My Brother Sam Is Dead Group

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rw1396
rw1396
Student
High School - 9th Grade

Where did the rifle called the "Brown Bess" get its name?

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Posted by rw1396 on Tuesday October 6, 2009 at 7:06 PM and tagged with brown bess, nighname, rifle.

Answers:

  1. ophelious
    ophelious Teacher
    Vocational

    eNotes Editor

    The reality is that the origin of the term "Brown Bess" is disputed.  People have differing ideas.  Here are some of them:

    1. "Brown" came from the brown color of the rifle stock.
    2. "Brown" came from an anti-rusting agent put on the metal that turned it a brown color.
    3. "Bess" came from either the word "Blunderbuss" or "arquebus," both early types of rifles.
    4. "Bess" came from the nickname for Elizabeth I.
    5. The "Brown Bess" is just a counterpart to an earlier rifle that was called "Brown Bill."

    Personally, I prefer the explanation that the name comes from the German words "brawn buss" or "braun buss", meaning "strong gun" or "brown gun".  That's just my 2 cents, but it seems to me most probable.

    Sources:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Bess

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    Posted by ophelious on Tuesday October 6, 2009 at 8:15 PM