Tench Coxe took over Purveyor of Public Stores in 1803. Just for a matter of information, U.S. arsenals were also using the French metric thread system on the short rifle screws simply because we copied a Charleville type musket in 1795. The standard service charge was 100 grains (in a rolled cartridge), allowing for 10 in the pan and 90 in the barrel. Pryor & Drewyer were both out of order. This is explained in detail in the story. and re-bored. DuPont rifle powder (FFFg) made its appearance in the market in 1808, probably at the request of the U.S. Government since it is the same year the first rifle regiment was raised. 127-132. It could be done, according to the manual, with a cartridge or loose powder from a horn and ball. Above is a 10-shot group at 65 yards with Rifle SN 1, using 65 grains of SDS powder, 6 bulls-eye. We have taken much of this material from that book. At 100 yards, the odds were very much in favor of being struck by an American rifle ball whereas a British soldier, using the smoothbore musket, could shoot all day and probably not strike a man sized target at 100 yards, thus our riflemen were greatly feared. of powder each and(contain) 8 of lead. It gave more bonding area for the soft solder. Examination of rifles from this period confirms this phenomenon, to the point that they were omitted from many American made muskets of the Revolution. [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]. The need for these rifles was so urgent that all guns were accepted despite many shortcomings, regardless if they were shipped directly to the troops or to an arsenal. 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. Expecting another conflict with England, it was a wise move to cut our dependence on British imported rifle powder. needed rifles like the one Lewis had procured for the expedition, and 8,, Pg.302). A short review of the known facts can lead to no other conclusion: 1. A letter from Secretary Dearborn, written on Lewiss behalf and addressed to Arsenal Superintendent Perkin, dated March 14, 1803 states You will be pleased to make such arms & iron work, as requested by the Bearer Captain Meriwether Lewis and to have them completed with the least possible delay.(8). [1] The 1792 contract specified rifles with a 44-1/2 inch long barrel in .47 caliber. It is the first style American issue military horn. Logic tells us that they would not have given up another full-length rifle when another cut one was available. A wax plug was driven the full length of the barrel and then measured for the true size. mention the specific type of weapon Lewis obtained. In battle, they often provided advance skirmish support and as individual sharpshooters, inflicted casualties at long range upon opposing enemy officers. (10) Stephen E. Ambrose, Undaunted Courage, (Simon & Schuster, 1996), Pg. The several close calls with Indians that almost cost him his life convinced him to quit the mountains in 1810, selling his gun, 6 traps and powder to a newcomer Thomas James. 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. Various spellings of his name are recorded. 1792-94 Contract Short Rifle O ther historians agree that Lewis would have taken fifteen of the contract rifles but believe that Lewis ordered modifications. Another remarkable letter exists from Secretary Dearborn to Superintendent Perkin dated May 25, 1803. 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. There is no reason not to believe that Dearborn was very much aware of the new rifle ready for production and thus sent Lewis to Harpers Ferry to acquire them. Correspondence from 1795-1805 between the secretary of war, purveyor of public supplies, and military storekeepers, indicates that the rifles had barrel lengths ranging from 42 to 44-1/2, and were .45 to .49 caliber. [1] The rifles were to be delivered in units of 100 as quickly as possible. 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. (Moulton, .op cit. (16) This confirms that by 1803 the need for a standard rifle was fully recognized by the Army. Serial numbers 15, 94, 214 and 359 are the only rifles we found to date retaining the straight upper ramrod pipe confirming they are PRE-DECEMBER 1803 production. Vol. It was caused by measuring across the muzzle of the rifle where it is swamped (tapered) to allowed a ball to be started into the muzzle with the thumb a characteristic found on our early long rifles but most adopted from British Pattern 76 rifle that was undoubtedly examined during the initial design phases of out M1800 rifle. of powder with 2 balls. Not only have we found many military rifles made before December of 1803, but we have irrefutable government correspondence placing a prototype in Dearborns hands by December of 1803. Henry Leman built a classic plains rifle, and Henry Deringer (of pocket pistol fame) also built sturdy rifles for the Fur Trade. It's a somewhat controversial argument that this is one of the "short rifles" that was on the Lewis and Clark expedition but I knew the previous owner, the gentlemen that did the flawless research, and had the pleasure of seeing and holding the gun in person and I think the argument is iron-clad. It is a great tribute to these early mountain men from which much of the information in this footnote is taken. We did and used it to prove the calibre of the ball. It was under these clouds of potential war that the short rifle was born. Another goal was to find the mythical North West passage, a water route to the Pacific. In 1798 Perkin was appointed to set up the new government arsenal at Harpers Ferry. All 1803 dated military rifles examined had a solid rib and rounded bottom breech barrel profile. 