Finding the Musket | Why was the Musket in the Privy? | Preserving the Musket
Alexandria Archaeology discovered the Wickham Musket during excavations at the Alexandria Courthouse site in 1978. The gun, cocked and loaded, was thrown into the backyard privy of a house at 106 South Saint Asaph Street some time in the 1860s.
The musket was manufactured by Marine T. Wickham between 1822 and 1834. Wickham, a former Master Armorer at the Harper's Ferry National Armory, produced muskets under contract for the government at his Philadelphia factory.
The musket was found in the privy with its muzzle down and broken at the wrist. The waterlogged wood was well preserved, but stained black from the privy. The metal components were badly corroded. An undamaged flint and a leather cushion were still clamped in the jaws of the hammer, which was frozen in the firing position. Priming powder was still in the pan, and x-rays revealed a .69 caliber musket ball with wadding and a powder charge in the barrel. However, the mainspring, which snapped the hammer and flint against the frizzen, was broken to ignite the powder, was fractured. The unserviceable musket was discarded in the privy along with other household trash.
Why was the Musket in the Privy?
Privies, which are the holes in the ground beneath outhouses, were convenient places to throw trash. In Alexandria, the deep brick-lined shafts used as privies were often filled with trash over a long period of time, while they were still in use. Once people got indoor plumbing, they often quickly filled in their wells and privies with household trash such as broken dishes and food remains, or with building rubble.
Archaeology cannot definitively answer the question of why the musket was thrown away. However, it was found with other artifacts which show that it was discarded in the 1860s, when Alexandria was occupied by Union troops during the Civil War. Perhaps an Alexandrian with Confederate sympathies threw it away so that they would not be captured by the occupying army. Or, maybe we have discovered a weapon used in a 19th century crime. We may never know!
Volunteer Jan Herman worked with conservator Lynn Arden for a year and a half to preserve and restore the Wickham musket. The gun was carefully taken apart so that wood and metal could be treated separately. The musket was x-rayed, revealing the ball and powder charge. The powder was tested in a laboratory, but was no longer volatile. X-rays were also used to examine the condition of the metal.
As the iron and steel components were basically sound, the surface corrosion was removed using an electrolytic tank. Treating the wood was a more time consuming process. The gun was cleansed in successive water baths for six weeks to remove dirt and impurities. Then the water which filled the cells of the wood was gradually replaced with a waxy preservative in a process which took six months. This enabled the wood to retain its shape. The musket was carefully reassembled with replacement parts of grey painted wood and wax, clearly distinguishable from the original wood and metal.
Learn more about the Civil War in Alexandria and about historic muskets and fire arms at the Fort Ward Museum.
Learn more about archaeological" conservation in the Alexandria Archaeology Museum.
