginia” exhibit at the Fort Pitt Museum

Yesterday we drove up to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to the Fort Pitt Museum. For the past two years they had a wonderful exhibit titled, “Pittsburgh, Virginia,” which focused on the events surrounding Lord Dunmore’s War in 1774, when the colonies of Pennsylvania and Virginia both challenged eachother for ownership of Fort Pitt, nearly resulting in Pittsburgh becoming part of Virginia. One of our flintlocks and a document signed by Lord Dunmore were on display there, and so we had to go retrieve them, but also got the awesome opportunity of seeing the exhibit while the museum was closed, and also leaving with two of the items. Thanks to Mike Burke for giving us the grand tour. This is such a fantastic museum, and I can’t wait to see the next exhibit coming out in 2023….

Finds and History from a 1690 Colonial American Shipwreck

The attack on Quebec was a failure. They encountered bad weather, which delayed their arrival until mid-October. By this time, None of the forces ever came within a kilometer of the city walls. Several of the ships were damaged by cannon fire from the city. They Count Frontenac, the Governor General of New France, had assembled around 2,700 defenders. The fleet suffered brutal cold weather and smallpox had broken out. Accomplishing nothing, they gave up and headed home, up the St. Lawrence and out to sea. But their misfortunes continued. They encountered storms, separating the fleet and blowing some off-course as far as the West Indies. Four of the ships were wrecked, with two companies of men completely lost.

A New Frontier: Sharps-Borchardt Model 1878

A newer addition to the Scavengeology Museum History Bunker, a Model 1878 Sharps-Borchardt Rifle. It was cutting-edge technology for the time, being a hammerless single-shot rifle with an internal firing pin. The sleek, modern rifle was designed by Hugo Borchardt, who would later become famous for the design of the early semi-automatic “Borchardt Pistol,” the predecessor to the German Lugar – much later popularized in the Red Dead Redemption video game series.

French Pistols in Colonial New Orleans

This original 18th century cased set of flintlock pistols are both signed by French gunmaker, Adriaene Reynier, a Dutch-born gunmaker in Paris, France. The box, and one of the accessories inside, are engraved with the initials, “LMS.” They represent more than just the beautiful work of the finest French gun-makers, but also the little-known activities of the Spanish in late 18th century America, including plots against the U.S. government with both hostile Indian tribes, and American spies and frontier leaders.

The Pre-Revolutionary North Carolina Rifle

Yes, we know there are those seeking the Holy Grail of the North Carolina rifles styles from before the American Revolution. They can try to point to one gun or another here and there. The facts are there were a great many guns, and they weren’t like what they were or are searching for. So, what is the problem and why the push for a “school” or “schools” of pre-revolutionary rifles?

Epic NY History Find: 1768 Anthony Van Schaick document, to go with the Anthony Van Schaick Flintlock Fowler

Another epic, at least to me, document find during this period of near-apoloclypse. The scavenging must go on. This is a 1768 deed from Anthony Van Schaick, his wife, Christina Van Schaick, and what seems to me to be Anthony’s elderly father, Goosen Van Schaick, for a whole lot of land in the area of upstate New York known as the “Half Moon” which was deeded to the Van Schaick family in the 17th century. It’s roughly located in the area known as the “Sprouts of the Mohawk River.” This is where the Mohawk goes over a large falls, and sprouts into separate channels, going around several islands, at the confluence with the Hudson River.