Barrel makers seldom marked their product in this period and if they did (as in later periods), it was on the bottom of the barrel. From our experience and with the list above, we know that 1803 production may be as high as 567 (unconfirmed). (51) John Colter returned to the West as a mountain man. Both officers witnessed the Treaty of Greenville on August 3, 1795 that helped secure claim to the area between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River. This new rifle would also use the same SDS powder that the British adopted for their series of rifles shipped over for use in the American Revolution.(3). Fifteen Harpers Ferry Model 1792 rifles are believed to have been issued to Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery. One such shooting incident recorded by Lewis on May 12,1806 is worthy of mention when his men struck the mark with 2 balls. Even if Bomford is incorrect in his yearly production figures, the total production of 4015 (not including pattern rifle) would be unchanged. Eleven different gunsmiths took the contract on, delivering 1,476 rifles between April 1792 and December 1792. Barrel lengths, thicknesses and profiles (wedding ring, octagon portion and diameters) varied widely. 265. [2] What distinguishes them from civilian rifles is that they were bought by the government under military contract. Straight upper pipe on SN 94, made pre-December 1803 (changes) in the Cody, Wyoming museum. (1) The design (patterning) of new weapons at this time could be a slow process, identical to the British methods and done without drawings. After that date barrels ofall lengths carried full octagon breeches to strengthen that area. The ramrod pipe begins to gain a very distinctive upper pipe flair toward the end of the contract. President Jefferson would not have left Lewis in the dark about the upcoming deal with France. Colter spent one winter (1806-1807) with Forest Hancock and Joseph Dickson, who, having followed Lewis west in 1804, were at the Mandan village when Lewis returned in 1806. is to manufacture. available evidence demonstrates that the expedition members carried I am almost certain, knowing Colter, he would have taken the opportunity to keep his rifle. *********************************************************************** 1804 dated rifles, 373 (U) Buffalo New York History Museum, 708 (C) (Lowest confirmed rifle), 909 (C) (highest confirmed 1804 rifle). We are especially looking for a rifle over SN 4000 as it would tell us if they started serial numbering at 16. Serial number 318 has a flared pipe which means they simply used one of the newer sub-assemblies. These glaring errors send up big red flags for his yearly production records too many to be ignored. It is interesting to note that the ball was to be loaded with ease. Rifles of the Expedition - Lewis and Clark - Corps of Discovery - U.S a .45 caliber ball would shoot well with 45 grains of rifle powder. Arsenal Superintendent Perkin was the ideal person to provide this interchangeability of locks due to his prior reputation for lock making at Rappahannock Forge in Virginia. Its purpose was to defend the now open frontier. (3) Viz. It would not have changed the size of the ball. Such lists are both incomplete and inaccurate; they omit arms from years when existing specimens show that they were made; and they exaggerate the number made there during certain years by incautiously jumbling Model 1800 rifles, Snipper rifles, Wallpieces, Whale guns, and barrels only which were furnished both to contractors and to militia companies, all in one list. Winchester transferred most of their collection to Cody in 1976. For two centuries the distinctive half-stocked rifle manufactured at Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia), has been regarded as perhaps the most handsome and historically important U.S. military long arm ever designed. Dearborn and Lewis probably discussed this interchangeability idea, leading to Dearborns instructions to Perkin to make whatever he needed. Lewis knew that much time was going to be spent in canoes, and that the hunters would be shooting buffalo, elk, bears and other large game. We know from the 1812 riflemans manual that each soldier could select a powder charge best suited for his individual rifle, which usually was less than the standard service. The full charge would have been perfect for large game out to 100 yards. As for the change to a solid rib while making the barrels of our guns with hollow rib, we had one release from the gun while mounting the sight, so we know why they changed to a solid rib to strengthen the rib bond with a larger (stronger) adhering surface. It was converted to percussion and bored smooth for continued use. Dies had not yet been made to make the one-piece stamping. (commonly used) in actual service". Like the early muskets, craftsmen produced the various parts of this rifle by hand. This has been an error that has persisted since books were written on this subject. Amos Stoddards Artillery Company dated February 24, 1803 states that their arms were in tolerable order, old and incomplete, and noting that ..Ball Screwdrivers, Brushes Prickers and Gunslings wanting. U = Unconfirmed, not inspected in detail but fall within SN ranges of confirmed rifles and we accepted as correct from the source. What becomes immediately apparent is that Dearborn is describing an existing rifle, in hand, in order to have such a detailed description for Perkin. Before this weapon, the army focused primarily on muskets (smoothbore). 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. ", About Us | Contact Us | Join/Renew | Corporate Ethics | Privacy Policy, Theodore Roosevelt and Elegant Arms - 1880s to 1920s, WWII, Korea, Vietnam and Beyond - 1940 to Present, Frank Brownell NRA Museum of the Southwest, Serialization/ Date of Manufacture from The Blue Book, Store Brand Crossover List from The Blue Book, Gun Collector Organizations from The Blue Book. This was his terminology for shooting it in again. U.S. Model 1800 flintlock rifle serial #15 made at Harper's Ferry Arsenal In 1792, Congress authorized the building of two national arsenals for the storage of arms and, in 1794, provided funds for the building of two armories for the manufacture of small arms. Lewis, April 12,1806 we caused all the men who had short rifles to carry them, in order to be prepared for the natives should they make any attempts to rob or injure them. Both were supplied by Harpers Ferry arsenal. Each new writer simply took the word of a previous author without checking for themselves. Both men were aware that not only was there no weapon in our arsenal in 1800 to meet the need, but, due to the limitations of interchangeability of gun parts in their day, the ONLY way this requirement could be met was to build 15 locks with very strict tolerances rules out the retrofitting of locks to a finished rifle. After examining a prototype rifle, he gave approval on February 4th, 1792 for the first small arm designed specifically for the Army of the United States. A thread discussing the contract guns. This theory has two origins. (41) De Witt Bailey, Ph. His use of the word glaized is interesting since it was a term used in British correspondence (spelled glazed) when referring to the fine rifle powder (SDS)used during the American Revolution in both the Ferguson and British Pattern rifled carbines (P76 rifles).