Most saw hard use and abuse, with minor parts being replaced as needed and thus may not be marked to the gun. 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. Extra Parts of Locks and Tools for Repairing Arms, 15 Gun Slings, Rifles existed long before the 17th century, but were rarely used by military forces. This Model 1800 rifle, serial number 15, bears some remarkable differences to the Model 1803 military short rifle. Clark, July 2, 1806 We gave the Second gun to our guides agreeable to our promis..two of the rifles have unfortunately bursted near the muscle. Every Collectors Guide on U.S. military firearms has the calibre of these very important rifles wrong (as well as other flintlock government contract rifles to follow but that is another story) because no one took the time to properly gauge the bore. 1803 Harpers Ferry Rifle. Lewis had 18 of these tomahawks made in Harpers Ferry, no doubt upon the same established pattern, picking them up on May 18, 1803 along with 15 rifle pouches, 15 powder horns and 15 scalping knives to accompany the 15 short rifles. The most convincing evidence of the use of the new Model 1800 short rifle on the Voyage of Discovery comes from entries in the various journals kept on the expedition by Lewis, Clark, and his Sergeants. 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. 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. 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. 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. It is interesting to note that in 1802, 500 rifles were sent to the Mississippi territory (to William S. Hollings, U.S. consul in New Orleans) and may have been in the hands of riflemen at the Battle of New Orleans. It is quite likely that Lewis and Jefferson decided to change the civilian exploring party into a military expedition by doubling the size. By 1802, Perkin had established a manufactory similar to that in Europe where each craftsman was responsible for a specific component part of the gun or its mounting. 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 remaining 460 rifles of the first contract remained in store in Schuylkill Arsenal in Philadelphia and eventually augmented by those from the second contract. (38). See the special Chapter VIII for more information on these contract rifles. cit., Vol. 500 Rifle Flints, 420 Pounds of Sheet Lead for Bullets, 176 Pounds Use of solid rib also begins with all military rifles. the lock, barrel, and stock, is the bare minimum needed to tell if the rifle is an original assembly. Such were the men drawn to the rifle corps and their expertise apparently did not go unnoticed or unrewarded. All of the above are estimated 1803 production SN ranges based upon the earliest serial number of a confirmed 1804 dated rifle (as done with each year block). mention the specific type of weapon Lewis obtained. We are fortunate that one of his 15 rifles survived, as well as other pre-December 1803 production military rifles, as they shed a whole new light on the Harpers Ferry short rifle story. From the available evidence, it seems that Dearborn was so impressed This highly skilled work force was in place when Lewis arrived on the scene in March of 1803. After that date barrels ofall lengths carried full octagon breeches to strengthen that area. Entries in the Journals pertaining to the short rifles: Lewis: March 20,1806 The guns of Drewyer and Sergt. 53. C. There is really no mystery as to the type of rifles Lewis took for his expedition. He also had the gunsmiths add swivels to these weapons, We have learned a great deal about 1803 rifles. lock date matching serial number ranges listed especially if we have confirmed serial numbers with correct lock dates. He brought with him 15 of his most highly-skilled workmen. Ordways journal entry specifies a short rifle to be traded for a guide, so both Lewiss and Clarks use of only the term rifle really meant a short rifle. 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. One thing to note on new rifles, all screw slots will point to the muzzle (horizontal with the rifle) when tightened, especially on the patch box. A wax plug was driven the full length of the barrel and then measured for the true size. In such situations, a small group of well-trained riflemen would cause considerable demoralization and casualties within any grouped enemy ranks. The most likely candidate are 1792 contract rifles. The fact that the heptagonal rifling was dropped during the second production indicates that the added production time and expense was not justified. On February 28, 1803, President Thomas Jefferson won approval spend three years and travel thousands of miles through the He immediately went to work for John Strode, manager of Rappahannock Forge in Virginia where he became renowned for his gunlock skills. A full 90 grain would easily reach the 2,000 FPS mentioned by Sawyer. cit., Vol 1, Pgs. A second contract rifle has been identified, the 1807 Contract Rifle, which has different specifications than the weapons of 1792 and 1794. As mentioned previous (in the 1808 riflemans manual) it was normal practice to assign each man a firearm to become familiar with it and maintain it in good order. This practice would not have been confined to just one arsenal. Straight upper ramrod thimble on SN 15. 