Spanish Model 1803 Flintlock Musket

Muskets of the type seen here were used by Spanish soldiers in New Mexico.

Model 1803 Spanish Colonial Flint-lock Musket (single-shot/ muzzle-loading/ black powder/ ball ammunition) Powerful France re-took Louisiana from Spain. In 1803, Napoleon Bonaparte sold this land to the United States. Its territory consisted of everything west of the Mississippi and north of the Red Rivers, and east of the Rocky Mountains. To the Spanish ranchers and settlers in New Mexico, the sale was frightening, so they turned to muskets of the type displayed here and introduced in 1803. Symbolically, the specimen reflects France's influence on Spain. Its barrel and stock utilize the three-band French mountings, and its lock is a variation of a French design. It represents an attempt by Spain to slow technological and political decline. The subject musket belonged to Spanish soldiers who were called upon to maintain Spain's control over her holdings and to protect Spanish settlers from Native Americans along the frontier. --Dr. William L. Roberts, THE AMERICAN LIBERTY COLLECTION; #32