(Above two photos) M1792 original riflemans axe (top) and reconstructed M1792 axe with original M1792 horn below as we believe were carried by Lewiss 15 riflemen. In many instances they were free from the normal camp and fatigue duties of the common soldier and were encouraged to practice with their rifles as often as possible. These actions undoubtedly brought to conclusion the desired purchase of the entire Louisiana territory, to include New Orleans, in April,1803, averting a war which neither Spain nor France knew they could win. The U.S. Army's acknowledges that there were 300 of the 1792 or 1794 contract rifles at the arsenal at that time. from Lewis to Jefferson, it appears that Lewis had the arsenal shorten Reproduction 1792 Militia Rifle Lock. Note placement of serial number on barrel. Each weapon played a highly significant role in a journey that allowed his party to cross a great expanse of a relatively unknown portion of our great nation acquired by purchase from France in 1803. With the advent of round bottom rifling the .520 round ball was probably retained. Also, IBID, May/June 2016 story on Colter. The adoption of the full stocked common rifle (now the Model 1817 in .530 caliber and fitted with sling swivels for use by mounted riflemen) two years before the completion of the second run of short rifles tells us that the military Model 1803 rifles had some serious shortcomings. This error came from measuring the bores of the rifle at the muzzle, not considering that the muzzle is swamped to allow insertion of the patched ball with the thumb. The best information on these first military contract rifles comes from George D. Mollers book American Military Shoulder Arms, Vol 2, 1790s to the end of the Flintlock period(1993). cit./Table D) The totals agree from two different sources, giving credibility to 4,015 total production. Significantly, the requisition paperwork from Harpers Ferry does not In an arti- cle in a similar vein that Tait published in Man At Arms,4he stated that several hundred of the Contract rifles were known to have been stored at Harpers Ferry in 1803. They practiced a pace of 90 to 100 (24 step) Vs. the 76 of the Infantry. There were no .530 calibre U.S. military round ball molds (for a .54 bore) to be found. Both men made sure that all short rifles would be readily available, being the most effective means of defending themselves should they be attacked. TYPE II Military rifles produced BEFORE Dearborns December,1803 changes, then altered for compliance. They were carved into the stock and then filled with pine resin which hardened to a glassy apperance. The Model 1805 Harpers Ferry Pistol: From Inception to Insignia Brass was a scarce commodity in the West of that day. (40) IBID, Vol 6, pg. The lowest SN of an 1804 dated military rifle was 909 (confirmed) and the highest 1,520 (unconfirmed). This would have been totally unacceptable to Lewis loss of a bullet mold resulted in the loss of a rifle. These arms enjoyed the longest production run in U.S. history, lasting until 1844, with nearly 700,000 muskets turned out during this period. Not only was it the first military rifle produced at a government arsenal, but also the first U.S. military weapon to use extra fine double strength powder that stretched firearms technology to the limits of its day. he was much pleased with the exchange and shot his gun several times; he shoots very well for an inexperienced person.(32). Build Track's 1792 Contract flintlock longrifle parts set, with 15/16 It was from his post in Pittsburgh that he enlisted in Waynes Second Sub-Legion in May of 1795 and joined the Chosen Rifle Company of elite riflemen-sharpshooters commanded by William Clark. He delivered 106 rifles on the Feb 7,1794 (second contract placed) order of 2000. Just how accurate were their Model 1800 rifles? The lock plate markings (lettering) are individually hand stamped, done before a full die stamp had been made for full production (see Appendix I). (26)(24), Clark writes of the same event: The Guns of Sergt. Without enough M1792 rifles in inventory to arm this new force, additional rifles were IMMEDIATELY needed. The rib assembly was then SOFT SOLDERED to the barrel. On January 13, 1792, General Hand wrote back and said "he received Many historians believe that Lewis and Clark traveled west with these . Of interest also are two of the six woodcuts (shown below, pages 95 and 267) that appeared in the 1811 edition of Sgt. May 2006, Vol 32, No.2, written my Jim Merritt from our research. (1), Sawyers Model 1800 rifle theory was based upon the fact that on March 3, 1799, Congress passed an act authorizing the addition to the regular army