This musket is heavily based on the standard Short Land Brown Bess pattern. It has traces of two Birmingham proofmarks and "120" on the barrel. The side plate is very similar to those found on standard military issue British Brown Bess muskets and is inscribed "H. Wedson. YORK Volunteer *." The ramrod pipes are also very similar to those used on standard Brown Bess muskets as are the swivel locations (rear swivel itself absent), the button head iron ramrod, stock shape, trigger guard, and bayonet lug. The main departures from the military patterns are the higher quality barrel tang with sighting groove and flush fitting screw, the oval thumb plate marked "YORK," and the use of wedges to secure the barrel instead of pins. The lock is inscribed "Ketland & Co." in script and has an "L" stamped on the underside. The stock has "Y+C/54" on the left side of the butt. Members of the Ketland family were active in Birmingham from 1740 to 1831 and several often cooperated as "Ketland & Co." The volunteer movement in the early 19th century in England in preparation for a French invasion under Napoleon was strong. They were led by Prince Frederick, Duke of York and were meant to act as guerilla fighters against the French if the regular military failed to prevent an occupation. Some political leaders feared arming the "yeomanry," but the Duke, William Pitt, and others trusted the patriotism of the public. Within a few weeks of the first calls for volunteers, 280,000 men answered the call. By 1804, 480,000 men were counted in the ranks, and it was declared an "insurrection of loyalty."

Fair. The barrel has a mottled artificial brown patina and shows signs of extensive cleaning in the period of use. This is not uncommon given soldiers were expected to keep their weapons armory bright and used emery and brick dust as well as other tools to do so. One would imagine a patriotic volunteer would have wanted to keep his musket every bit as bright as the regular infantry. The lock is a brighter gray. Both have light pitting. The brass has an aged patina. The stock is good and has been repaired and revarnished. There are various dings and scrapes throughout, a large sliver absent from the left edge of the forend, a crack extending from the front sling swivel, another crack between the two rear wedges on the left, and a pieced section around the rearmost wedge on the right. The lock functions very well.