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. [3], A second contract rifle has been identified, the 1807 Contract Rifle, which has different specifications than the weapons of 1792 and 1794. (6) The Spanish administered the French speaking colony. One could say that he had overstocked on this commodity, but it shows the importance he placed upon having a quantity of the correct powder for his rifles. 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. You cannot put a .010 patch on a .530 calibre ball (meaning .54 caliber bore) and get it down the bore of any original rifle. Serial number 708 is the lowest 1804 dated gun we could confirm, so anything under that number COULD be an 1803 manufactured gun. Jefferson, up to 1802, held ongoing negotiations with France toward purchase of only New Orleans. Neither Lewis nor Jefferson could act openly upon this change of plans for the safety of the expedition, plus, by making it a military venture, additional funding could come from the War Department. From shooting the rifles, we did discover that the center pipe being slightly forward of center helps guide the rod into the ramrod channel. 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. 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. The men Lewis recruited in 1803 were hardened frontiersmen and as such would not have even considered the use of a sling, but there is another very good reason why they could not have used slings the short rifle is structurally incapable of mounting one. With that threat over, the American rifle battalions were dropped in the May 4, 1800 Army reorganization. When we decided to build a Lewis and Clark rifle I too thought they carried a long rifle of some sort, perhaps even the M1792. Standard rifle powder (FFFg) of that day simply cannot produce the pressure needed to burst an octagon barrel, especially at the muzzle where the energy has expended. For decades arms writers have tried to explain away the many inconsistencies in his numbers on other types of early Harpers Ferry arms without challenging them, perpetuating our belief that his records are not the gospel on the subject. The .520 ball also meets Dearborns 30 balls to the pound requirement. territory recently acquired from France in what became known as the The most notable and significant difference in the Serial Number 15 rifle is the STRAIGHT upper ramrod thimble, indicating production prior to Dearborns December changes. If we look at those preparations, we can easily see that he was equipping for a larger expedition than approved by Congress. 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. from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, produced these rifles. Has pictures. NOTE ALL 1803 dated rifles were final inspected by Joseph Perkins (IP in circle on wood opposite the lock). Later, the halfstock model, with full under rib, came to be recognized as a kind . Before the United States military used standardized weapons with interchangeable parts, it bought rifles that are difficult to distinguish from their civilian equivalent. As it progresses it will become obvious as to which lock plate dates belong which guns by serial number blocks. 1803 Harpers Ferry Rifle. Clarke added in his entry the additional comment that the guns were Complete in every respect. From September 12 to 15, 1862, Confederate forces under Gen. "Stonewall" Jackson besieged the 13,000-man garrison at Harpers Ferry resulting in the largest surrender of American troops until World War II.. How It Ended. cit., Pgs. 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. Using this as a crude standard, Lewiss 15 rifles would have required approximately 750 man-hours to produce, meaning they could have conservatively been completed in less than two weeks with materials available at the arsenal. 1060 rifles were in stores by 1797, 923 were still there in April of 1801, 911 in 1802. Tench Coxe was Commissioner of the Treasury Departments revenue office from April,1794 to December,1794. With the advent of round bottom rifling the .520 round ball was probably retained. This was not cost effective; thus, we find Pre-DEC 1803 production rifles retaining the straight upper pipe, just as with SN 15. (What's with all these "Henrys"? (11) Merritt Roe Smith, Harpers Ferry and the New Technology, (Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 1977), Pg. This list, with its confirmed serial numbers and lock dates, produces a relatively good chart to judge the authenticity of any rifles made between 1803-1806. All I had to do was prove that Harpers Ferry COULD have made his guns within the allotted timeframe and that a lot of period records being used as gospel by writers for many years were wrong. The U.S. M1814 rifle was designed by Robert T. Wickham. Each new writer simply took the word of a previous author without checking for themselves. cit./Table D) The totals agree from two different sources, giving credibility to 4,015 total production. This is a very good theory since only Lewis had any real opportunity to field test the rifles and make such suggestions. 