1 turn in 56" twist, in .50 and .54 caliber. mention the specific type of weapon Lewis obtained. I am almost certain, knowing Colter, he would have taken the opportunity to keep his rifle. British soldiers returning to England after our American Revolution spun tales about the unerring accuracy of our long rifle that are hard to dispel even today. All have heptagonal flat-bottomed rifling, buckhorn rear sight, no stock ferrule, straight upper ramrod pipe, round bottom profile and hollow pipe rib. 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. 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. *SN 359 is a good place to end for Pre-December,1803 manufactured rifles. All short rifles found their way into state arsenals (and many other places) with two being held in each infantry regiment for hunting purposes for which they were unsurpassed. 1803 Harper's Ferry Rifle kit - Muzzleloader Builder's Supply Rather than be dependent upon British SDS powder, around which the 33 barreled Model 1803 rifle was designed, the new rifle of 1814, with an increase in 1815 to a 36 barrel, could now use the slightly less powerful French formula DuPont rifle powder. It was a tremendous job, but as time would tell, he proved himself capable of the task, which led to a position of great power and earned him the absolute trust and confidence of Secretary of War, Henry Dearborn. His rationality can be better understood if we look at our early history, historical documents and surviving weapons. Ed Pugsley was an employee of Winchester and turned over much of his collection to the company. Use and wear quickly changes this. It rules out the Model 1803, which didn't enter production until the fall. it becomes clear that the Secretary of War was convinced that the Army military service. We have only his account of events for this survival story, with the known fact that he arrived at Ft. Remon almost naked with sore feet and starving. 30, 120, 208, & 250. These consisted of the best marksmen in the regiment and were to be emulated by the others in the unit. Under Dearborn's direction, the war department issued an order for the new rifle on May 25, 1803. The Mountain Man's Rifle - Frontier Partisans (10) Stephen E. Ambrose, Undaunted Courage, (Simon & Schuster, 1996), Pg. Dearborn makes no comment of interchangeability of locks for the military rifles, making this feature unique to Lewiss fifteen rifles. US Contract Rifles 1792 & 1807 1800 US Short Rifle (Lewis and Clark Rifle) (935) 1803 - 1819 Harpers Ferry Rifles (500 A) (500 B) (500 C) History, Facts and Descriptions of 1803 Harpers Ferry Rifles 1814 Common Rifle (516 A) 1817 Common Rifle (516 B) US Common Rifle Cleaning Set (537) So, the first thing I did was get the Moulton 13 volume set on his expedition (borrowed it from Phil Schreier on a permanent type loan) and spend one whole summer reading all of them cover to cover. The rifles Lewis took with him were built under Army contract in 1792 and 1794. The date of this passage and the use of the term short rifles is very important since it is still before any rifles were shortened by Shields. It is considered advisable to have a suitable number of judiciously constructed Rifles manufactured at the Armory under your direction. 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. The front sight is also of German silver instead of the normal brass found on subsequent guns. But though there is some elevation of the rifle ball in its course, it is relatively so small that it is not required to aim lower than the object at any range though when at a considerable distance, say 500 yards to 700 yards, it is necessary to take a higher aim. Just the type of catastrophic barrel failures experienced by Lewis, 2 out of 15 completely rules out the use of the M1792 rifle that used standard grade rifle powder. Before this weapon, the army focused primarily on muskets (smoothbore). The closest powder on todays market equal to the 18th century SDS is Schuetzen black powder. In this process he was to make contact and befriend as many Indian tribes as possible who inhabited these areas with the intended goal of establishing trade relations that would allow peaceful expansion to the extreme western borders of the new United States. We hope this article will put to rest the mystery of what type of short rifle was carried on the expedition. Note the hollow rib on rifle SN 15. The stock reinforcing band would have been added and the rear sight filed down to the barleycorn style but retaining the buckhorn lower sight profile. From our experience and with the list above, we know that 1803 production may be as high as 567 (unconfirmed). A thread discussing the contract guns. Between March and May of 1803, based upon his convincing proof, Dearborn made the important decision that the newly designed Model 1800 short rifle being built for Lewiss expedition was also perfect for the U.S. Armys needs. Most went directly to the troops for which they were intended but part of the last contract (1060) were sent directly from Lancaster, Pa. to Schuylkill Arsenal in the 1795-1797 period, just as the inspection process began in earnest in 1799 at Harpers Ferry and became a standard process for all firearms. Washington, DC; GPO, 1903). Since the Army ordered only 4,000, the additional 15 were Lewiss rifles. (51) John Colter returned to the West as a mountain man. The most likely candidate are 1792 contract rifles. Harpers Ferry - Discover Lewis & Clark Not much doubt that we copied a basic British gun design for our short rifles. Those lost records have never been accurately reconstructed. This has been a consistent error found in ALL gun books and writings relating to this weapon. A second contract rifle has been identified, the 1807 Contract Rifle, which has different specifications than the weapons of 1792 and 1794. We can choose to cling to the past but to do so is an injustice to historians and collectors who want the truth. 