Duval Model 1765

History of the Duval Model 1765

The Washington Naval Dockyard in Washington, D.C. has a collection of flintlock pistols reportedly belonging to the Marquis of Lafayette, a prominent French military figure against Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). This pistol is the product of Duval a Nantes and is undoubtedly the property of the officer due to its intricately detailed head.

The estimated date of manufacture of the weapon is between 1760 and 1770.

As we all know, this gun is a traditional flintlock design with the necessary metalwork on the right side of the frame. These include cocked arms with beaked flint vise and battery. The body of the weapon is made from a single piece of wood with an integrated grip, elegantly curved, while being covered in brass.

Trigger groups are thrown under the mechanism as usual. The metal barrel is embedded in the wooden body, and the overall structure is sturdy. As a flintlock weapon, the pistol is muzzle loaded and its contents are struck home by a push rod mounted in a groove below the barrel.

Charges and bullets are still the order of the day, use a piece of flint on the hammer to create the spark needed to ignite the charge.

The firearm operation of the flintlock system continued for about 200 years before being superseded by the firing cap method - which became common during the American Civil War in the 1860s.

Specification

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