of One Regiment and battalion rifles consisting of 1,840 privates, totaling 2052 men. Eventually it was bored smooth and converted to percussion, serving either an Indian or trapper for many, many years with crude sun decorations added at some point in its life. Fifteen Harpers Ferry Model 1792 rifles are believed to have been issued to Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery. By Feb 15, 1805, only 5 serviceable and 94 unserviceable rifles remained in stores (showing an inspection process had been accomplished). Right -1819 dated rifle, 36 barrel with 7 groove round bottom rifling with curved lands. While this may be true, the If the barrel of a .405 Winchester became plugged with mud or snow, the chances are it would suffer the same catastrophic fate as the 1800 rifles, despite the vast improvements in barrel material. Also, of interest is that the 8 pounds of lead in each cannister would cast 220 .520 calibre balls (using the 218 grains per ball figure) and the 4 pounds of powder would make 220 100-grain charges (10 for priming, 90 in the chamber). Note inspector marks IW on left barrel flat of Gumpf rifle in the same configuration of inspector marks on the M1803 rifles. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1792_contract_rifle&oldid=1093724859, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 18 June 2022, at 13:01. from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, produced these rifles. If read in full context, noting the dates the rifles are mentioned by proper name, they are convincing enough to satisfy even the most skeptical about what type of rifles to which they were referring. Smiths footnote credits his list as being compiled from combined records and verified with the Chief of Ordnance entries. Few people realize that significant gaps exist in the journals that Lewis started on August 30, 1803. Such were the men drawn to the rifle corps and their expertise apparently did not go unnoticed or unrewarded. rifle than the typical "Kentucky" and well suited to the rigors of The second observation worthy of note is the comment about the rifling being less liable to become fouled by firing. type of weapon in stock, in which case it was not necessary to specify Lewiss task was to explore and map this region as well as collect unknown flora and fauna. Joseph Perkin, superintendent of the Harpers Ferry Arsenal, Henry Dearborn, Secretary of War, and Meriwether Lewis are the principal players in this story. Unfortunately, serial numbers were not used on the 1814-1819 production, but rifle assembly numbers will still be present. Those who kept journals (each Sergeant was to keep one) recorded every day facts in the terminology of the day nothing more, nothing less. We have taken much of this material from that book. SN 359 is the highest known pre-December production military contract rifle we have recorded to date. This is important information in understanding why he took new slings for muskets he intended to press into service. Pryor were both out of order. It is not unreasonable to surmise that part of Colters settlement would have included a rifle and the rifle of choice would have been the one he carried on the expedition. Details of Serial No. 1054 (U) 1805 lock/ See Olson article, American Rifleman. Patrick Gasss published journal. It is held that they would be safe if they were 3 feet 2 inches; and if so much barrel, rod and stock were added, and 14 1/2. Ernie said to me we will build them but only if you are sure that is what they used. James S. Stubblefield then took over final assembly inspection and carry his script V/JS final inspection cartouche. (Brown, op. After 200 years of error, it is time to set the record straight. Lewis, July 1, 1806 ..set Shields at work to repair some of our guns which were out of order . All subsequent rifles had brass blade front sights. The J.J. Henry rifle was a working man's rifle, built in a couple of patterns the English, which resembled an English military arm, and the Lancaster style. Moreover, Dearborn's This practice continued until the end of the 45-70 period with the only exception being the Civil War type percussion weapons that used the English musket nipple thread of 5/16 X 24. Lewiss took 50 pounds of Best Rifle Powder from Harpers Ferry and purchased 176 pounds of English Cannister Powder from Beck & Harvey in Philadelphia, who made the best rifle powder in the world. is to manufacture. A note accompanying this find remarks that in every instance, the measurement was .002 smaller (making it a .519 ball for a 30 bore) than a gauge list reputed to have been adopted by the London Proofing Company in 1883 (which is used