English: This is one of three prototypes Patrick Ferguson had made in 1776. It is the same rifle Ferguson fired in a demonstration for George III. Ferguson gave the rifle to Frederic De Peyster, a New York loyalist militia officer. The Ferguson was one of the first breech loading rifles used in battle. It employed a breechlock - a vertical rising screw that was lowered by rotating the trigger guard. This opened the breech for loading. This improvement allowed the rifle to fire four to six shots per minute.