(35) Garavaglia Worman, Firearms of the American West, (University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, 1984), Pg.9; Brown, op. Dearborn's letter specifies in great detail the type of rifle the armory Based on research in, For your convenience you can contact us via our. 2682 (C) (highest number confirmed). rivers, animals, and peoples. The U.S. Army's acknowledges that there were 300 of the 1792 or 1794 contract rifles at the arsenal at that time. (11) Merritt Roe Smith, Harpers Ferry and the New Technology, (Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 1977), Pg. ((24)(19) From personal experience (working for the government), the same practice of delayed production reporting to meet budgeting constraints continues today within government production facilities. 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. Congress appropriated the Just how accurate were their Model 1800 rifles? military service. been issued to Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery. These glaring errors send up big red flags for his yearly production records too many to be ignored. The Lewis and Clark "short rifle" Harper's Ferry "short rifle" SN 15, built in 1803 was used as a pattern for our rifle project once we verified its authenticity. the lock, barrel, and stock, is the bare minimum needed to tell if the rifle is an original assembly. We have seen several rifles with the first number removed (leaving a wide space) to make them into a low serial numbered rifle. It is interesting to note that those guns were marked with a U.S. on the top flat of the barrel and carry a P and C inspector mark. Without enough M1792 rifles in inventory to arm this new force, additional rifles were IMMEDIATELY needed. 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. The individuality of the makers is amazing in all parts of the guns. The term she in Lewiss remarks refers to the rifle itself and is a common vernacular of 18th century America. Historians (writers) are out of step with gun collectors in this area, relying upon OLD & incorrect production information. If we look at those preparations, we can easily see that he was equipping for a larger expedition than approved by Congress. The .520 ball also meets Dearborns 30 balls to the pound requirement. 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. Probably bored with being stuck on a farm, in 1812 he enlisted with Nathanial Boone to fight in that war. Significantly, the requisition paperwork from Harpers Ferry does not 1,477 rifles were completed in 1792. Designed with rifling for accurate long distance shooting, this weapon could shoot 300 yards. Fifteen Harpers Ferry Model 1792 rifles are believed to have 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. Lewis, U.S.A., Early U.S. Military Riflemen, (The American Rifleman, December,1958), Pg. 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. Those lost records have never been accurately reconstructed. Gunsmiths A special select division of two companies was also part of the organization. By that time, Lewis and Clark were leaving In the 1950s, when gun collecting became big, many were converted back to flint. It is a great tribute to these early mountain men from which much of the information in this footnote is taken. 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. [3] He points to a "US" stamp on the barrel of a weapon known to have been a contract rifle. With such confusing instructions, the wide range of gunsmiths making the rifles assured inconsistencies especially when the changes were requested while guns were already in production. 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. The Indians were probably just as pleased to get the shorter weapons since they were lighter and handier to use when hunting from horseback. 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. 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. (43) Correspondence with and Documents provided by E.I DuPont Manuscripts & Archives Department/ July,2004. 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). The full 90-grain charge had excessive recoil and did not group quite as well (but all stayed on the black). BOTTOM: Half-stock fowler made by BARKER in the 1775-1785 period. Private Willards mishap of letting his gun fall in while crossing Boyers river on a 25-foot log would not have occurred. To understand just how special these men were, one must understand the training provided along with what was expected of them while using the new Model 1803 rifle. 1803 Harpers Ferry Rifle - National Park Service 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. 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. All the journals kept on the expedition used the new proper term short rifle when talking about this weapon. Ed Pugsley was an employee of Winchester and turned over much of his collection to the company. 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. 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. Also, ALL 1803 and some early 1804 rifles carry Joseph Perkins inspector cartouche IP in a circle. 