The Fort York Guard carries the Brown Bess Musket, which was the typical firearm of the British army during the War of 1812.  The musket is one of the longest used firearms by any army in history, remaining in official service between the mid 1700's right up to 1839.  It was a firearm that had many pros and cons, but it was an effective balance of technology and practicality.

Pros:

	The musket could be loaded and fired relatively quickly.  A well trained soldier could fire as many as 3 shots per minute, compared to only one or two shots per minute with a typical rifle of the period.
	The musket was relatively cheap to mass produce.
	The musket had  interchangeable parts, which meant that if a part broke while in the field it could easily be replaced.
	The construction of the musket was robust and durable.

Cons

	The musket was not particularly accurate.  This meant that European soldiers fought in long lines and fired together en masse, to maximize the effectiveness of the musket.
	The miss fire rate was high (estimates as high as 1 in 6 shots miss fired).  A miss fire is when a soldier pulls the trigger but the musket doesn't go off.  This could be caused by a number of factors including a dull flint, wet powder, powder being blown out of the pan or a soft frizzen.
	A musket is not accurate at distances greater than 100 yards.  Close combat was necessary for deadly results.