Parker’s fowler, more than just a game-getter
Patriot militia Capt. John Parker stood on the Lexington Green on April 19, 1775, and met a unit of the King’s men in an engagement that produced the “Shot Heard ‘Round the World.” He was armed that day with a .64-bore French-style fowling piece, but before the day was out, courtesy of a follow-up ambush known as Parker’s Revenge, he picked up a discarded British 1756 Long Land (Brown Bess) musket to add to his collection.
How do we know for sure? Both guns are in the collection of the Massachusetts State House and were recently shown off to a group of experts very familiar with the subject.
More in my column at Guns.com