in many books today). He may have even had Shields perform the simple task of adding the brass band to his 15 rifles to strengthen that area, or SN 15 had a band added by a subsequent owner since the fore end displays an old longitudinal crack. By the manual, a rifle regiment consisted of 1000 men formed into 10 companies of two battalions, each battalion containing 500 men (5 companies each). Unfortunately when Ernie passed away in 2018 I lost a lot of photos of this rifle. (15) Since locks were built by a specialized artisan in the arsenal, he too has his own small assembly numbers on each part of the lock that are independent of the rifle assembly number. pairs of bullet molds, 15 wipers or gun worms, 15 ball screws, . Original 32-1/2 inch barrel with 16 groove rifling. This may have been a state level arsenal repair to extend barrel life, however, we have examined some late model rifles that show no use but have a bushed touchhole. We believe this was done to handle DuPonts new domestic rifle powder introduced in 1807 and called FFFg by 1808. under contract for the United States Army in 1792 and 1794. This Old Gun: U.S. Model 1803 Rifle - An Official Journal Of The NRA Lower photo: 1803 dated rifle SN 15 with its straight pipe. About 5/8 has been removed from the muzzle of the barrel (perhaps it too had split). After the Revolutionary War he set up his own business in Philadelphia but continued to serve as a part time inspector for the Superintendent of Military Stores. PDF U.S. Model 1803 Prototype Rifle When this arsenal was abandoned in 1798, he was given the task of setting up the new government arsenal at Harpers Ferry. In May of 1803 the sheet lead was sent from Schuylkill Arsenal to Harpers Ferry for Lewis to pick up for that purpose (which he did on May 18, 1803). Throughout this article, to avoid confusion, we use caliber for bore size and calibre for ball size (as the French did in their early writings).(14). What may be significant is that he not only mentions the rifles within 3 months of starting his entries again in January,1806, but does so in 5 of the following 6 months. 127-132. Jedediah Starr Trading Co. On Line Store One could say that he had overstocked on this commodity, but it shows the importance he placed upon having a quantity of the correct powder for his rifles. NOTE ALL 1803 dated rifles were final inspected by Joseph Perkins (IP in circle on wood opposite the lock). The Legion of the United States was authorized by Congress on October 24, 1791 after the defeat of General Arthur St. Claire by the Miami Indians in November of 1790. 3. available evidence demonstrates that the expedition members carried It was Coxe (for whom Whelan worked) who placed an order for 1000 of the 1794 rifles. Second is Lewiss acquisition of 15 slings of unspecified type taken from Harpers Ferry. 21 . [3] He points to a "US" stamp on the barrel of a weapon known to have been a contract rifle. tons of supplies carried by the members of the Corps, including Additionally, Lewis purchased replacement Many, having survived the journey, died at the hands of the Indians in those endeavors. From shooting the rifles, we did discover that the center pipe being slightly forward of center helps guide the rod into the ramrod channel. The full 90-grain charge had excessive recoil and did not group quite as well (but all stayed on the black). Left 1804 dated rifle, 33 barrel with original 7 groove polygon rifling with flat land. Dearborn informs Perkin: There being a deficiency of rifles in the public Arsenals, and those on hand not being as well calculated for actual service as could be wished. Thus, if any notes or journals exist for those lost periods, there is a good chance the rifles were mentioned in one form or another. John Newman, expelled from the party and sent back with the large boat in 1804, also returned to the mountains, to be killed by the Sioux. If you should be of opinion that any improvements may be made on the above construction or any parts thereof, you will be pleased to inform me of such improvements as you may think useful. In the day when an average soldier could only dream of hitting an X on a wood block at 30 paces, a good rifleman in action was something to behold as he placed shot after shot into it. This is the only picture I have to work with of the entire rifle. Perkin and several other armorers created several patterns from Dearborn's instructions, and in November 1803 these . This highly skilled work force was in place when Lewis arrived on the scene in March of 1803. The available inspectors of that period were very limited. American riflemen have always been a subject of legend and