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. Pedersoli's Shop website offers the sale of muzzle-loading pistols and rifles and related accessories, of historic cartridge rifles and modern rifles with lever loading system. From our experience the ribs probably separated from the barrel during hard field use. Throughout the journals the feminine noun is used often when referring to weapons, especially the air rifle. Lewiss use of the term short rifle throughout the journal is the proper name applied to the new Harpers Ferry Rifle to differentiate it from the long rifle term (the M1792). With the advent of round bottom rifling the .520 round ball was probably retained. There are some other detail pictures in Appendix I. I had no detail photos of the stock itself which is the purpose of this photo. (6) The Spanish administered the French speaking colony. and re-bored. 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. It was the Model 1800 s tremendous muzzle energy that was the cause. Harpers Ferry M1803; 1792 contract rifle for the earlier process for producing firearms; M1817 common rifle; Rifles in the American Civil War; References These glaring errors send up big red flags for his yearly production records too many to be ignored. Barrel profiles were round at the breech for all 1803 dated rifles. 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). According to tradition his body was returned to his wife who buried him on a bluff overlooking the Missouri river near New Haven, Missouri. [1], In January 1792, U.S. Secretary of War Henry Knox authorized former General Edward Hand to contract with manufacturers for the rifles. During our research, we found no recorded instances of any octagon barrel ever bursting. Under Dearborn's direction, the war department issued an order for the new rifle on May 25, 1803. It is easy to see the need for assembly marks on every part of the rifle, even down to the ramrod. The fourth striking observation of the letter is the denouncing of the common long rifle as being unsuitable for actual service. The short rifle, in any form, could not mount a sling without an addition barrel lug for support, so we know for sure the 1800/03 series of rifles were never intended for use of a sling. 1,477 rifles were completed in 1792. His rationality can be better understood if we look at our early history, historical documents and surviving weapons. Some were based upon actual events, but many were subjects of exaggerations. It is worthy of being reprinted in its entirety for its minute detail and insight into the military thinking of the time. This article is dedicated to him and his intrepid party as well as the Native Americans who assisted him along the way, without whose help the outcome may have been quite different. 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). Lewis, July 1, 1806 ..set Shields at work to repair some of our guns which were out of order . If we look at what Lewis took from Harpers Ferry, we can see he planned for exactly 30 men 15 with short rifles and 15 with muskets. The term loaded for bear came from the practice of double charging rifles. [1] The 1792 contract specified rifles with a 44-1/2 inch long barrel in .47 caliber. It gets somewhat easier when we recognize that the 18th century British military establishment used only THREE calibre balls Musket (approximately .693/14 balls to the pound), Carbine (approximately .650/17 balls to the pound), and Pistol (approximately .610/21 balls to the pound). President Jefferson would not have left Lewis in the dark about the upcoming deal with France. From the above instructions, the 100-grain service charge (10 in the pan and 90 in the bore used when shooting from the ranks) could be modified by each rifleman until optimum rifle performance was reached. from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, produced these rifles. Before their exploratory trip, the Lewis and Clark Expedition obtained rifles from the Harper's Ferry Arsenal. The grooves should not be cut too deep.(#2). We will use the term Model 1800 for Lewiss 15 rifles to honor Charles Winthrop Sawyer who, in his 1921 book Our First Rifles, was the first to suggest that a Model 1800 rifle existed. When this arsenal was abandoned in 1798, he was given the task of setting up the new government arsenal at Harpers Ferry. Most reconversions are easy to spot, but we have seen original rifles that have had the touchhole bushed (using hardened iron or brass) which will not erode. In one incident, a rifleman left his tomahawk at a previous campsite and Lewis sent him back to retrieve it. If the lock, stock and barrel match, the rest is probably good since all were hand built and components are not interchangeable. It is interesting to note that the ball was to be loaded with ease. A letter also exists from Tench Coxe to William Eustis (Secretary of War) dated Nov 11, 1811 states It is considered that these rifles are so short as to be dangerous to the soldier, being only thirty-three inches. Only by studying the documents surrounding the origin of a weapon and original specimens themselves can a production timeframe be concluded. