Congress was finding it difficult to arm its soldiers after Lexington and Concord. By 1778, there were six Continental arsenals located in the colonies. Virginia founded a state gun factory in 1775 but most states resorted to employing private gunmakers who gathered mixed and scavenged parts to fashion muskets. Virginia's Rappahanock Forge was one of the private gunmakers supplying the colonies. It is estimated that during the War of Independence about 80,000 muskets were American mixed-pattern muskets.

Use this Investigation Sheet to guide students through describing the object and analyzing its meaning.