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. But for the precaution taken in bringing on those extra locks and parts of locks, in addition to the ingenuity of John Shields, most of our guns would at this moment be entirely unfit for use; but fortunately for us I have it in my power here to record that they are all in good order.. [1] The 1792 contract specified rifles with a 44-1/2 inch long barrel in .47 caliber. The butt plate is of two-piece construction indicating hand fabrication before a mold was made to cast them for full military rifle production. The fact that Lewis took 15 extra locks for his rifles is rather amazing. The one thing found on this rifle that we have never seen on ANY long rifle is a cartouche on the upper left barrel flat near the breech where military markings of any type are always placed, especially an inspector cartouche in this case IW in a sunken half circle placed in the same manner as the later Model 1803 barrel markings upside down so it can be viewed from the top looking down on the barrel. A special select division of two companies was also part of the organization. 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. Seventeen gunsmiths delivered 2,000 rifles by November 1794. We built a case to house the gun when on display along with a list of details unique to the first 15 rifles. We believe this was done to handle DuPonts new domestic rifle powder introduced in 1807 and called FFFg by 1808. The fourth striking observation of the letter is the denouncing of the common long rifle as being unsuitable for actual service. Th e Model 1800 rifle, using the SDS powder, met this requirement. The .520 calibre ball would ride on the lands and fouling would build only in the grooves only, giving the rifleman more shots between cleanings. It was about this time we started giving talks on the short rifle and air gun as well as let a large audience shoot the air rifle at their National Convention. Of interest also are two of the six woodcuts (shown below, pages 95 and 267) that appeared in the 1811 edition of Sgt. Horseman's Pistols, 15 Rifles, 15 Powder Horns and Pouches, 15 Although crude woodcuts of the period, they are of interest in the fact that they seem to be purposely depicting the short barrels of the M1800 rifle.(49). (49) James Kendall Hosmer, ed., Gasss Journal of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, (Mansfield Centre: Lone Wolf Press, 1999, Reprint of 1904 edition of Gasss Journal), Pgs. On February 28, 1803, President Thomas Jefferson won approval from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, produced these rifles. After picking up his rifles and shooting them at the arsenal in July of 1803, he may have influenced Dearborns December,1803 changes to the gun, but other than that possibility, his connection with the rifle ends. Locks are somewhat interchangeable on the early rifles but in all cases they will display traces of fitting, either in the lock mortise or the lock itself (sear bent, mounting screw holes are enlarged, or some other noticeable work). 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. 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. It is agreed that they followed the same basic shop patterns used for their civilian market. Our first rifle manual was published 1812 as The Handbook for Riflemen, written by William Duane, second in command of the United States Regiment of Riflemen from 1808 to 1810. We found the Model 1800 rifle to be most accurate with a 65-grain charge. type of weapon in stock, in which case it was not necessary to specify 3. By that time, Lewis and Clark were leaving Congress appropriated the 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. Harpers Ferry Rifles for sale - Guns International It was from this chart that Dearborn chose 76 officers for removal during the Army reductions of that year. Gunsmiths from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, produced these. One trick of a frontiersman used to find his maximum load was to shoot his rifle over a snowbank and then check for unburned grains of powder. There is no mystery here, just very careful preparations for a long journey into a wilderness where no replacement equipment would be found. It will match the other assembly numbers found on the stock and barrel. The U.S. M1814 rifle was designed by Robert T. Wickham. (41) De Witt Bailey, Ph. Build Track's 1792 Contract flintlock longrifle parts set, with 15/16 At Harpers Ferry, Captain Meriwether Lewis obtained 15 rifles built under contract for the United States Army in 1792 and 1794. Our first Handbook for Riflemen, by William Duane, 1812. Winchester transferred most of their collection to Cody in 1976. When this arsenal was abandoned in 1798, he was given the task of setting up the new government arsenal at Harpers Ferry. The first observation of this document is the amazing detail of the rifle, right down to actual measurements. 