Marlborough Wars - War of the Austrian Succession - French and Indian Wars
By the end of the 17th century, the British Army was armed extensively with the doglock musket. By 1700, the doglock had evolved into a beautiful and sleek arm unique to the English.. While flintlocks without dog catches started to surface at this time, the doglock would have been one of the principal English weapons in Marlborough's army when he defeated the French at the Battles of Blenheim in 1704, Ramillies in 1706, Oudenaarde in 1708, and Malplaquet in 1709. Under the leadership of the Duke of Marlborough, the British Army had truly entered the 18th century in great glory.
However at the same time the doglock had become perfected, the true flintlock without the dog catch started to take hold in the army. By the 1720s the dog lock had been replaced in the Army by the Brown Bess. That did not end the use of this arm. As the brown bess was introduced, thousands of surplus doglock muskets were turned over to the Royal Navy or shipped to the American Colonies. It is not a coincidence the brass hardware styles of the musket offered here, show up on the first Sea Service musket in 1738.
The doglock, especially with its brass furniture, was quite popular on board ship. Eventually through engagements and desertion, pirates and privateers would have also came to use this arm. Doglock barrel lengths varied from 42 inches to 48 inch fowlers. The 42 inch barrel was much more ideal for naval service than the longer fowlers.
In the American colonies, there are references to doglocks in colonial armouries through the French and Indian War and all the way up to the eve of the American Revolution. Certainly with arms in short supply at the opening of the conflict, American colonists would have been glad to pick up a doglock in their dispute with King George III.
