Weapons+and+Uniforms

Uniforms and Weaponry of the Revolutionary War During the revolutionary war the solders needed something to wear and something to fight with. They fought with muskets, cannons, pistols’, swords, and bayonets. They wore hats boots and different colored uniforms for each colony. This time period lasted Between 1775-1783. Weapons One of the guns that they used in the revolutionary war was the **pistol**. The pistol was used mostly by officers and Calvary. Pistols where only good for close range combat. So they weren’t used that much in the battles. The pistols had decorations along the stock and barrel. One of the biggest weapons that they used where **cannons. **Cannons where one of the most powerful weapons on the field during the war. Each Cannon had a crew of 7 to 14 men. Washington’s army practiced loading and firing the cannons until it was second nature to them. One of the things they loaded the cannons with where grape shots. Grape shots where bags filled with metal pellets the size of grapes that where loaded into the cannons and fired. The most used weapon on the field was a **musket**. Muskets where medium ranged guns that took around 20 seconds to load. The muskets weren’t very accurate because the bullets didn’t spin in the barrel. It took 13 steps to load the musket from putting the bullet in to firing. You had to load the musket after every shot. The most used close ranged weapon on the field during the war was the **bayonet**. The bayonet attached to the end of the musket. The bayonet transformed the musket into a spear. The bayonets where first made to fit inside the barrel but the person couldn’t fire so they widened it and then cut a hole in it so it fit around the musket barrel. The longest ranged weapon on the field was the **rifle**. The colonist did not like the rifle. It was more accurate than muskets but it jammed up and the bayonet couldn’t be put on the rifle because the barrel was too small. Colonist got killed more easily with the rifle. Uniforms The uniforms included breeches and stockings that where gradually replaced with long overalls or leggings. These where fashioned from deer leather or duck. These where shaped to the leg fastened with four buttons at the ankle and then secured by a strap running in front of the heel. The Colonists wore there colored coats, leather boots and there hat that where worn forward over the brow. They sometimes wore little things on there hats and they where **cockades** and **evergreen springs**. Cockades represented a military man. The French wore white and the Americans wore black. Evergreens where worn to signify continued Virgo in the army. Each colony had there own color of coats. The official color in 1775 was brown The new England colonies had white facing ,new York and new jersey had buff facing, north and south Carolina and Georgia had blue facing. Washington changed his color to blue.