Whilst collecting taxes in Scotland in November 1750, seventeen members of the Royal Welch Fusiliers drowned when their boat sank crossing the Dornoch Firth. Their weapons were lost. This musket is one of the replacements. Engraved 'Royal Welch' on the barrel, it is marked as weapon No. 18 belonging to the company commanded by Captain Hickman, from 1748-56. The gunsmith's name, 'Wood', and date of manufacture, 1748, are stamped into the lock plate above the trigger.