An English naval flintlock blunderbuss circa 1750-1760 used aboard H M S FOWEY

History of H M S FOWEY: The ship was a sixth-rate warship of the Royal Navy launched in 1749. In late 1760, the ships' Captain George Anthony Tonyn (his Naval Commission dated November 14, 1758 is included with the blunderbuss) was charged with delivering the Oficial Notifucation of the Death of King George II on October 25 and the accession of King George III. Tonyn arived in New York on January 16, 1761, and immediately attended the Governor at Fort George. The next day Tonyn had his ship, the FOWEY, fire a 21 gun salute to officially announce the succession. In July 1761, Captain Tonyn was given command of a larger ship, the H M S Brune, recently captured from the French. In July 1776, the ship carried Virginia's last Royal Governor, John Murray, the 4th Earl of Dunmore, from the Governor's Palace in Williamsburg, as he fled the colony for safety in England during the beginning of the American Revolution. Utimately, the FOWEY was burned and scuttled at Yorktown on October 10 1781, to prevent capture by the Allied fleet under Admiral Francois-Josef Paul de Grasse. THE BLUNDERBUSS itself: The gun has seen hard use over its' life of nearly 260 years. There are numerous worm holes, cracks and chips on the gun. There are also two period repairs using brass bands under the barrel and also below the muzzle. At some point, probably in the late 18th century, the gun was used by the turnpike men to safeguard coaches and to make sure all fees were paid. There are two stamps on the gun which say "PIKE."