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. Thus, you rarely (if ever) see a sling on a long rifle. Also, of interest on the gunpowder side of the short rifle story is that in 1815 Chief of Ordnance Colonel Wadsworth recommended the barrel of the Model 1803 rifle lengthened to 36 inches in order to more effectively burn the service charge of 100 grains. A second contract was let in 1794 for 2,000 additional rifles to have a reserve on hand since the first contract was used up in the initial issue. 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). A second contract for the same weapon took place in 1794. Left and right views of M1792/94 Gumpf rifle. Returning downriver, Colter met three other expedition members on their way back to the mountains Drouillard, Potts and Weiser with Manual Lisas trapping party. Perkin had gained extensive knowledge in English arms production, having served his apprenticeship in the Birmingham gun trade before immigrating to America in 1774. In 1792 there was a need for rifles, and a contract was drawn up with Lancaster, Pennsylvania, gunsmiths to deliver rifles. Its purpose was to defend the now open frontier. His tomahawks were no doubt the same as those supplied to the riflemen of Waynes Legions in 1792 as part of the long rifle accouterment set (axe, pouch & horn). [3] He points to a "US" stamp on the barrel of a weapon known to have been a contract rifle. 42" rifled barrel bored 40 balls to the pound (about .490"), stock to be made from well seasoned maple, catch spring release to be high so as to be accessible to the thumb. Lewis held Colter in high esteem, and he was well known among his peers as an honest and truthful man, adding credence to his encounter and story of survival. This brass could only have been for the M1800 rifle project that takes two thicknesses. Dearborn's letter specifies in great detail the type of rifle the armory This single fact alone is enough to show the inaccuracy of the Bomford records since he shows no short rifles, pattern or otherwise, produced in 1803. These tomahawks were highly valued. newly-acquired territory, where they encountered exotic lands, The lowest numbered 1803 dated military rifle examined and confirmed was SN 318, the highest number SN 844, but unconfirmed. Plains Indians also removed butt plates to use as hide scrappers. Second is a the very long-standing misplaced faith in the 1822 reconstructed Bomford records indicating that no short rifles (even prototypes) were made in 1803. TYPE II Military rifles produced BEFORE Dearborns December,1803 changes, then altered for compliance. (43) Correspondence with and Documents provided by E.I DuPont Manuscripts & Archives Department/ July,2004. From the numbers above we now know that a large quantity of rifles were made in 1803. This was common practice in riflemens ranks, allowing each individual to learn his own rifles shooting characteristics. 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. Not understanding this causes a lot of errors even in the most modern books on British muzzle loading rifles. How could his records be so inaccurate? Moller makes an interesting statement regarding storekeeper George Ingalls (Schuylkill Arsenal) 1810 records in his chapter on the 1807 contract rifles and is worth quoting in its entirety The dates that the rifles were entered in the storekeepers records usually summarized several earlier deliveries and should not be construed as the actual dates of deliveries. (1) The design (patterning) of new weapons at this time could be a slow process, identical to the British methods and done without drawings. Details of Serial No. Unfortunately he died May 7, 1812, not at hostile hands, but by jaundice (another term for blood poisoning). The Model 1805 Harpers Ferry Pistol: From Inception to Insignia As for the slings Lewis, assigned regimental paymaster to the First Infantry Regiment in 1800, had visited all the Western forts and garrisons and was so well acquainted with them and their men that in 1802 (after he became the Presidents personal Secretly in March of 1801) Jefferson appointed him to prepare a chart rating the 269 officers then in the Army. (37), The short rifle was Americas first experiment with fine powders and high pressures. We believe the riflemans bag was of the same two-compartment design issued to later riflemen using metal powder flasks, the only difference being their bags would not have had the flask suspension straps. Lewis wrote to Jefferson on July 7, 1803: Yesterday I shot my guns and examined the several articles which had been manufactured for me at this place; they appear to be well executed.
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