This money had to have been for the new short rifle project. (13) Major James E. Hicks, U.S. Military Firearms/ 1776-1956, (James E. Hicks & Son, 1962), Pg. If we look at those preparations, we can easily see that he was equipping for a larger expedition than approved by Congress. modified 1792 / 1794 rifles, not the M1803 ones. The manufacturing was contracted out to Henry Deringer and R. Johnson to make rifles for use by the military. The U.S. Army's acknowledges that there were 300 of the 1792 or 1794 contract rifles at the arsenal at that time. we found twenty-seven of the best rifle powder, 4 of common rifle, three of glaized, and one of the musqut powder in good order, perfectly as dry as when first put in the canesters these cannesters contain four lbs. Collectors know these rifles were made in 1803 and pay handsomely for an early example, but Caveat Emptor when buying any short rifle of the 1803 to 1806 period. Note the uneven US stamping below the eagle. Their report also described the nearly two Other than needing money to continue their war with England, Napoleon had no troops to keep us out of the territory. It would not have changed the size of the ball. Hamilton, Pioneer Press, 1987. The only place a front sling swivel could be mounted was through the fragile front rib, which, being hollow on the first 15 rifles (based upon serial number 15 rifle), makes it incapable of bearing the weight of the rifle without an extra barrel mounted loop for this purpose. 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. It is also possible that contract rifles of 1794 were modified at the arsenal at Harper's Ferry, by shortening the barrels and reboring and rerifling them to .54 caliber. We can learn a lot about our early riflemen from this manual. This would have required the application of an external (as now being applied to all guns) to denote their serviceability. President Jefferson would not have left Lewis in the dark about the upcoming deal with France. 98). 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 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. Bomford also shows rifles made in 1807 but from our research and collected data, not one rifle has been found with an 1807 dated lock date. Pipes were hard soldered to the rib before assembly so they would not release from the rib during the barrel mounting process. The backwoodsmen of the western frontier, place the ball in the palm of their left hand, and cupping the hand as much as possible, cover the ball with powder, and make that their charge, The ball should be just of that size to rest on the grooves, and require not much trouble to force it down, but yet to pass without being forced. [4] The Army refers to modern speculation that the changes Lewis had made to the contract rifles (adding sling swivels, shortening the barrel further to 33-36 inches and reboring them to a larger caliber),[4] led to the design of the US Model 1803, created six months later.[4]. This pipe could not be changed for reasons explained in the text. 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. (40) IBID, Vol 6, pg. Having lost his kit to the Indians several times, his Model 1800 rifle ended up in Indian hands early in his trapping career. Fevert de Saint Memin of Meriwether Lewis in fanciful frontier dress holding an artists conception of a long rifle with sling swivels.. As ridiculous as this print is in itself, it has no historical context nor any importance in regards to the expedition so it is not worthy of being included in the story except for the its effect upon the long rifle theory. That his men had become expert shots is recorded in the journals as they held shooting contests with Indians along the way. Many people believe that without these two special arms it may not have succeeded. Winchester transferred most of their collection to Cody in 1976. It has begun to let loose from hard use. GI#: 102236266. under contract for the United States Army in 1792 and 1794. 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. 10 & Pg. 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. Lewis was also no stranger to the use of rifles. 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. 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 ramrod pipe begins to gain a very distinctive upper pipe flair toward the end of the contract. Under Dearborn's direction, the war department issued an order for the new rifle on May 25, 1803. only one rifle in stock the 1792 / 1794 model. The rifles Lewis took with him were built under Army contract in 1792 and 1794. It may have been removed to make brass jewelry of the day. [3] He points to a "US" stamp on the barrel of a weapon known to have been a contract rifle. 1803 firearm to be unveiled at 10th anniversary of - Missoulian 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. A condensed version of the short rifle story was published in We Proceeded On journal. Additionally, Lewis purchased replacement This is also is true for the series of common rifles. (1) The design (patterning) of new weapons at this time could be a slow process, identical to the British methods and done without drawings. A thread discussing the contract guns. After being given to states when obsolete, many were converted to percussion. . Few people realize that significant gaps exist in the journals that Lewis started on August 30, 1803. It was from this chart that Dearborn chose 76 officers for removal during the Army reductions of that year. This has been an error that has persisted since books were written on this subject. 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. This leads to the conclusion that the arsenal had It is time to update the history of these rifles not reinvent it. 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. Louisiana Purchase. Another feature we believe unique to the first 15 rifles was the placement of the second pipe which is closer to the front pipe than those of military production rifles. (28), Here even Moulton, probably the nations best versed scholar on the journey, makes a footnote that Ordway is specifically referring to a Model 1803 rifle. The butt end of the ramrod should be concaved suited to the shape of the Ball the locks should be light and well executed the mounting should be brass there should be at least two thousand of these rifles made. newly-acquired territory, where they encountered exotic lands, Next is a center thimble placed two inches forward of any known military contract rifles. is to manufacture. Perkins was known as an expert lock filer and may have done them personally. We discovered during the production of his rifles that this was a weak spot on the rifle. In the February 4th letter the tumbler on the lock was to have a fly (to keep it from catching on the half cock) and a 4-piece patch box with button release. The fact that President Jefferson thought mastodons might still roam these regions tells us just how little we knew of this vast wilderness and its people. Each rifle is unique, especially when fitting the lock. The rib assembly was then SOFT SOLDERED to the barrel. 