by Carlene Phillips ·
Friday, April 11, 2025
In recognition of the start of the American Revolution 250 years ago and just in time for the Patriots Day reenactment at the Old North Bridge in Concord, the Harvard Historical Society is presenting a program on “Colonial Arms of the Revolution.” On Thursday, April 17, at 7 p.m. in the Still River meetinghouse, Bolton resident Ed Sterling and his colleague Keith Hatfield will display a variety of old guns, demonstrate how they were made and how they work, and show a video of one being fired.
Sterling may be better known for his wizardry with computers. Or for his extensive and original research into area railroad lines and their routes. But in talking with him, it was obvious that he also knows a great deal about the history of firearms. Also knowledgeable about guns, Hatfield is a former National Park Service Law Enforcement Ranger.
Ed Sterling holds an American Revolution-era musket. (Courtesy photo)
Sterling’s interest in guns goes back to his childhood. There was a .22 rifle on the Vermont farm where he grew up, and as a kid, he had a huge toy gun collection and later owned a BB gun. He joined ROTC at Penn State, and he was on the rifle team. He served five years in the Army, where he learned about the technology of firearms.
Both his sons were Boy Scouts, and when one of them became very interested in guns, Sterling joined the Harvard Sportsmen’s Club on Littleton County Road. The Boy Scout Rifle Shooting merit badge includes a course on muzzle-loading rifles, powered by black powder. At the Sportsmen’s Club, young men from ages 11 to 20 become familiar with how an old muzzle-loader works and gain an historical appreciation. Sterling wanted to become more knowledgeable about these guns, so he took courses at the club, became part of its educational team, and is a certified instructor in muzzle-loading firearms, as is Hatfield. Sterling has been working with Boy Scouts for 30 years, preparing them for range shooting. Hatfield is the director of range and target activities at a Scout camp in Bolton.
During the Revolutionary War, both sides used muskets, with some rifles. Sterling explained that a musket is simpler to make because of the smooth surface inside the barrel. The powder explodes inside the barrel to shoot the lead ball straight out.
In contrast, a rifle has grooves that let the ball spin on its way up the barrel, allowing for much more precision than a musket. Sterling likened it to the way a quarterback throws with a spiral to accurately direct the football. The rifle is much more complicated to make. Sterling said he wonders “how the heck” a country gunsmith could make the grooves, and he is currently researching this complicated process. Rifle-making would have been easier in cities, where mills could use water power to run drills.
Sterling painted a picture of the colonial soldier marching into battle. His fowling gun or musket, perhaps with bayonet attached, is taller than his elbow but not above his shoulder. He has 30 seconds to go through all the steps of loading his gun. First he has to pull out the ramrod; next he bites the end off the cartridge, a paper tube that Sterling described as cigar-like; then he releases the powder and lead ball into the barrel, tamping it with the ramrod. All the while, the enemy is approaching. Finally he pulls the trigger, which releases the hammer that swings forward so the flint strikes a piece of steel, making a spark. At the same time, the motion pushes the steel piece back, opening the cover of a flash pan that contains a small charge of gunpowder that is set off by the spark and in turn ignites the powder in the barrel. “What happened in the rain or snow?” Sterling asked, rhetorically.
Sterling will talk about the origin of the gun in China, Germany’s contribution, and the evolution of the ignition mechanism from matchlock to wheel lock, and then to flintlock around 1650, each time making ignition faster, safer, and more reliable. He and Hatfield will describe a variety of guns and how they work. They will bring some of their own old guns and reproductions and also show some from the Historical Society’s collection of a dozen or so guns. Most of the society’s guns are not significant and have missing pieces; but there is one fowling gun, 48 inches long with brass decoration, that Sterling said is in remarkably good condition, made in Harvard in 1777.
A $5 donation to support public programming is appreciated. May 31, the society is having a living history cemetery tour to hear the stories of Harvard men who fought in the Revolution.
Carlene Phillips is a member of the Harvard Historical Society.