October 13th, 2020
6minute read
Dont fire until you see the whites of their eyes!
June 17, 1775.
The Battle of Bunker Hill.
With that one shot, Simpson opened the Battle of Bunker Hill and cemented his place in history.
When the battle ended, the British had taken the ground previously held by the Americans.
In that sense, they were victorious, despite suffering more than double the casualties of the Americans.
Instead, Simpson was court-martialed for his actions.
Amazingly enough, that gun was put up for sale for the first time in more than two centuries.
It crossed the auction block on Wednesday, October 23, 2019 at Morphy Auctions in Denver, Pennsylvania.
The musket features a 4038 tapered round smoothbore barrel inscribed No.
The comb is high and pronounced in the early Dutch and German fashion.
Even more impressive is that the musket is complete with its original matching numbered bayonet inscribed G No.
696 on the socket.
It features a faceted double edged blade 1218 long, with an overall length of 1658.
Despite its age, the gun has survived the centuries remarkably well.
The brass furniture has been partially polished and shows some marks from use and darker areas.
The bayonet, too, retains a matching dark heavy patina with some minor period nicks to edges.
Amazingly, the gun has been in the Simpson family for more than two centuries.
The musket then went to the current owners maternal great-grandfather Charles Lyon Simpson.
It was then given to his grandmother, then his mother, and finally, to the current owner.
Col. Stephen Peabody, Esq.
It is signed by E. Thompson and M. Weare and has the pressed seal of New Hampshire.
The amount of history oozing out of this gun is unprecedented.
It sold for $492,000 far exceeding the high estimate of $300,000.
Now, this is where I need to borrow a line from the worlds most famous professor of archaeology.
