There are two opinions as to the effectiveness of the Pennsylvania Rifle during the Revolutionary War. On one hand it is alleged that the rifle was, at best, not particularly useful, and that its disadvantages outweighed its advantages. In contradiction to this we find that the British military appealed to London for rifles, and that the British government specified that there be a definite number of riflemen among the mercenaries they hired. Furthermore, according to Fortescue, the British military were forced to change their tactics, at least in part, because of the rifle. It is the purpose of this thesis to resolve this conflict by determining which of the two positions, if either ,is correct, or to determine the extent to which they may both be correct.