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. Late in the 1794 contract a US (later letters specified UNITED STATES) marking was requested but since none have ever surfaced with either marking visible on the exterior, it appears the rifles were completed before this could be implemented making it difficult today to identify these rifles. The first rifles made at Harpers Ferry reflect the popular American design of the Pennsylvania and Kentucky rifles. The available inspectors of that period were very limited. climate, plants and animals, and the customs and languages of 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. Apparently guns of both contracts were directly delivered to various sources where needed but 1,060 rifles show up in stock at Schuylkill arsenal on Jan 1, 1797, the surplus needed for emergencies as they arose. (Footnote 18). That was modified to a 42-inch long barrel in .49 caliber, with a well-seasoned maple stock and a flintlock. We also encountered some pipe distance variations on the Lewis rifle and some pre-December,1803 military guns. This weapon was the first rifle built the US Armory at Harpers Ferry. It was these fiascos from private contractors that sent rifle production back to the arsenals. Harpers Ferry Model 1803 - Wikipedia Bomford shows 146 rifles made in 1807, but with serial number 3912 bearing an 1806 dated lock, only 88 are unaccounted for that could possibly have a lock dated 1807. About 5/8 has been removed from the muzzle of the barrel (perhaps it too had split). The fiscal year 1804 was the same as the calendar year until 1838, so storekeeper production reporting of new weapons built in 1803 may simply be the result of Harpers Ferry exceeding their new production budget for the year 1803, forcing them to delay production reporting until fiscal year 1804. January 4, 1792, the Secretary of War, Henry Knox wrote a letter to General Hand in Lancaster, Pennsylvania authorizing him to get with the area gunmakers and contract with them to make 500 to 1000 rifles as quickly as possible. 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. cit./Table 1) Browns calculations were based upon the reconstructed Bomford records, whose total is correct, but we now know that his years of production are also incorrect. These weapons also. Returning downriver, Colter met three other expedition members on their way back to the mountains Drouillard, Potts and Weiser with Manual Lisas trapping party. First of which is an 1807 watercolor by C.B.J. These former members of the Expedition started the mountain man tradition to follow. In 1794 George Rogers Clark went so far as offer to lead a military expedition on a state level to take these forts by force of arms. 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. Arsenal inspection of weapons prior to release was ordered to begin in the 1797-98 period. This was common practice in riflemens ranks, allowing each individual to learn his own rifles shooting characteristics. In fact, Our first Handbook for Riflemen, by William Duane, 1812. (4) Stuart E. Brown, The Guns of Harpers Ferry, 1968, (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1994, P10; National Archives Collection, papers of the War Department; Coxe and Irvine Papers, RG92. Shields Cut them off and they Shute tolerable well one which is very Short we exchanged with the Indian whoe we had given a longer gun to indue them to pilot us across the mountains.(34). he ordered Perkin to produce similar ones for the entire Army. Could serial number 15 have been the rifle that he initially took with him? the majority were issued through Harpers Ferry. This will clarify why these rifles were totally unsuitable for Lewiss needs. Powder was too valuable on the frontier to waste. 1054 (U) 1805 lock/ See Olson article, American Rifleman. It is agreed that they followed the same basic shop patterns used for their civilian market. 26), for delivering 100 guns on the 1792 military contracts. His rifle was never unloaded and always carried at the trail or advance on his right side. Most long rifles will shoot well with a charge slightly greater than the ball diameter viz. Lewis (on his accidental shooting by Private Cruzatte), August 12,1806 the ball had lodged in my breeches which I knew to be the ball of the short rifles such as that he had. He recognized the connection of the Model 1800 rifle to the expedition, going as far as to say that they were prototypes and not the Army contract 1803 rifle.(29). Whelan seems to be associated with Schuylkill arsenal where some of the 1792/4 contract guns were sent. territory recently acquired from France in what became known as the Overcharging was common practice in those days, especially by Indians who were unaware of the effects of such heavy charges. See the special Chapter VIII for more information on these contract rifles. it becomes clear that the Secretary of War was convinced that the Army The Gumpf rifle was most likely one of the rifles made on this contract and sent directly to Schuylkill Arsenal. Another fact noted is wedge keys were used for barrel mounting, making them easy to disassemble and clean in the field. Thus, the term short rifle, used by Dearborn in Harpers Ferry records and Lewiss journals, can only be viewed as the proper name for the Model 1800 rifles.
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