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Unknown to the United States, The Treaty of San Ildefonso (October 1, 1800) ceded Louisiana back to France but Spain basically ignored the treaty, most likely due to Spains reluctance to give up her forts along the east bank of the Mississippi river land that was ceded to the United States by England in the Treaty of Paris. The butt plate is of two-piece construction indicating hand fabrication before a mold was made to cast them for full military rifle production. We can learn a lot about our early riflemen from this manual. cit., Pg. The M1792 was a heavier built Brass was a scarce commodity in the West of that day. 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. Original 32-1/2 inch barrel with 16 groove rifling. (22) The term long rifle is not found in any journals of the expedition. tons of supplies carried by the members of the Corps, including Anticipating an extended trip into an uncharted wilderness, Lewis wisely requested a supply of spare locks, perhaps as many as 15, to be used as needed, either in whole or part to keep his rifles serviceable. The first contract was issued January 13,1792, requesting 44-1/2 barrels with 45 balls to the pound (.47 caliber bore). Pennsylvania gunsmiths produced these weapons, which were .49 caliber with a 42-inch barrel. 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. Native American peoples. Lewis, U.S.A., Early U.S. Military Riflemen, (The American Rifleman, December,1958), Pg. Perhaps he inspected and marked all guns that came through his hands at Schuylkill Arsenal after 1797 until he became Purveyor of Public Stores in 1800. TYPE V Military rifles built with the newly designed 36 (a June,1815 request) barrel with round bottom rifling. 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 Harpers Ferry short rifle had long been linked by folklore and early historical writings to the epic Lewis and Clark Voyage of Discovery that threaded its way through the Northwest to the Pacific Ocean and back from 1804 to 1806. TYPE I Lewis and Clark contract rifles (M1800 only) made specifically for their expedition. [2] What distinguishes them from civilian rifles is that they were bought by the government under military contract. The barrel bursts recorded probably brought this about. Vol. Congress appropriated the sum of $2,500.00 to fund a small expeditionary group, known as the They were often free to roam on the flanks and advance of an Army on the move, providing intelligence on the enemy. Washington, DC; GPO, 1903). 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. Dearborn undoubtedly had a new Model 1800 in his hands in order to make the above changes. Many historians believe that Lewis and Clark traveled west with these . (1) The design (patterning) of new weapons at this time could be a slow process, identical to the British methods and done without drawings. Those lost records have never been accurately reconstructed. They were carved into the stock and then filled with pine resin which hardened to a glassy apperance. After 200 years of error, it is time to set the record straight. In order to be effective, the round in a rifle had to fit snugly into the barrel. Getz is known to have stamped an eagles head on Indian rifles he inspected in 1807. of the Harpers Ferry Arsenal Joseph Perkin, and the 8 July 1803 letter However, we must remember that this letter has nothing to do with Lewiss rifles but rather the military rifle order, but the details contained within it gives us great insight into just how far the short rifle project had advanced by this date. Lewiss men had no reason to double charge any of their rifles since the 2000 FPS achieved from the Model 1800 rifle with only a 33-inch barrel using the full 90 grain charge far exceeds that attainable by a long rifle with any type of maximum charge. Article by Edward R. Flanagan discussing the 1792 and 1807 contract rifles. No rifles left Harpers Ferry without at least SOME of the requested alterations. . The principal means of loading when ranging as individuals was with loose powder and ball. the 25 May 1803 letter from Secretary of War Henry Dearborn to the Superintendent In fact, rifles were manufactured at Harpers Ferry and the rifles and extra parts were made all interchangeable. Jedediah Starr Trading Co. On Line Store. The rifleman must be acquainted with the nature of the sights, and the aim of the rifle; how to load with loose ball, to force it dexterously into the barrel, so that it shall lie close upon the powder without bruising the grains He must be taught to mark every shot fired at the target which it strikes it, and to observe whether it be too high or too low . (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 January 13, 1792, General Hand wrote back and said "he received Dearborn had experience with rifles in the American Revolution. It could be done, according to the manual, with a cartridge or loose powder from a horn and ball. The first observation of this document is the amazing detail of the rifle, right down to actual measurements. 