(41). It was far superior to the previous long rifle that was unwieldy for his various modes of travel and varied in calibers, requiring each rifle to have its own bullet mold and powder charge. Shooting a copy of this rifle has proven this correct, giving well over 30 shots between cleaning. [1] The rifles were to be delivered in units of 100 as quickly as possible. The brass patchbox was removed and replaced with a wood cover nailed into place with square cut nails. Trade guns, with their octagon breech and round barrels were prone to burst at the muzzle if overcharged. In fact, If an itemized list of goods sold at auction in St. Louis (September 23, 1806) could be located, we would know how exactly how many rifles were sold, giving us the number kept by members. A short review of the known facts can lead to no other conclusion: 1. 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. (21) Jackson, op. Since we could not personally examine all rifles on the list for originality, we listed them with a code as follows: C = Inspected & confirmed matching gun. Unfortunately, other listed 1803 dated rifles (U) from various collections, auctions and sales catalogs could not be examined in greater details for straight or flared upper pipe. Set 50 minie' bullets 46.10 Reproduction and sale of historical muzzle-loading and breech-loading guns. John Collins, who was flogged for being AWOL and stealing whiskey, returned West with William Ashleys 1823 expedition, being killed in a battle with the Arikaras that same year. Lewiss careful preparation for the journey was incredible. The early Harper's Ferry Rifle thought to have been carried by some of the members of the Lewis and Clark expedition might have played a part in the development of the early Hawken model. Windsor birst his gun near the muzzle a few days since; this Shields cut off and I exchanged it with the Cheif for the one we had given him for conducting us over the mountain. The lock plate markings (lettering) are individually hand stamped, done before a full die stamp had been made for full production (see Appendix I). The very nature of this fine powder, being sensitive to moisture, may have been the reason Lewis made 52 eight-pound water-proof lead containers, each of which held 4 pounds of powder with the lead to be cast into bullets when empty. The records at the arsenal are not exact on the matter, as it appears the first 1803 prototype was produced six months after Lewis departed Maryland. Another goal was to find the mythical North West passage, a water route to the Pacific. Louisiana Purchase. The results were undeniable the bore has a 1 in 56 twist with .530 lands and .15 deep grooves. The Mountain Man's Rifle - Frontier Partisans Additionally, Lewis purchased replacement the Falls of the Ohio River, near Louisville, Kentucky. We shall never know exactly how long it took the workmen to make his 15 rifles, but we know that in 1805 48 workers turned out 1716 rifles, requiring approximately 50 man-hours per gun. France had acquired New Orleans from Spain in 1800, so they ignored these threats from Spain toward the United States. What a story this rifle could tell! The next day he reset the sights and regulated the gun. 30, 120, 208, & 250. To date, no short rifle from the Expedition has been specifically identified and no attributed specimens have ever surfaced, but this all changed in 2005 when Serial Number 15, 1803 dated Harpers Ferry rifle found its way into our shop for examination. Second is Lewiss acquisition of 15 slings of unspecified type taken from Harpers Ferry. There is the possibility that a few rifles may exist with an 1807 lock but none have surfaced as of this writing. (Moulton, .op cit. The individuality of the makers is amazing in all parts of the guns. Dearborn wrote again to Perkin on December 2, 1803, stating The iron ribbed Rifle in my opinion is an excellent pattern, with the following very trifling alterations (viz.) (16) The common long rifle (M1792) did have one serious drawback that made it totally unsuitable for continued Army use the non-standardization of calibers. A wax plug was driven the full length of the barrel and then measured for the true size. Various spellings of his name are recorded. This would have required the application of an external (as now being applied to all guns) to denote their serviceability. 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. 1803 Harper's Ferry Rifle kit - Muzzleloader Builder's Supply D, British Military Flintlock Rifles/ 1740-1840, Andrew Mobray Inc, 2002, Pg. Great War Militaria 2019. 53. The new heptagonal .530 caliber bore of the 1803 rifle has wide flat lands with narrow grooves instead of the concave lands and grooves found in many of the second production (1815-1819) rifles. All rifles that I have examined that come even close to a 1792/94 contract rifle have set triggers which was fairly common on all civilian long rifles of this period but not many with a fly. United States 1792 contract rifles are Pennsylvania-Kentucky rifles with a 42-inch long octagonal barrel in .49 caliber, with a patch box built into the buttstock. This sealed the fact that for all these years the caliber for 1803-1819 rifles listed in gun books is wrong. These weights probably varied due to the purity of the lead of that period. Heating the brazing to change the pipe would have caused the solder (which melts at a lower temperature) to release the rib from the barrel. Use and wear quickly changes this. The rib assembly was then SOFT SOLDERED to the barrel. It is easy to see the need for assembly marks on every part of the rifle, even down to the ramrod. The stock has many wood fillers (of various types and age) applied over the years for preservation with the patch box replaced by a wood covering held in place by handmade square cut nails. All other rifles produced had brass front blades.
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