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. It is quite likely that Lewis and Jefferson decided to change the civilian exploring party into a military expedition by doubling the size. A condensed version of the short rifle story was published in We Proceeded On journal. This leads to the conclusion that the arsenal had He brought with him 15 of his most highly-skilled workmen. All the journals kept on the expedition used the new proper term short rifle when talking about this weapon. It is time to update the history of these rifles not reinvent it. We can be grateful for his diligence and time expended on this subject. The Secretary of War, Henry Knox began procuring rifles for the army. Could Harpers Ferry have made his 15 rifles in the time allotted? The first rifle designed exclusively for the US Army was made at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, site of the infamous John Brown raid. These weights probably varied due to the purity of the lead of that period. Entries in the Journals pertaining to the short rifles: Lewis: March 20,1806 The guns of Drewyer and Sergt. Also shown is probably the type of powder horn issued with the axe to his men. (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. only one rifle in stock the 1792 / 1794 model. The above lists are as accurate a yearly production record we can hope to reconstruct based upon known rifles instead of conflicting documents. These rifles are identical to M1803 second type III but WITHOUT serial numbers. Could it have been one of the rifles that were shortened and given to the Indians? Hopefully more confirmed (C) 1803 dated rifles can be found and examined. Probably bored with being stuck on a farm, in 1812 he enlisted with Nathanial Boone to fight in that war. 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. (7) Sawyer, op. 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. Since the Army ordered only 4,000, the additional 15 were Lewiss rifles. What a story this rifle could tell! SN 94, (2)14 and 359 are pre-Dec 1803 military production, both with December,1803 requested upgrades (front band and sight change) except for the upper ramrod pipe. This sealed the fact that for all these years the caliber for 1803-1819 rifles listed in gun books is wrong. According Riflemen were given great latitude in the loading and firing of their assigned weapon. The journals are very specific about their movements at any time and in various places. TYPE V Military rifles built with the newly designed 36 (a June,1815 request) barrel with round bottom rifling. (50) On August 6, 1805, Lewiss air rifle had the sights knocked off by an accident with the canoes rolling over. (22) The term long rifle is not found in any journals of the expedition. It is believed that many of these rifles were This continued until the end of production mid 1815 to 1819. This basic fact completely rules out the use 1792 rifles on the expedition. That shows I came into this project with no preconceived notions as to what they used. 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. These gauges show that a 30-bore gun uses a .517 ball. 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. But some say that a one third of the weight of the ball is not too much; experience shows that to shoot at 250 to 300 yards, one fourth or a fifth is enough. The lock plate markings (lettering) are individually hand stamped, done before a full die stamp had been made for full production (see Appendix I). Other than needing money to continue their war with England, Napoleon had no troops to keep us out of the territory. Jedediah Starr Trading Co. On Line Store. Some believe that the contract rifles Lewis had modified for the expedition After Confederate artillery took positions on Maryland and Bolivar Heights that overlooked the town, they unleashed a barrage that threatened Union . After Harpers Ferry Arsenal was established in 1799, their first task was to make a new rifle on a standard pattern becoming the Model 1803 short rifle. Under pressure to deliver the guns, it is no wonder the final product varied considerably in caliber and barrel length. it becomes clear that the Secretary of War was convinced that the Army It is generally agreed that no government markings were put on the 1792/94 rifles. The shooting standards set for such men usually required prior experience with rifles men raised on the frontier who grew up with a rifle in their hands from an early age. (38) Iron barrels of all types in the early to mid-18th century were of very poor-quality iron. 