A Scarce Dutch 1815 Musket
After Napoleon’s first abdication in 1814, French troops were withdrawn from Holland and Belgium and the two countries were brought together to form the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. Prince William of Orange was declared King William I, and Brussels was chosen to be his capital.
In outward appearance, the new musket would not be dissimilar to the French Year IX musket. It was built in two versions known as the No.1 and the No.2 – the difference being in the length of the barrel. The Model 1815 No.1 had a barrel length of 111.8 cm and the Model 1815 No.2 had a barrel length of 108.4 cm. In September 1814, the company Devilliers of Liege was contracted to supply 20,000 No.1 muskets and 8,000 No.2 muskets, the price of which was to be 13.15 francs each. It would have been these muskets that saw service on the field of Waterloo.
The quantities of Model 1815 Nos. 1 and 2 (and No.3: a later percussion modification) that were made between 1814 and 1842 were:
THIS ITEM HAS BEEN SOLD
