A matter of historical record: The ancient firearm used against Chief Polin during battle in 1756 – does it still exist?

Windham Historical Society member 
Alan Anderson examines the historical
society museum's recent donation of a
French-made Charleville flintlock musket
(circa 1717-1746). It represents one of at
least four muskets in Windham claiming to be
the firearm that killed Chief Polin during the
final battle between settlers and natives in
May 1756. COURTESY PHOTO   

By Walter Lunt  

The package arrived at the Windham Historical Society Museum by USPS late last spring. Carefully wrapped and quite heavy, its content revealed a very old firearm – well-worn and missing some of its parts. The sender, unknown to W.H.S. staff, was a man from Colorado who wrote that the gun’s origin was Windham, Maine and had been in his family for years. He indicated that his forebears believed it was the gun, a flintlock, that killed Wabanaki Chief Polin in 1756.

The donation, as is the custom, was noted in the W.H.S. newsletter, and it caught the attention of Society member and Windham history buff Ray Philpot. He examined the gun at the society’s museum, and it piqued his interest. “I enjoyed the thought of (its) connection with Windham.”

Philpot contacted Alan Anderson, also a member of the historical society and a black powder gun enthusiast. Anderson became intrigued by the age and hand-forged features of the firearm - the high-quality manufacture, brass fittings and bayonet. He immediately engaged in research to learn all he could about the gun’s history and its possible connection with the tragic 1756 battle between the Sebago Natives and the town’s first settlers

The first white settlers of European heritage arrived in what would be called New Marblehead, later Windham, in the late 1730s. The area had been home, at least seasonably, to scattered members of the Wabanaki Nation for hundreds of years. The encounter would be a conflict of cultures. The Native Indian band, led by Chief Polin, protested the construction of dams along the Presumpscot River which blocked sea-run fish that were a major source of food. Also, they condemned the confiscation of lands that drove off wildlife, another source of sustenance.

On May 14, 1756, following nearly 20 years of strife, armed conflict broke out between a band of warriors and a group of farmers and militiamen, including Ezra Brown and Stephen Manchester.

The encounter was described by Thomas Laurens Smith in his 1873 book History of Windham: “(Polin)… concealed behind a tree, (and had) previously shot Brown, was the first to begin the bloody combat. He discharged his musket at Manchester, but without taking effect. In his eagerness to reload his piece, the body of (Polin) became uncovered and exposed to the view of Manchester (who) instantly leveled his musket, took deadly aim and fired; swift as lightning the fatal ball sped its way, and (Polin), the warrior king…fell to rise no more.”

The brief battle, which took place off Anderson Road near the original New Marblehead settlement, ended all hostilities with the Native population in the Sebago region.

The whereabouts of Manchester’s firearm, if it still exists, has been debated for years. In recent decades, according to David Manchester, a direct descendant of Stephen, no fewer than four individuals claim to own the flintlock musket that killed the great Chief Polin. One Windham family, who prefer to remain anonymous for fear of theft, claim the musket they own is most likely the real thing, due to documentation they have that accompanies the gun.

Alan Anderson’s exhaustive research into the flintlock recently acquired by the historical society indicates that it too might be a candidate, “but there’s no way to know for certain.” He observes that certain features of the musket indicate the possible time of its manufacture to be between 1717 and 1746. “That’s my best guess, but if (an expert) disputed it I’d be likely to go along with them.”

Distinguishing characteristics, according to Anderson, are the downward curve of the gunstock, the barrel held to the stock by pins instead of bands and a brass nosepiece, all typical of a so-called Charleville musket manufactured by French gunsmiths during that period. It is a one shot .69 caliber long gun with a 46-inch barrel and a total length of 62 inches. It has a walnut stock and weighs 10 pounds.

The flintlock was a vast improvement over its predecessor, the matchlock gun. A matchlock utilized a strand of flammable material, or cord, that smoldered into the firing pan. The flintlock fired when a spark, generated by a piece of flint striking a steel surface, ignited the gunpowder.

The Charleville musket was in use from 1717 to 1816 – more than seven million were produced. The American version, the Springfield, was nearly an exact copy of a later model of the Charleville.

Unfortunately, the newly acquired historical society musket is missing its lock assembly, including the (gunpowder) pan, hammer, flint and trigger, leading Philpot to speculate it may have been a “parts gun” at the end of its useful life. Nevertheless, those who have handled it agree that it’s a historical beauty and will be displayed for public view.

One question, however, remains: which, if any, of the four Windham muskets was the one used by Stephen Manchester in that infamous battle?

Asked if he had any idea, Dave Manchester (the direct descendent), seemingly tired of the debate, waved his arm and postulated, “Maybe…he had four guns.” <