myth, both in the years before our Independence from England and long after. From ALL original guns examined, serial numbers were placed in a manner to the right of the oval US cartouche without leaving enough space to insert another number. In 1807-1808, Colter explored over 500 miles of new country with only a rifle and a 30-pound pack, including the wonders of Yellowstone Park. Harpers Ferry Park needs to rethink the role this new rifle played in history and give it a deserving place in their museum, after all, there is a much bigger and better story to tell the public. Caliber 52. All rights reserved. he should weigh his powder, and note the difference of effect with a greater or less quantity of powder, and how far the quantity of powder affects the shot.. The ball size (calibre) used in ALL of the short rifle series is .520. As noted in the M1792/94 story, in 1805, of remaining rifles in stores at Schuylkill Arsenal, 94 were designated unserviceable and 5 serviceable meaning that an inspection process was in now in place. The most likely candidate are 1792 contract rifles. Correspondence in the 1795-1800 timeframe indicate that the rifles varied in barrel length from 42 to 44-1/2 and in calibers of .45 to .49. with all being identified to maker. Harpers Ferry M1803; 1792 contract rifle for the earlier process for producing firearms; M1817 common rifle; Rifles in the American Civil War; References the 200 rifled carbines purchased by the British from Germany (Germanic Pattern 1776) and the 800 rifled carbines that followed (British Pattern 1776) based upon the Germanic rifle and the 100 plug guns (Ferguson Rifle). Lock fitting was so critical that Harpers Ferry locks have assembly numbers (forward of the pan on the narrow edge of the lock in Roman Numerals) to keep it with the rifle to which it was fitted. It is believed that the Model 1792 Contract Rifle was quite possibly the rifle issued to the Lewis & Clark expedition from the Harper's Ferry Arsenal for the Expedition of Discovery. D, British Military Flintlock Rifles/ 1740-1840, Andrew Mobray Inc, 2002, Pg. Several ribs, previously mounted to finished barrels, let loose during subsequent work. the first was repared with a new lock, the old one having become unfit for uce; the second had the cock screw broken which was replaced by a duplicate which had been made prepared for the lock at Harpers ferry where she was manufactured. 567. The U.S. M1814 rifle was designed by Robert T. Wickham. Englands addition of a rifle regiment to their Army in 1799, armed with a new rifle (Baker) was another factor that prompted us to look for a new rifle to replace the obsolete common long rifle in our inventory. From our experience the ribs probably separated from the barrel during hard field use. U.S. Harpers Ferry Model 1842 Percussion Musket - NRA Museum Periods where Lewis made no entries are September 19 to November 11 of 1803, May 14, 1804 to April 7, 1805 (almost an entire year) and August 26, 1805 to January 1, 1806.(23). Land claims given to veterans of the Revolutionary War were in this new area, but the Indians were not ready to peacefully give up their ancient lands to encroachment. TYPE I Lewis and Clark contract rifles (M1800 only) made specifically for their expedition. This reproduction example was made by Virginia-based gunmakers Al Edge and Don Stith and represents a replica crafted on the features found on the surviving examples. It became very clear to me (as it would be to anyone who read them) that they carried a short rifle made at Harpers Ferry with interchangeable locks which Lewis himself picked up at the arsenal so I got involved in the M1792 vs. M1803 controversy. Powder was too valuable on the frontier to waste. Jedediah Starr Trading Co. On Line Store. It is obvious that the gunsmiths in York and Lancaster took the opportunity to clean out old inventory of rifle parts, even to the point of forming cartels to this end, sharing patch boxes, locks and other mountings. [1] He told Hand that the contract was for 500 rifles, but that he was willing to extend it to 1,000. One thing to note is that barrel thicknesses varied considerably on the military rifles of all production after the prototypes. The explanation may be very simple. (28)(((26), Clark writes of the same incident we Caused all the men of the party who had Short guns to carry them on the portage for fear of Some attempt on the part of the nativs to rob the party.(27). Joseph Perkin inspected ALL 1803 dated rifles and some of the early 1804 production, then James Stubblefield took over final inspection to the end of all production in 1819.
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