List of War of 1812 weapons
This is a list of weapons used during the War of 1812.
United Kingdom and the Canadas
[edit source]Melee weapons
[edit source]Small arms
[edit source]Muskets and rifles
[edit source]- Brown Bess[6][7]
- Baker rifle[8]
- Musket Model 1777 (used by militias)[9]
- Tulle musket (used by militias)
- Harpers Ferry Model 1803 (captured)[10]
Pistols
[edit source]- New Land Pattern Cavalry Pistol[11]
Artillery
[edit source]British allied tribes
[edit source]Melee weapons
[edit source]- Tomahawk[13]
- Battle axe[14]
- War club[13]
- Red-painted war club (used by the Muscogee Creek of the Red Sticks faction)
- Spear[13]
Small arms
[edit source]Muskets and rifles
[edit source]- Brown Bess (supplied by the British)[15]
- Chief's Guns[16]
Spain
[edit source]Small arms
[edit source]Muskets and rifles
[edit source]- M1752 Musket[17]
- M1792 Musket[17]
- Escopeta[17]
United States
[edit source]Melee weapons
[edit source]- Eagle Head Sword[1]
- Model 1812 Cavalry Saber[18][19]
- Starr Saber[20]
- Virginia Manufactory Non-Commissioned Officer's Sword[21]
- Infantry Pike[22]
- Boarding Pike Type I[5]
- Boarding Pike Type II[5]
- Boarding Pike Type III[5]
- Quarter Pike[5]
- Type I Boarding Axe[5]
- Type II Boarding Axe[5]
- Type III Boarding Axe[5]
Small arms
[edit source]Muskets and rifles
[edit source]- Springfield Model 1795[23]
- US M1808/1812 service musket[24]
- Harpers Ferry Model 1795[25]
- Harpers Ferry Model 1803[23]
- Model 1763 Charleville musket (left overs from the American Revolutionary War)[26]
- Model 1766 Charleville musket (left overs from the American Revolutionary War)[26]
- Model 1777 Charleville musket (left overs from the American Revolutionary War)[23]
- Brown Bess (captured and left overs from the American Revolutionary War)
- Long rifle[27]
- 1792 contract rifle
- Model 1814 common rifle[28]
Pistols
[edit source]- Simeon North Pistol[29]
- Harper's Ferry flintlock pistol[30]
Artillery
[edit source]American allied tribes
[edit source]Melee weapons
[edit source]Small arms
[edit source]Muskets and rifles
[edit source]References
[edit source]- 1 2 3 "Weapons". The War of 1812 Website. Retrieved 15 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 Matthew Honey. "Swords in North America from 1750 - 1814: From Variety to Uniformity". Emrys Arms. Retrieved 15 July 2026.
The 1796 pattern infantry and cavalry swords and the 1803 pattern were all present and in use in North America throughout the War of 1812.
- ↑ "1803 Pattern British Infantry Sword (1803 -1821)". Military Hertitage. Retrieved 15 July 2026.
- ↑ "Nelson's Battle of Trafalgar Sword - 1805 Pattern Royal Navy Officer's Sword (1805 -1827)". Military Hertitage. Retrieved 15 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Alan Boyd. "AMERICAN BOARDING PIKES AND BOARDING AXES DURING THE WAR OF 1812" (PDF). Retrieved 23 July 2026.
- ↑ "Arms and the Men of the War of 1812". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 2025-07-14.
- ↑ "Brown Bess Musket in the War of 1812 - Canada's History". www.canadashistory.ca. Retrieved 2025-07-14.
- ↑ "Weapons and Tactics in the War of 1812 - The Exchange Niagara Falls". nfexchange.ca. Retrieved 2025-07-14.
- ↑ "French Model 1777 Infantry Musket (Charleville) - AN IX Version". militaryheritage.com.
- ↑ "Harpers Ferry rifle captured from USS President". USS Constitution Museum. Retrieved 2025-07-14.
- ↑ "British New Land Pattern Cavalry Pistol ( Napoleonic Wars)". www.militaryheritage.com. Retrieved 2025-07-14.
