The militia had to polish their own gun. The Americans mostly used the brown bess,long rifles, and bayonets. One of the most commonly used weapons is the brown bess which is a muzzle loading smoothbore musket. The brown bess is a British weapon but it is mostly used by the Americans. Long rifles were used by snipers in the revolution. They were designed bythe Americans. It can shoot 300 yards unlike the regular 100 yards the smothbore muskets shoots. The Charleville musket was utilized by the French. This rifle was most effective at a range of 50 yards or less,and used a .69 caliber round. Due to the inaccuracy of the weapons used, the bayonet played a vital role. Since they were already close together instead of taking the time to reload they engaged in hand-to-hand combat.
