British Rev War Bayonet by ‘Woolley’

British Revolutionary War Bayonet by ‘Woolley’

Revolutionary War bayonet. This is a massive bayonet measuring 22” overall and a 16” blade marked Woolley. James Woolley worked on Edmund Street in Birmingham, England during the Revolutionary War making primarily bayonets for the British Ordnance Department for the Brown Bass musket. This bayonet is marked with a small crown and the maker “WOOLLEY”.  There is an exact example of this bayonet in the “Smithsonian Museum of History” Etched into the socket is the “ No 61”; the one in the Smithsonian is number “22”. By the mid-18^th century, the bayonet was a standard accoutrement for the Brown Bess musket. This trend soon reached America. On February 9, 1758, the following new militia law was published in the Boston Newsletter; “enacted, That one Half of the Non-Commission Officers and private Soldiers, liable to train, shall be furnished with a good Bayonet, with a Steel Blade not less than fifteen Inches long, fitted to his Gun, with a Scabbard for the same; for which Bayonet and Scabbard there shall be paid out of the publick Treasury not exceeding Seven Shillings”, so British bayonets found their way to America. Overall, this bayonet offered is in beautiful condition, with no rust or pitting. This is really a rare and historic British Bayonet, as surviving examples by known makers are difficult to find.

Provenance:

James Julia Auction; John Reiley Estate, Strasburg, Virginia;

Gordon Barlow (2025)