Boston Siege Records Show Pistols Were Common in Revolutionary America

During and after the American Revolution, there was no registration of firearms in the colonies that were to become the United States. There is good evidence that handguns were commonly owned during this period.One of the primary sources comes from records of the occupation of Boston by General Gage, both before and after the battles of Lexington and Concord. The history of these engagements was meticulously recorded by Richard Frothingham in the History of the Siege of Boston, published in 1873. Frothingham used original sources, particularly the Boston Town Meeting Minutes of 22-28 April, 1775, for the numbers of weapons.After...