- 1 2 "Field Artillery of the War of 1812: Equipment, Organization, Tactics and Effectiveness". The War of 1812 Magazine. 12 November 2009. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Weapons and Tactics in the War of 1812". The EXchange Niagara Falls. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
During the course of the war, the First Nations warriors used a wide range of weapons, including muskets, bayonets, rifles, pistols, bows, knives, tomahawks, clubs, swords and spears. These weapons were generally furnished by the American and British armies.
- 1 2 "Weapons and Tactics in the War of 1812". The EXchange Niagara Falls. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
First Nations warriors also brought their own tomahawks or battle axes.
- ↑ "Weapons and Tactics in the War of 1812". The EXchange Niagara Falls. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
Between 1813 and 1816 the Indian Department of the British Army issued more than 26,000 firearms in the Great Lakes region
- ↑ "Weapons and Tactics in the War of 1812". The EXchange Niagara Falls. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
Almost half of the guns were muskets, although rifles, pistols and chief's guns (sporting-type guns with silver inlay decoration) were also distributed to First Nations allies.
- 1 2 3 "The Escopeta: A Historical Overview of the Spanish Musket". Texas State Historical Association. 1 January 1995. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
But when the mainline colonial regiments and militia in Mexico, Louisiana, and Florida were armed with 1752 and 1791 pattern regulation muskets, the mounted presidial Sic forces and local militia units in Texas continued to use the escopeta, which was still considered acceptable for use against Indians as specified by the Royal Regulations of 1772.
- ↑ "Extremely Rare U.S. Model 1812 Cavalry Saber by William Rose / SOLD". Union Drummer Boy. Retrieved 15 July 2026.
- ↑ "War of 1812 saber". Tennessee Virtual Archive. Retrieved 15 July 2026.
- ↑ "Weapons in the War of 1812". North Carolina History Online Resource. 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
The sabers provided were most commonly Starr sabers. Leading up to and during the war, Nathan Starr was granted multiple contracts to supply horsemen's swords based off a pattern by William Rose, who also provided sabers for the dragoons. The saber was a single-edged, curved iron blade. It was 38 ¾ inches in length with a 1 ⅜ inch wide blade. The difference between the two designs was that Starr's model had a leather scabbard instead of iron. With only a handful of light dragoons called into service, not many of these weapons were used, and swords were becoming more of an officer's weapon.
- ↑ "Virginia Manufactory Non-Commissioned Officer's Sword". Emrys Arms. September 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2026.
- ↑ "Weapons and Tactics in the War of 1812". The EXchange Niagara Falls. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
The 15th Infantry carried a unique weapon called a pike, a spearhead on a long pole.
- 1 2 3 "Equipment in the War of 1812". American Battlefield Trust.
- ↑ https://powderandlead.net/model-1812-musket/
- ↑ "Harpers Ferry / Springfield Model 1795". Military Factory. 21 March 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
- 1 2 "Guns Of The War Of 1812". NRA American Rifleman. 27 September 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
The facility was storing thousands of French muskets, mostly Model 1763s and 1766s, left over from the Revolution. Some of those guns would ultimately find their way into the hands of Americans during the War of 1812
- ↑ Association, National Rifle. "An Official Journal Of The NRA | Guns Of The War Of 1812". An Official Journal Of The NRA. Retrieved 2025-07-14.
- ↑ "U.S. Henry Deringer Model 1814 Common Rifle". NRA Museums. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
- ↑ "Simeon North Pistol". USS Constitution Museum. Retrieved 2025-07-14.
- ↑ "Weapons in the War of 1812 | NCpedia". www.ncpedia.org. Retrieved 2025-07-14.
- ↑ "The Pivotal Role of Artillery in the War of 1812". The Collector. 17 December 2025. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
- ↑ "Seacoast Fortifications of the United States", Emanuel Lewis, 1970, ISBN 0-929521-11-0
- ↑ "Weapons and Tactics in the War of 1812". The EXchange Niagara Falls. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
The American army issued similar weapons to their Indigenous allies although they were generally of poorer quality than the British ones. The U.S. Army tended to give away more rifles than muskets.
