Grice 1762 Dated Brown Bess Musket

This is a Grice 1762 dated Brown Bess musket with the Royal Cypher - Crown over GR. The barrel is 39" inches and bore measures around .69 or 17.5mm, the standard calibre for this musket. The stampings JPR/EXR/2396 refer to Indian export regulations, and on the other side of the barrel it is marked L143. The action has the distinctive swan neck with flint and leather grip. The Walnut stock is inscribed with "22 over T.1" with 1 14 within a roundal below. The partial "scrubbing" of the British markings on the lock may indicate that it was captured during its service life?

The standard musket issued to the British soldier throughout the late 18th and early 19th centuries was this model,  the India Pattern model, made in two variants and used against both Revolutionary and Napoleonic France. The first model was introduced in 1793 and the updated version in 1810. They were most famously used by the British at Battle of Waterloo in 1815. During this period The East India Company was hugely powerful and had strong trade ties with the British Government. They were persuaded to sell stocks of their Brown Bess muskets to the British. An agreement was reached and by the end of 1794 the company had delivered into government stores 29,920 muskets. These transactions continue throughout the duration of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. By 1815 the company had sold the Ordnance at least 142,970 small arms.