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). The Barrels of the rifles should not exceed two feet nine inches in length and should be calculated for carrying a ball of one thirtieth of a pound weight the barrels should be round from muzzle to within 10 inches of the Britch and not of an unnecessary thickness especially in the round part the stock should not extend further than the tail pipe, from thence to within 3 of the muzzle, an iron rib should be substituted for that part of the stock the ramrod should be of Steel and sufficiently strong for forcing down the ball without binding. An 1812 publication The Handbook for Riflemen by William Duane, second in command of the United States Regiment of Riflemen from 1808 to 1810, states A rifleman is never supposed to leave his rifle unloaded, and contrary to the rule of the infantry, who always carry their arms on the left shoulder, the rifleman carries his, unless he shifts it for rest, on his right side, either trailed or at the advance.(47). The above lists are as accurate a yearly production record we can hope to reconstruct based upon known rifles instead of conflicting documents. These assembly numbers are found on almost every part of the gun and are important when checking the originality of any rifle. 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. This was slightly over a month after his initial visit and tells us that Perkin was in the process of making Lewiss rifles (along with the other items mentioned) a full month before receiving the military contract. How could his records be so inaccurate? Bullet molds had to be supplied with each rifle, requiring the soldier to cast his own balls for his rifle and work up a proper powder charge with whatever powder was supplied at any given time. If we take a closer look at riflemen of the period, knowing Lewiss secret gathering of supplies for a larger exploring party than first projected, the journals themselves and the structural aspect of the rifle, this theory can be dispelled. Harper,s Ferry M1800 Rifle serial number 15. The name short rifle was applied to the new weapon immediately to separate from the common long rifle then in use (called the M1792 by collectors today). This is respectable shooting for a rifleman using the 1803 rifle. Like the early muskets, craftsmen produced the various parts of this rifle by hand. The front sight is also of German silver instead of the normal brass found on subsequent guns. This combination allows the .520 calibre ball to be loaded with ease (as described in Dearborns letter) even when the steel rod gets slippery from use. We Sent them a riffle which we offered as a reward to any of them who would engage to conduct us to Clarks river at the entrance of Travellers rest Creek; we also directed them if they found difficuelty in inducing any of them to accompany us to offer the reward of two other guns to be given immediately and ten horses at the falls of the Missouri.(31). (8) Donald Jackson, ed., Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition and related Documents, 1783-1854/ Jackson, 2 Vol., (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1968), Vol 1, pgs. This tells us that they were sighting their rifles to 300 yards with a mid-range trajectory designed to strike the center at 125 to 150 yards. It is a hammer poll type with a large US marking. This is a Don Stith kit build which represents a'1792 contract rifle', that was re-locked at a later date, and purportedly carried bt Lewis and Clark. We believe the sharp ears of the buckhorn sight were detrimental to field use, plus you would have to be an experienced shooter (as were Lewiss men) to understand the way in which the buckhorn sight was used for long distances (called Kentucky windage). (33) Shields shortened this gun on July 1, 1806 as noted by Lewis. (12) Jackson, op. 1803 half-stock Harpers Ferry rifle ordered by Henry Dearborn just weeks after Lewis' rifles were readied for the "Corps of Discovery." S PECIFICATIONS: Per instructions of Secretary of War Henry Knox in 1792, and as modified by Meriwether Lewis in 1803. . The first rifles made at Harpers Ferry reflect the popular American design of the Pennsylvania and Kentucky rifles. Lewiss timing for his visit to Harpers Ferry on March 16th of 1803 could not have been better, since waiting in the wings was the perfect weapon for his expedition a large bore, short, lightweight and hard-hitting rifle. One only needs to read the many books giving weapons production figures to see that no two authors, using a variety of records, seem to totally agree. This would have required the application of an external (as now being applied to all guns) to denote their serviceability. 10 & Pg. The evidence is overwhelming that Lewis carried fifteen of the first short rifles made at Harpers Ferry in 1803, regardless of whether we choose to call it a Model 1800, Model 1803, or prototype. Tench Coxe was Commissioner of the Treasury Departments revenue office from April,1794 to December,1794. Lewiss men were the first to use the new short rifle and no doubt practiced some of the same shooting principles incorporated into the 1812 Riflemans manual. When he died in 1800, Whelan was appointed to the office. 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. This We can be certain of this since they made it a point to trade back the full length short rifle taken by Drewyer and Shannon on June 18 as noted in Ordways journal above. Both entries show that the locks and their components were indeed interchangeable. Because the 1792's had already seen 8 to 10 years of hard frontier service and from a gunmakers point of veiw, to try and take 15 rifles by 17 different makers and make them all interchangable

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