Gunpowder is most commonly composed of potassium nitrate, sulfur, and carbon (charcoal). San Jacinto Museum of History © 2003

Pistol

There were more long guns than pistols used at San Jacinto. But American-made pistols, British exports, and Spanish pistolas were no doubt being heard and felt by both sides. This presence of pistols in Mexican Texas was augmented by the continuing practice of settling disputes via duel.

Blunderbuss

A blunderbuss is a short-range musket with a flared muzzle, like a trumpet. Some of Juan Seguín’s Tejano soldiers may have carried a blunderbuss passed down from their Spanish colonial forefathers.

Brown Bess

The India Pattern Brown Bess was an English musket that was standard issue among Mexican soldiers. In the 1820s, Mexico had purchased a number of them from British arms dealers. A solid weapon at close range, both sides likely put large-caliber muskets to use in the field at San Jacinto.

Rifle

Both hunting and military rifles saw wide service at San Jacinto on all sides. It was the preferred weapon of Texian pioneers who had migrated from the United States, with a long barrel and stock. Rifle quality varied, from the British Bakers issued to the Mexican army to the backwoods hunting rifles of Kentucky.

Carbine

A carbine is a shorter version of the long rifle or musket. Soldiers fighting on horseback preferred the carbine to their more cumbersome counterparts. The Mexican Cavalry were issued large caliber carbines.

Musket

A musket is a smoothbore gun, shot from the shoulder, which saw wide use during Mexican and Texian colonial times. It’s different from a rifle in that rifles have spiral cut grooves within the barrel (known as rifling).

Soldiers using a musket, rather than a rifle, could only be confident of hitting an enemy at 50 yards or so. San Jacinto Museum of History © 2003