Most bayonet collectors have seen small, crude, cast iron bayonets covered in silver paint. They are not common, but one or two seem to turn up at every large gun show. The references tell us that they are Bannerman Quaker bayonets, but what does that mean and what type of gun were they designed to fit.
To understand these bayonets, we need to turn back the clock to around the beginning of the 20th century. A century ago, military schools and boys brigades were common. Young boys were dressed in military style uniforms including armaments. This is hard to comprehend in this era of anti-military feelings that emerged in the last quarter of the 20th Century, but attitudes where quite different before WWI. With such a large market available, it was inevitable that someone would rise up to supply the demand. Francis Bannerman was one of the men who stepped forward. He was in the military surplus business and had thousands of surplus weapons from the Spanish-American war as well as from the Civil War. He also traveled extensively in Europe purchasing arms wherever he could find them for a good price. He offered several military style boy and cadet muskets. Many of these were made up from surplus military arms, but he also manufactured newly made arms and imported newly made arms from Europe.
Several of the cadet muskets that he offered were referred to as Quaker guns. The Quakers are a religious sect that does not believe in violence under any circumstance. Cadet guns with a wooden barrel were incapable of firing and as a result were called Quaker muskets. I'm sure the Quakers were unhappy with this association with training for military service.
In Mr. Bannerman's 1907 catalog, he offered the Quaker Cadet Gun shown in the advertisement made with wood barrel for the princely sum of $1.20. For this price you got the gun with silver painted barrel and bayonet. The silver paint was hawked as an imitation of bright steel. For an additional 10 cents you could get the model with simulated blued barrel and bayonet. The gun was 42 inches long and the drawing indicates it has a two band construction. The lock is serviceable and it fires a percussion cap. The end of the wooden barrel is sheathed in tin to keep it from wearing under the bayonet. There is a round metal stud on top of the barrel that serves as both sight and bayonet stud. A butt plate could also be added for an additional 10 cents. Replacement bayonets could be purchased separately for 15 cents each. No bayonet scabbards are mentioned, but he had many surplus scabbards for sale in his catalog. As you can see in one of the attached period photographs, the surplus Civil War scabbards were sometimes used with these bayonets.
The bayonets are crude cast iron. The blade is triangular and hollow ground on all faces. The shoulders are sloped like the US service socket bayonets of the time. A crude three step mortise slot is cut so that the bayonet fits to the right of the barrel. There is no reinforcing collar or locking ring. They have a distinctive step down on the muzzle end of the socket on most of the known bayonets. As far as I have able to determine the step down serves no purpose at all.
In my collection I have four distinct variations of the bayonet and two variations of the gun. The first bayonet, shown as #1 in the comparison photo, is a standard bayonet with a simulated bright steel finish (Bannerman's fancy way to say silver paint). It is the most common style of these quaker bayonets. The dimensions are as follows: Overall length 335 mm, Blade length 295 mm, Socket length 40 mm, MRD 18 mm. If you will notice in the closeup photo, part of the socket near the mortise slot is broken. I have included it here even though it is damaged because the bayonet came on a three band musket and the marks on the protective tin muzzle cover indicate that the piece of the socket has been broken off for a long, long time.
The second variation shown as bayonet #2 in the comparison photos is a standard bayonet with a simulated blued steel finish. These bayonets are much less common. I have only seen a handful of these bayonets over the years. The finish is very similar to the finish seen on door hardware around the turn of the century. It is also similar to the case hardening coloration on some firearm fittings. In my opinion, it does not look very much like bluing, but then the silver paint doesn't look like bright steel either. The dimensions are as follows: Overall length 336 mm, Blade length 294.5 mm, Socket length 41.5 mm, MRD 18 mm.
The third variation, bayonet #3 in the comparison photos, is a manufacturing variation. This bayonet was made without the step on the muzzle end of the socket. Also the shank is more rounded than the standard model. The bayonet was originally polished bright instead of painted silver. My supposition is that this bayonet was manufactured in a different production run. Whether it is earlier or later than the standard model is impossible to determine without more information. It is also possible that this bayonet was made to fit on a different version of Mr. Bannerman's Quaker guns. The dimensions are as follows: Overall length 329 mm, Blade length 288 mm, Socket length 41 mm, MRD 16.6 mm.
The fourth variation, #4 in the comparison photos, is an unfinished example of the standard bayonet. These are also quite scarce. It is particularly interesting because it shows how the bayonets are manufactured. The bayonet was cast with a raised mortise slot. Apparently the mortise slot was to be cut out in a later step. The dimensions are as follows: Overall length 331.5 mm, Blade length 291 mm, Socket length 40.5 mm, MRD 16 mm. Since the MRD is so much smaller than the standard model, I assume part of the manufacturing process was to drill out the socket.
As mentioned earlier, I also have two distinct versions of the Bannerman Quaker Cadet Gun in my collection. The first example is the two band model. This is the gun shown in the advertisement drawing and all of the period photographs I have been able to find. The gun consists of a one piece wooden stock; wooden barrel; and a cast iron lock, trigger and trigger guard. The barrel bands are tin and are held in place with tacks. The three band model shown at the bottom of the comparison photo appears to me much less common. I have not found any advertisements or photos of this model. I assume that it may be shown in some of the Bannerman catalogs that I do not have. It has the same lock, trigger guard, and trigger. But the stock is cut differently with more of a shaped butt and grip area. The bands are made out of tin, but much wider than the two band model with ribs pressed into the tin. The gun is also 3 inches longer at 45 inches.
I hope this article has shed a little light on and perhaps created some interest in these ugly little bayonets. I'm certain that there are other variations of both the bayonet and the gun. If you have other variations in your collection it would be intersting to see photos posted in the Journal. I would be particularly interested in seeing an example of the gun in simulated blued steel as I have never seen one of these.
