This gallery consists of a Baltimore, Maryland flint pistol of the 1810 period manufactured by Benjamin Meredith (who worked on Paca Street, Baltimore, Maryland) and a military pistol flint lock made by R. Ashmore of London, England. These two locks provide evidence of how a London manufactured roller frizzen flint lock was stamped with the name of the Baltimore gunsmith, Benjamin Meredith.

We have learned that it was not uncommon for a buyer to have a stamp made to mark his purchases with his name. Lock makers in England such as Ashmore would do this for customers who purchased locks in sufficient quantity to justify the expense of a custom stamp.

This fine flint lock pistol owes its survival to the fact the lock had to be removed from the pistol to have the damaged half cock notch repaired. This lock still functions as its roller frizzen works perfectly and the sear works in the half and full cock notches. However, the problem with the weak half cock notch could enable the pistol to accidentally discharge when the shooter was not expecting it. Obviously the reason old-timers coined the expression "Going off half cocked."