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. 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) (47) Col. B.R. (39), Lewis, February 1, 1806(Ft Clatsop, Oregon) To day we opened and examined all our ammunition, which had been secured in leaden canesters. An 1810 inventory lists 3,113 short rifles and 188 long rifles fit for service on hand at Harpers Ferry. available evidence demonstrates that the expedition members carried 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. 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. It is easy to see the need for assembly marks on every part of the rifle, even down to the ramrod. At the battle of Bemis Heights (Saratoga Campaign) in September of 1777, Maj. Gen. Horatio Gates reinforced Colonel Daniel Morgan riflemen with 250 sharpshooters from Major Dearborns light infantry units. Private Willards mishap of letting his gun fall in while crossing Boyers river on a 25-foot log would not have occurred. with the short rifles Lewis had the armory make for the expedition that Only military horns have wood screw type base plugs as shown below. By Feb 15, 1805, only 5 serviceable and 94 unserviceable rifles remained in stores (showing an inspection process had been accomplished). 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. 1 turn in 56" twist, in .50 and .54 caliber. the lock, barrel, and stock, is the bare minimum needed to tell if the rifle is an original assembly. 1,477 rifles were completed in 1792. The individuality of the makers is amazing in all parts of the guns. His apparent diligence in gun matters won him a position of supervisor of New London Arsenal in 1792. This Model 1800 rifle, serial number 15, bears some remarkable differences to the Model 1803 military short rifle. 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. This rifle had been inletted for the brass stock ferrule, but the band found with the rifle was a modern brass replacement making it impossible to ascertain exactly when it was attempted. They received special privileges and exclusion of normal camp duties. 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). (Brown, op. It is known that Peter Getz and Thomas Palmer inspected guns contracted by him. 337, 347 & Appendix 5. This was his terminology for shooting it in again. Smiths footnote credits his list as being compiled from combined records and verified with the Chief of Ordnance entries. not consistent with Army regulations, unless the arsenal had only one Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Next is a center thimble placed two inches forward of any known military contract rifles. under contract for the United States Army in 1792 and 1794. Once a rifle is built its lock is unique to that gun. Owned by Leon Budginas of Salt Lake City, Utah, it traces its origin back 35 years to a St. Louis Antique shop, where ironically the expeditions surviving arms and equipment were sold at public auction upon their return. NO serial numbers. Since few people understand these rifles, their origins and how to identify them, we decided to cover them briefly. All these early 1803 rifles have had the other two December 1803 changes applied flat sight and the stock ferrule. Confederate Victory. Its purpose was to defend the now open frontier. Dearborn's letter specifies in great detail the type of rifle the armory 1800) prototypes. Since they had almost 4 months, it would have been an easy task even with interchangeable locks.(20). Without enough M1792 rifles in inventory to arm this new force, additional rifles were IMMEDIATELY needed. We hope the information in this article will enlighten all who admire and collect these first military rifles as well as assure they take their proper place in history for the role they played in a major event in early 19th century American history The Lewis and Clark Expedition. Although not clear in the photo, his rifles mounted a silver blade front sight commonly found on civilian long rifles of the period. (See Appendix II). locks and spare lock parts for each rifle. 1803 Harper's Ferry Rifle Not available at this time Lewis and Clark carried Harper's Ferry style rifles on their journey to the Pacific Ocean and back. pairs of bullet molds, 15 wipers or gun worms, 15 ball screws, Curly Maple 1/2 Stock Grd IV (85-100% Curl - $195) Curly Maple 1/2 StockGrd V ( Finest Curl - $260) Cherry ($135) Walnut ( $135) All military production 1803-1806 rifles have the heptagonal flat bottom rifling (Dearborns special rifling reference). 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. 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. Note placement of serial number on barrel. We discovered during the production of his rifles that this was a weak spot on the rifle. 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). Lewis arrived in April 1803. Loss of a mold meant the loss of a rifles use. Reproduction 1792 Militia Rifle Lock. Only the upper ramrod pipe, either already mounted on completed rifles or those in stock as completed sub-assemblies, could not have been changed as explained in the text.

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