VERY RARE – French & Indian War era Plug Bayonet, Circa 1650 – 1720 (ON HOLD)

This is another early piece coming out of a 60-year collection of French & Indian War, Revolutionary War, and War of 1812 artifacts. Being offered is a very rare French & Indian War era unmarked Plug Bayonet. It is brass, wood, and iron and measures 11 ¾” overall, with the blade being 7”, and the brass guard is 3 ¼” wide. The widest part is 1 ¼”.

This 17th-century plug bayonet was intended to be used in close-quarters fighting. It was fitted into the barrel of a musket just after the soldier’s last shot, moments before the enemy arrived before him. Early muskets were heavy and clumsy to load, and even an experienced soldier could take as long as three minutes to load his musket.

The bayonet transformed his just-fired musket from a club into a pike, allowing him a longer reach in an attack. It could also be used as a hand-held dagger. The term “bayonet” may have come from the name of the French town of Bayonne, whose soldiers were known to carry a long knife of this type.

Though probably originating around 1550, the plug bayonet had a relatively short span of use from around 1650-1720 (except in Spain where they were used into the 19th C). Their rise in popularity largely paralleled the development of standing armies in Europe, which were realizing the importance of the musketeer, while at the same time not wanting to wholly abandon the pike. In this sense the plug bayonet can be considered a transitional weapon.

However, despite its use as a dagger on its own, it was soon found to be impractical since it’s use prevented the musket from being fired. Countless soldiers also found great difficulties in removing a stuck plug bayonet from the muzzle, rendering the musket useless as a firearm. Many were damaged while being removed and as a result relatively few survive. For these reasons it was soon superseded by the socket bayonet, which did not affect the musket’s ability to fire and could much more easily be removed.

The bayonet remains in very nice condition, only having some very slight spotted surface rust. This collection began in the late 1950s and was created by private acquisitions, closed museums, diggers, and lake divers. The collector meticulously displayed and cataloged every piece along with any known provenance.

This is really a rare and historic piece being offered, plug bayonets were issued in very  limited numbers, so surviving examples are difficult to come across, and this is the first time this one is on the open market. There are examples in “Collector’s Illustrated Encyclopedia of the American Revolution”, by Neumann and Kravic (see pictures).

It definitely merits a place in an advanced collection or museum.  As with all the pieces in this esteemed collection, a Certificate of Authenticity will be included. The bayonet comes in a deep, glass top display case. With all the items on the website, a very friendly layaway is available.