The Potzdam musket was the standard infantry weapon of the Royal Prussian Army (German: Königlich Preußische Armee) from the 18th century until the military reforms of the 1840s.

[2] Potzdam, just outside Berlin, had been Frederick the Great of Prussia's favorite place of residence as well as the city where the musket was made, hence the name.

[13] It had pins to hold the barrel in place and four pipes which held a steel scouring stick with a trumpet shaped end.

As with the Royal Swedish Army, that also clung to pinned barrels (until pattern 1775),[14] the Potzdam musket had fore-sights made of brass, making the bayonet lug's optimal location under the barrel where an 18.50-inch (470 mm) triangular cross-section bayonet could be fitted—its inner diameter was approximately 0.8543307 inches (21.70000 mm).

[16] It was supplied to allied German states during- and after the Seven Years' War, and was also manufactured at Herzberg, Wesel, Schmalkalden and Suhl.

Though the M1723/M1740 eventually gave way for the Potzdam Infantry Musket Model 1809, it was still in use by Prussian soldiers at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 and beyond.

It had steel rather than brass barrel bands to reduce costs, and borrowed extensively from the design of the French Charleville Model 1777 Musket.

The hammer (or cock) had a decorative heart-shaped cutout, and the steel pan had a protective shield to keep the powder dry in wet weather.

[29] Then starting in 1841 the musket was gradually replaced by the Dreyse needle gun, and most of the old muzzleloaders were sold to the Americans for use in their civil war.