British Weapons of the American Revolution
The main musket of choice for the British troops was the "Brown Bess." It was 62 inches making it a very long gun. It was highly inaccurate compared to the American rifles. The tactic used for these muskets was to shoot a volley of musketballs, which means they shot many guns at once. Another widely used musket was the smoothbore flintlock musket. It was not rifled making it aslo extremely inaccurate. This musket used blackpowder as well as all the other muskets of this time.
The bayonet was attached to the end of a musket. It could be used for close hand-to-hand combat. The bayonet could also be taken off and used as a common dagger. It wass an advantage if you can't reload in time and the enemy is charging.
One cannon used in the American Revolution by the British was the Howitzer. It used to fire explosive shells at the enemy. The shells burned up quickly so the barrel was short. Most cannons were named based on their cannonball weight like the 2pounder or much larger 50 pounder. Mortars were also used in the revolution. They were aimed upwards for long range bombardment. It also consealed where they are. The British also used swivel guns which were cannons that could turn. The ammunition used varied from plain cannonballs to grape shots, used for long range, which were iron balls wrapped in cloth and string.
Swords and Knives
The British officers were the ones who carried swords. They didn't use the swords in battle, but they were used in ceromonies. The main use for the sword in battle would be a cavalry charge. Knives were mored used than swords for close combat. Guns and rifles took a long time to reload so they had a weapon they could defend themselves while the enemy charged. A knife or sword didn't have to be reloaded so it was a very important weapon in the American Revolutuionary War.
The British would have been nothing without their tactics. One of the tactics used was a standard tactic where they lined up 3 people deep with little space in between. Later in the war they changed tactics by moving apart more. The Americans used the cover of trees and stone walls which made it hard for the British. The Americans fleed whenever the British attacked because of lack of supplies. They would guard their rendevous point so to avoid the Americans taking over.