This horn was described in an exhibition of historical artifacts in Hatfield in 18891 as the powder horn of Henry Wilkie, a Hessian in General Burgoyne's army.
While Hessian soldiers during the Revolutionary War were typically pre-issued cartridge boxes, this horn may have been issued to Henry once in America, or could have been taken off a captured or killed soldier from the Continental Army. Since the more prominent initials on one side of the horn do not match Henry Wilkie’s initials, the latter scenario is more likely.
There are two known versions of how Henry came to Hatfield, MA. Samuel Partridge in his reminiscences2 indicates that he knew Henry and described him as follows:
“…Henry Wilkie, who was from Wolfenbüttel, Germany, belonged to General Burgoyne's army, and was taken prisoner at Saratoga. While on his march to Boston for reembarkation to Germany, he made his escape, preferring to remain in this country. He was a barber in his native country, and told me that the barbers there were surgeons to the extent of bleeding patients. He lived in a small one-story house with his wife and four sons. All of these sons attended school in the old brick schoolhouse. One of the sons, Henry, remained in town, where he died at an advanced age. The others left town before their father's death.”
Another version of how he came to be one of the earliest non-English residents of Hatfield comes from an obituary of Henry’s grandson Charles E. Wilkie (donor of the powder horn), in which Henry is said to have been paroled. He, like many of his fellow Hessian soldiers, chose to remain in this country and was allowed to settle on condition that he not take up arms again for the British. Some Hessian POWs were paroled to local farmers, who needed manpower.
There were several paths of march taken by the prisoners from the Saratoga battlefield to Boston following General Burgoyne’s surrender on Oct. 17, 1777. One march led by General James Brickett did pass through Hatfield and another passed through Northampton. These, however, were thought to consist of British soldiers. The Hessians were marched via more southerly routes through Springfield and Connecticut. Along these routes, the Hessian soldiers were encouraged to desert their British armies and settle in the new land.
A more in-depth profile of Henry Wilkie is available from the Hatfield Historical Society.
Journal from ye 1st of March 1773
1773--- Mar 1st- Went with Mr Cutler in ye Morning to Leiut
Fields drank Egg Pop and from there to Hoyts
drank Cherry and then back to Lt Fields & dined &
in ye Afternoon to Dickinsons Shop drank Cherry from
there we went to Joiners and in ye Evening we had
a dance and I waited upon Mr C Williams the Co
were Doctr Barnard et lexor J Williams & Sister T. Cutler
Murray Dickinson Cooley Peggy Ingersoll & Vira do
with several other Gentleman and Ladies a very fine
Dance, the Co braking up I came and Lodged wth Murray
Tuesday Majr Murray paid ye fine of 10/0 to
Colo Thos Williams Esq for riding of a
Sunday from Hubbards in Sunderland to Deerfield he
complaind of himself up & ye Afternoon I began
to read Van Swietens Commentaries upon Boerhaaves
Aphorisms drank Tea with ye Ladies, in ye Evening
went to Lt Fields to get an order of Abatement wc he
promised he would make when he saw ye Selectmen
from there I went to Ensn Barnards & from there
went to Catlins wth Murray, and from Catlins we
went to Doctr Barnards and playd Checkers, Murray
married me to Vira and I married him to Peggy after
which Murray and Peggy in truth like married People
went to Bed in presence of Theod Barnard & Vira & myself
where I left them when I came away Theod took Vira away
& into ye Kitchen and them I see no more---
As the British Empire spread around the world, so too did the “Brown Bess” flintlock musket. From the early 18th century to the mid 19th century, it was the ubiquitous weapon of the British infantry. Known officially as the Land Pattern Musket, it marked the start of the era of standardization of arms across the British infantry.
To operate it, all a soldier had to do was:
1. Bite open the cartridge.
2. Open the musket pan.
3. Pour in a small amount of powder.
4. Close the pan.
5. Hold the musket vertically.
6. Pour remaining powder down the barrel.
7. Push the cartridge paper into the barrel.
8. Remove the ramrod.
9. Ram the paper and bullet down the barrel.
10. Put the ramrod back.
11. Aim.
12. Fire.
British soldiers were trained to reload and shoot every 20 seconds, even while under enemy fire. Under 50 yards, the Brown Bess was devastatingly effective. However, at distances of 100 yards or more, it was wildly inaccurate. It was said, derisively, that it took a man’s weight in bullets to kill him. Although it could never be as accurate as a gun with a rifled barrel, its accuracy improved in the hands of more highly trained, experienced soldiers.
The fate of this musket’s original owner is unknown. After General John Burgoyne’s surrender at the Battle of Saratoga, militia Captain John Fellows of Shelburne picked it up off the battlefield. Fellows carved his initials into the brass plate alongside those of the original owner “RD 1777.”
Story Addendum
The musket's story, however, did not end when Captain Fellows brought it home from Saratoga. Nor did it end when it was donated to Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association in 1882 by John Fellows, grandson of Captain Fellows. The decision to donate the musket would be a point of contention in the Fellows family for decades to come.
By the early 1900s, John Fellows' great-grandson, Allen, was particularly incensed by his father's decision to donate the musket, which he considered a family heirloom. When confronted, John conceded that he believed he had only loaned the musket to PVMA for safe keeping. Thus Allen went to the museum to retrieve the musket. But when he attempted to do so, he was turned away by PVMA's founder, George Sheldon, who provided the legal documentation proving the transfer of ownership.
Just one generation later, Robert Fellows Wood lamented John's "impulsive" decision to donate the musket to "keen, old" George Sheldon. Robert had the opportunity to see it on exhibit in 1930 at PVMA's Memorial Hall Museum. However, on a return visit to the museum in 1954, Robert and his wife, Elizabeth, were unable to locate the musket in the case where it had been exhibited 24 years earlier. The museum's curator then missidentified the musket they were looking for, leading to confusion and fear that the musket had been mislabled, altered, or worse.
Today the musket is exhibited in Memorial Hall Museum's Military Gallery, correctly labeled and unaltered, thanks to the foresight of John Fellows.