Learn how to fire a Brown Bess in this demonstration, courtesy of Kevin Hicks from historical interpretation company, The History Squad.The flintlock musket, nicknamed Brown Bess by the British, is arguably one of the most iconic weapons in history. The standard long gun of the British Army for more than a century, the flintlock was adopted by forces across the globe, seeing service in such diverse conflicts as the Opium Wars, the Texas Revolution and the Greek War of Independence.