War of 1812 Flintlock pistol

gldnbrew

Full Member
Feb 16, 2013
151
170
The 1000 Islands, NY
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT Pro and ATMax, 8.5 x 11, 5 x 8 & a Super Sniper - Pro-pointer.
Fisher F75 LTD, XP Deus - 11", Garrett AT and AT ZLINK pointer
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
The pistol is a W. KETLAND c 1810, Tower of London proof marks. Pistol was recovered from a war of 1812 battle site and took several trips and several months to find all the parts. I believe I may be only missing one part, the upper ramrod pipe, if it had one. I still look every time I go there. My first find was is the butt cap with screw, and trigger guard. It took several trips to find the other items other than the barrel. The barrel and pins were found six months later in late December, the last hunt of the year, 300 yards away. I’m assuming either the barrel or the other parts were moved by logging. No wood remains. The lock is in the half cocked position with French Amber flint, ready for firing, note the photo with the ball and patch still in the barrel. This pistol is not a military issue, and would most likely been used by an American militia officer. Pistol was authenticated by Sean Rich, Antique Arms Consultant and Dealer. Tortuga Trading Company. Note: the only cleaning that was done was with a toothbrush and air. Items were unusually clean coming out of the ground.
 

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Upvote 19

SpacemanSpiff

Jr. Member
Jan 9, 2022
58
302
Savannah, GA
Detector(s) used
White’s MXT
The pistol is a W. KETLAND c 1810, Tower of London proof marks. Pistol was recovered from a war of 1812 battle site and took several trips and several months to find all the parts. I believe I may be only missing one part, the upper ramrod pipe, if it had one. I still look every time I go there. My first find was is the butt cap with screw, and trigger guard. It took several trips to find the other items other than the barrel. The barrel and pins were found six months later in late December, the last hunt of the year, 300 yards away. I’m assuming either the barrel or the other parts were moved by logging. No wood remains. The lock is in the half cocked position with French Amber flint, ready for firing, note the photo with the ball and patch still in the barrel. This pistol is not a military issue, and would most likely been used by an American militia officer. Pistol was authenticated by Sean Rich, Antique Arms Consultant and Dealer. Tortuga Trading Company. Note: the only cleaning that was done was with a toothbrush and air. Items were unusually clean coming out of the ground.
Man that is awesome!!! I’m officially jealous! Could you give a closeup of the ramrod pipe? I think I found something similar, shown below.

497DE5F9-29BB-4315-A375-2140919C749C.jpeg
 

OP
OP
gldnbrew

gldnbrew

Full Member
Feb 16, 2013
151
170
The 1000 Islands, NY
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT Pro and ATMax, 8.5 x 11, 5 x 8 & a Super Sniper - Pro-pointer.
Fisher F75 LTD, XP Deus - 11", Garrett AT and AT ZLINK pointer
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting

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OP
OP
gldnbrew

gldnbrew

Full Member
Feb 16, 2013
151
170
The 1000 Islands, NY
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT Pro and ATMax, 8.5 x 11, 5 x 8 & a Super Sniper - Pro-pointer.
Fisher F75 LTD, XP Deus - 11", Garrett AT and AT ZLINK pointer
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
Man, that baby is in excellent shape for being in the ground! Iron just seems to dissolve in the soil around here (Iowa).
The lock, trigger and pins were the only iron items. All the other items are brass. Generally the soil around the battlefield here is not too bad or harsh on iron items.
 

ARC

Gold Member
Aug 19, 2014
37,158
130,957
Tarpon Springs
Detector(s) used
JW 8X-ML X2-VP 585
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I am gonna call this a "banner find".

Super well done and commend you for returning to try and find all of it... perhaps that last piece is the next beep in the ole headphones.

Keep in mind... some replacement and issued rods were wood shafts... if i remember correctly ?
 

OP
OP
gldnbrew

gldnbrew

Full Member
Feb 16, 2013
151
170
The 1000 Islands, NY
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT Pro and ATMax, 8.5 x 11, 5 x 8 & a Super Sniper - Pro-pointer.
Fisher F75 LTD, XP Deus - 11", Garrett AT and AT ZLINK pointer
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
I am gonna call this a "banner find".

Super well done and commend you for returning to try and find all of it... perhaps that last piece is the next beep in the ole headphones.

Keep in mind... some replacement and issued rods were wood shafts... if i remember correctly ?
Thank you, my research on this particular model indicates that the ramrod was a wooden shaft, it may or may not of had a brass end on it. All the photos I have seen indicate that there was an upper ramrod pipe, if there was one I haven’t found it yet. When the snow is gone and the ground thaws I’ll be back looking for any missing parts and of course other items. See if my new AT Max can out do my AT pro.
 

Gare

Gold Member
Dec 30, 2012
7,366
13,877
Canton Ohio Area
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
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Detector(s) used
Presently using Deus 2's & have Minelabs, Nokta's Tesoro's DEus's Have them all . Have WAY to many need to get rid of some
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
GREAT find I also vote banner
 

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