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. 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. 33-35. 53. Adopted in 1803, this premier rifle (and the only flintlock rifle) built by a national armory at Harpers Ferry was, as stated earlier, a handsome gun, measuring some 49" overall. (45), Among the invoice of items taken from the arsenal at Harpers Ferry with the 15 slings were 15 Cartouch box belts and 125 Musket flints. the barrels of 15 of the 1792 / 1794 rifles to between 33 and 36 inches History - Don Stith It is interesting to note that the ball was to be loaded with ease. 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. 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. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. 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. In order to be effective, the round in a rifle had to fit snugly into the barrel. Flint - Dixie Gun Works Like the early muskets, craftsmen produced the various parts of this rifle by hand. and Don Stith and represents a replica crafted on the features Once a rifle is built its lock is unique to that gun. (35), Many of the later 1807 contract rifles, using the same style 38 half round, half octagon barrel, also burst during proofing with 8 out of 18 barrels bursting under a proof test of 3/4 oz. The Model 1795 was produced in about 85,000 units until 1814. All these early 1803 rifles have had the other two December 1803 changes applied flat sight and the stock ferrule. 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. 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. They were often free to roam on the flanks and advance of an Army on the move, providing intelligence on the enemy. 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.) The butt plate is of two-piece construction indicating hand fabrication before a mold was made to cast them for full military rifle production. This entry is significant in that it was made 4 months before any rifles were shortened by Shields. Under Major General Anthony Wayne, it was comprised of 5,120 officers and men composed of four sub legions, each of which contained four rifle companies, requiring 1,312 rifles to arm the 82 riflemen in the 16 rifle companies. We are extremely grateful to Mr. J. William Larues contribution of serial numbers gathered over a 25-year period from various sources (auctions, sales catalogs, collections and articles) and for his permission to print them with additional numbers of rifles we (and others) have located to date. Lower photo: 1803 dated rifle SN 15 with its straight pipe. One other important fact is that all remaining rifles were sold off at auction in St. Louis on September 23, 1806 so none were available of any type for the painting.(44). Lt. Col. George Bomfords calculations were made in 1822 with an 1848 supplement. This highly skilled work force was in place when Lewis arrived on the scene in March of 1803. At these pressures, just as in modern firearms, any obstruction in the muzzle, such as snow or mud, would have caused them to burst in that area. How could his records be so inaccurate? It required the building of firearms for testing purposes. 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. We can only guess what happened to the patch box cover. An 1810 inventory lists 3,113 short rifles and 188 long rifles fit for service on hand at Harpers Ferry. 8,, Pg.302). The term short rifle, coined by Dearborn 1803 to make a distinction between it and the old pattern long rifles, appears throughout the journals kept by different members and it means just what it is was intended to mean the new Model 1800 rifle. All second contract guns were delivered by November of 1794. reproduction example was made by Virginia-based gunmakers Al Edge 265. The Harper's Ferry Rifle With stocks of the 1792 Contract Rifle (see above) growing pretty thin, and the musket revealing the weaknesses in its maximum 75-yard range for aimed shots, the. Corps of Discovery, whose mission was to find and map a It is believed that many of these rifles were One thing to note is that barrel thicknesses varied considerably on the military rifles of all production after the prototypes. It is also of note that they were not required to use the maximum charge and that a reduced load would often perform better. 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. (35) Garavaglia Worman, Firearms of the American West, (University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, 1984), Pg.9; Brown, op. Pryor & Drewyer were both out of order. Enough rifles exist with 1803 dated lock plates to prove full scale production in that year. . Also, IBID, May/June 2016 story on Colter. Unfortunately when Ernie passed away in 2018 I lost a lot of photos of this rifle. We believe these heavier barrels were an attempt to avoid bursting problems. They were eventually made by George Ludlam in Philadelphia, Pa. at a cost of $.50 each with the bill paid on May 23, 1803. Both armories also produced the Model 1842 percussion musket and Model 1855 percussion . 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). All have heptagonal flat-bottomed rifling, buckhorn rear sight, no stock ferrule, straight upper ramrod pipe, round bottom profile and hollow pipe rib. Pennsylvania gunsmiths produced these weapons, which were .49 caliber with a 42-inch barrel. Some believe that the contract rifles Lewis had modified for the expedition spend three years and travel thousands of miles through the 14. 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. ((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. It rules out the Model 1803, which didn't enter production until the fall. He published an interesting table Appendix E on page 169, based upon two sets of 19th century bore gauges in the Worshipful Company of Gunmakers Proof House in London. 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. It is important to keep in mind that when reading period journals, we think in the language of that period. There were no .530 calibre U.S. military round ball molds (for a .54 bore) to be found. There is the possibility that a few rifles may exist with an 1807 lock but none have surfaced as of this writing. These are two important points to consider when looking for a REAL 1803 production rifle. Many historians believe that Lewis and Clark traveled west with these . Lewiss men probably exercised this prerogative, especially the Kentuckians who grew up with a rifle in their hands. Asspecified by Knox the bore is .49 caliber, tumbler has a fly with set triggers, barrel length is 44-1/2 and barrel mounted with lateral keys. 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.