Brown Bess weighed 10 pounds was 60 inches long with a 42- or 46-inch smooth bore barrel and a walnut stock. Soldiers generally carried nine to 12 rounds in a belly cartridge box.

Todd Duncan and Anne Brown in George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess. Updated August 25, 2022 at 3:29 PM ET Composer George Gershwin heard only one Bess sing in Porgy and Bess.

A look at the Revolutionary War era Brown Bess musket and it's role in the Battle of Great Bridge. It's now kept in the Great Bridge Battlefield & Waterways Museum.

The Brown Bess Flintlock Musket came in 3 sizes - Long Land pattern 1720 - 1760, Short land 1760 - 1790 and India Pattern 1790 - 1815. The barrel lengths were 46" 42" and 39" respectively.

Gershwin died in 1937, with Brown still in the role of Bess. "Anne Brown was a pioneer for blacks in the opera," said Nina Krohn, a music critic for Norwegian state broadcaster NRK.

For audiences in 1935, Brown must have seemed to own the role of Bess. At a time when there were precious few classically trained Black singers, this newcomer was a revelation.

Anne Wiggins Brown, the African-American soprano who starred as the original Bess in George Gershwin's landmark folk opera Porgy and Bess but saw her career limited by racial discrimination, has ...

Todd Duncan and Anne Brown in George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess. Updated August 25, 2022 at 3:29 PM ET Composer George Gershwin heard only one Bess sing in Porgy and Bess.

OSLO (AP) - Anne Wiggins Brown, the African-American soprano who starred as the original Bess in George Gershwin's landmark folk opera "Porgy and Bess" but saw her career limited by ...