This is quite possibly one of the few examples of a brass barreled shoulder blunderbuss made by John Miles Sr., of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, circa 1798-1799 in existence. The blunderbuss has a very short (11 1/2-inch) pin-fastened brass barrel with one-inch diameter bore. The black walnut stock extends nearly to the barrel muzzle. The Germanic style lock has a flat face with beveled edges and is double-stepped with a point at the rear. The goose-neck hammer is flat with beveled edges. The lock has an integral iron pan with high fence and a frizzen with curled toe. The ramrod channel has a cast brass pipe and tail pipe. The flared wooden ramrod has a brass tip and iron finial. The flat brass side plate is engraved with simple floral decorations. The brass trigger guard has an acorn-shaped finial. A simple floral design is engraved on the bottom of the trigger guard. The brass buttplate has an extended heel engraved with floral designs. The breech is engraved with a ribbon of stars and "LONDON" is engraved in block letters on the top of the barrel. The maker's name "MILES" is engraved on the lock plate below the pan. "Aetolian Waterloo" is lightly engraved in script on the top of the barrel. The left side of the barrel is stamped with oval British proof and inspection marks. Stamped between the British markings is the "PRO" Pennsylvania State Proof Mark of Robert Orr (1795-1809) and the "VED" Pennsylvania State Inspection Mark of Elijah Dagget. A consignor letter states that this blunderbuss was purchased by the State of Pennsylvania in response to the undeclared Quasi-War between the United States and France in 1798-1800. During the Quasi-War, although the lion's share of the action took the form of sea battles, there was a very real fear of a ground invasion, prompting states and cities to acquire new arms for their militia units. In the case of Philadelphia, one of the units so armed was the Aetolian Waterloo, a special unit of light infantry, 80 to 100 men strong, under the War Committee of Emergency Relief of Philadelphia. The origin of the unit's name is twofold, with the Aetolian League having been a confederation in Ancient Greece which was both a highly democratic society and a military match for any of the surrounding powers, and the meeting and training ground for the unit being at the end of Waterloo Street, at a farmhouse dubbed the "Tolia". The American military shoulder blunderbuss is described by Robert M. Riley on pages 230-236 of "UNITED STATES MARTIAL FLINTLOCKS". Riley states that the military blunderbuss is the rarest of all U.S. flintlock martial arms and notes that fewer than 50 American blunderbusses are estimated to exist today.

Good. The brass barrel and furniture have an attractive patina. The barrel has some scattered dents and some minor age discoloration. The proofs and breech engraving are clear. The floral decorations of the side plate and trigger guard are sharp. The lock has been lightly cleaned and has scattered pitting. The marker's name is crisp. The stock has been lightly sanded and is in good overall condition with moderate handling wear. There are two repaired cracks in the right side of the forearm between the lock plate and the ramrod pipe. The left side of the stock has two smaller hairline cracks and there is some old filler in a hole near the barrel tang. The blunderbuss is in the original flintlock configuration and has the original ramrod. An extremely rare U.S. military arm!