In past articles I have talked about swords from the American Revolution, but amongst the other bladed collectables, bayonets can also tell a story. Was it made in America? Is it marked? Is there a difference in price and collectability? There are many examples out there in the market and like any collecting field knowledge can help you tell the difference between one used during the Revolution and one from the post-war period.
Early bayonets come in many forms and the shape, length of the blade, and the quality of manufacture can assist in figuring them out. Each type of musket carried had its own distinct bayonet and for the most part a model or pattern of gun had a bayonet that went with it. Some of the British pattern bayonets remained unchanged for many years other than their markings which can help date them.
For me, American bayonets can be very interesting. The workmanship can go from very crude to extremely high quality depending on who made them. When studying extant examples, it is obvious some were clearly made only to be functional and out of reused material. One of may favorites in a private collection was made to fit onto a fowling piece, a civilian arm made for hunting. Many of these arms were adapted for militia service by cutting a section of the stock back and adding a lug to accept a bayonet. The example I mentioned above has a small diameter socket and was clearly made for a fowling piece and the blade was made from a smallsword quite possibly broken and salvaged to save time for the blacksmith who created it.
In 1776 and even more so 1777, French Model 1763/66 muskets were imported to the colonies in huge numbers. Those guns also came with bayonets and many of them can be seen at shows and online from dealers. There are small variations but for the most part are identifiable. Probably the most valuable of French imported bayonets are the ones that arrived in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in the spring of 1777 and taken by the state for their troops. They are numbered on the socket and are prized amongst many collectors.
Bayonets from other countries had been shipped here long before the Revolution. Many Dutch arms had been used during the French and Indian war which had bayonets of a distinct form with a semi-flat blade. By the time the first shots of the war were fired these older Dutch arms and bayonets also found there way to the fledgling Continental Army. Other weapons, including muskets and bayonets were captured from Germanic troops in battle or from ships. The captured guns and bayonets would be reused by American troops. Those can be found marked with branding irons after their capture with a “U.STATES,” or sometimes just a “US” on the lock plate or barrel of the gun, and the same “US” on the base of the bayonet blade. Like the New Hampshire-marked bayonets, this marking can transform a few hundred-dollar bayonet to double that and more.
