Flintlock musket for the East India Company, 1779 circa

Flintlock musket for the East India Company, 1779 circa. The lock and barrel bear the bale mark of the United East India Company, the date 1779 and the makers name Wilson. This musket is of the simplified pattern with the .39 inch barrel, which was purchased in quantity in 1793 as an emergency issue for the British Army at the commencement of the Wars of the French Revolution (1793-1802). Later known as the India Pattern Musket, from 1797 they were manufactured by the Board of Ordnance. The lock of this example is marked with the crowned 'W' of the Company's Inspector of Small-arms, Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Windus, a half pay British Army officer who had been Lieutenant-Colonel of the 93rd Regiment of Foot when it was disbanded in 1763.