Of all the units in the American army, none were more fascinating to their opponents. In the summer of 1776, British troops captured a rifleman and took him aboard the flagship of Admiral William Howe. British officers gathered to study the man, his clothing, and especially his weapon. They took a keen professional interest in the American long rifles that fired a small but lethal half-ounce ball with astonishing accuracy over great distances. Admiral Howe’s secretary Ambrose Serle noted that his weapon was “a handsome construction, and entirely manufactured in America.”47
